On Jan. 1, 2022, 2SSB 5195 went into effect, requiring hospital emergency departments and many behavioral health settings (e.g., inpatient psychiatric units, psychiatric hospitals) to dispense or distribute opioid overdose reversal medication (e.g., naloxone) to patients at risk of an opioid overdose for individual use after discharge. This law was passed in response to Washington State’s high number of opioid overdose-related deaths. WSHA issued a bulletin on this bill last fall and held a webinar in November 2021 to review the requirements of this bill.
WSHA will host Opioid Overdose Reversal Medication Roundtable: A Discussion on 2SSB 5195 Implementation from 12:00–1:30 p.m. on March 16, 2022.
The purpose of this roundtable is to provide available updates from community partners, hear from members about various implementation successes, and provide an opportunity for discussion about ongoing best practices. Registration is available here. If you have questions, or if you would like to share your hospital’s experience with implementation as part of our member panel, please contact Brittany Weiner at brittanyw@wsha.org.
