Pain management clinics in Tennessee will face new, stricter rules after the first of the year, as the state tries to clamp down on the over-prescribing of pain medications.
The new rules are aimed at reining in potential bad actors who are over-prescribe the powerful drugs. A spokesman for the American Academy of Pain Management said five states including Tennessee have passed laws to get pain clinics under control. Tennessee’s law sets, for the first time, standards for being a medical director for such a clinic, and requires a criminal background check on the owners.
The state health department is drafting rules to put the law in effect by January 1. The committee drafting the rules is looking at the long-term in setting up the new restrictions. Currently the application fee for a pain clinic license costs $200.
When committee members learned that some states charge up to $1,500 for the initial application and two-year license, they asked health department staffers to investigate whether such a fee could pay for annual inspections for pain clinics, something the department currently can’t afford.
