DIEGNAN/CRUZ-PEREZ BILL REQUIRING INFORMED CONSENT BEFORE PRESCRIBING MINORS DANGEROUS DRUGS ADVANCES

DIEGNAN/CRUZ-PEREZ BILL REQUIRING INFORMED CONSENT BEFORE PRESCRIBING MINORS DANGEROUS DRUGS ADVANCES
Measure Would Apply to Prescription Drugs Carrying FDA 'Black Box Warning' Labels

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr. and Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez sponsored that would require physicians and other licensed healthcare professionals to obtain informed consent from a parent or guardian before prescribing a potentially dangerous drug to a child was released by an Assembly committee today.

"This safeguard will ensure that a child's drug treatment plan does not become a prescription for disaster," said Diegnan (D-Middlesex). "Parents need to be fully informed about the potential side effects of powerful medications they give their kids."

The bill (A-378) would require physicians, advanced practice nurses, and other authorized prescribers to obtain informed consent from parents or guardians of minors prior to prescribing psychotropic medications that carry a federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "black box warning" label, including medicines designed to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Black box warning" labels are required to be placed on prescription packaging when medical studies show the drug carries a significant risk of serious or life-threatening side effects.  A "black box warning" is the strongest advisory the FDA can place on prescription medication.

"Parents may not always be told that the medications being prescribed for their child can produce serious or even life-threatening side effects," said Cruz-Perez (D-Camden). "This information gap must be closed before a family leaves the doctor's office."

Medical practitioners who fail to obtain parental informed consent would be subject to disciplinary action by the applicable state professional licensing board.

The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee released the bill by a 5-0 vote.  It now heads to the Assembly Speaker, who decides if and when to post it for a floor vote.

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