Influencing State Legislation: California’s Law to Include Fentanyl in Hospitals’ Urine Drug Screens

Tyler Shamash went to an emergency department before he died and was assured that his drug screen was negative for fentanyl. If his parents had known that the screen in fact did not test for fentanyl, they would have sent him to a higher-level detox instead of home. Tyler's Law (SB 864) is a California bill that would require all hospitals to include fentanyl whenever a urine drug screen is ordered in a hospital setting. Most people who learn about the bill ask, "Isn't that already happening?" Surprisingly, no. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that does not show up on routine hospital opiate screens. To detect fentanyl hospitals need to purchase a specific fentanyl reagent with an average cost of 75 cents per test. A pilot project in San Diego showed that within 10 months of education with a fentanyl testing tool kit the majority of the county's 24 hospitals included fentanyl in their drug screen. The project was so successful it was taken for statewide action. SB 864 received unanimous bipartisan support and was signed into law in August 2022. In this session attendees will hear from Dr. Lev, an emergency and addiction physician and former Chief Medical Officer for the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Juli Shamash, mother of Tyler who the bill is named after; and Hannah Skaggs, legislative director for Sen. Melissa Melendez when she championed SB 864. They will share behind the scenes of navigating SB 864 and how to bring fentanyl testing to your hospitals.