This bill creates a new law called the "good faith pain act" by adding new sections to multiple licensing chapters of the Revised Code of Washington. It provides immunity from criminal liability, civil liability, and professional disciplinary action for certain licensed health professionals (podiatric physicians and surgeons, dentists, osteopathic physicians and surgeons, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, and advanced registered nurse practitioners) who prescribe or dispense opioid drugs for legitimate medical purposes to patients with chronic pain when specified conditions are met. Those conditions include that the patient and practitioner have determined the opioid prescription is medically appropriate and that the patient has signed a written informed consent recorded in the medical record; the pharmacist provision instead requires that the patient present the prescription, receive consultation, and that the pharmacist confirm the prescription is valid. Legally, the change is the creation of new statutory immunity provisions (a new law) added to chapters 18.22, 18.32, 18.57, 18.64, 18.71, 18.71A, and 18.79 RCW. The act may be cited as the "good faith pain act" and is declared an emergency measure taking effect immediately. The bill is House Bill 1638 (H-0824.1) and was read for the first time on 01/28/2025 and referred to the Committee on Health Care & Wellness. The extracted text does not include statutory definitions for key terms used (for example, "opioid drugs," "legitimate medical purposes," "patient with chronic pain," or the required content of the "written informed consent"), does not consistently identify which specific board, commission, or department is meant in each section, and does not show any exceptions, limits, enforcement mechanisms, or how these provisions interact with other laws. These omissions make the precise scope and application of the new immunity provisions unclear from the provided text alone.

If enacted, the bill would make it much safer, legally speaking, for the named licensed clinicians and pharmacists in Washington to prescribe or dispense opioid drugs to patients identified as having chronic pain when the clinician decides an opioid is appropriate and there is a signed written informed consent documented in the medical record (pharmacists must also provide consultation and confirm the prescription’s validity). Practically, that lowers the immediate criminal, civil, and licensing risk for those professionals in those situations and is likely to make them more willing to continue or start opioid treatment for chronic pain patients, while adding a clear recordkeeping duty to obtain and document informed consent (and for pharmacists to confirm validity and consult). The most affected people are podiatrists, dentists, physicians (including osteopathic physicians), physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, and pharmacists, plus patients with chronic pain who may see more access to opioid treatment. The bill does not allocate funding, define key terms like “opioid drugs,” “chronic pain,” or what must be in the written consent, nor does it consistently identify which state boards or departments will enforce it, so practical questions about scope, enforcement, and any limits on the immunity remain unclear.