Evidence status: CURRENT RULE HISTORY. Indiana’s chronic-pain opioid Treatment Agreement requirement has been in force for more than a decade and remains part of the current Medical Licensing Board rule.
Emergency rule and final rule
Indiana first adopted temporary opioid-prescribing standards in 2013 after the General Assembly directed the Medical Licensing Board to establish controlled-substance prescribing standards for pain management. The permanent physician rule, 844 IAC 5-6, was filed October 7, 2014 and became effective November 1, 2014.
2016 amendment
The rule was amended in 2016. The current Treatment Agreement section, 844 IAC 5-6-5, carries that amendment history together with later readoptions.
Readoption
Indiana’s administrative-rule records show the opioid rule was readopted in 2020 and again in 2024. The 2024 readoption kept 844 IAC 5-6 active; it was not a new creation of the Treatment Agreement requirement.
Current status
The Indiana Department of Health’s current 2026 opioid-prescribing resource page continues to direct clinicians to the Indiana Pain Management Prescribing Final Rule and expressly identifies the treatment agreement as one of the rule’s core requirements.
Why history matters
The public record should distinguish three different events: the 2013 temporary rule, the 2014 permanent rule, and later amendments/readoptions. The current requirement is not merely an old archived policy; it remains part of Indiana’s active professional regulation.
Primary sources
- Current Indiana Administrative Code — Title 844, Article 5
- Indiana Department of Health — Opioid Prescribing Guidelines
- IC 25-22.5-13-2 — Board authority to adopt pain-management prescribing standards
Reviewed: October 4, 2026.