Evidence status: CURRENT BINDING PROFESSIONAL REGULATION. Indiana Medical Licensing Board Rule 844 IAC 5-6 requires a signed Treatment Agreement for patients who enter the rule’s defined chronic-opioid treatment scope.

When the requirement applies

The treatment-agreement requirement is part of Indiana’s chronic-pain opioid rule and does not apply to every opioid prescription. The rule activates after the patient reaches one of the thresholds in 844 IAC 5-6-3, subject to listed exemptions.

Required agreement contents

Under 844 IAC 5-6-5, the physician and patient must review and sign a Treatment Agreement that includes at least:

  1. The goals of treatment.
  2. The patient’s consent to drug-monitoring testing when the physician determines testing is medically necessary.
  3. The physician’s prescribing policies, including taking medication as prescribed and not sharing medication.
  4. A requirement to disclose other controlled substances prescribed or taken and alcohol use while taking opioids.
  5. Permission for random pill counts.
  6. Reasons opioid therapy may be changed or discontinued.

A copy of the agreement must be retained in the patient’s chart.

Related discussions required by the rule

The physician must also discuss non-opioid alternatives where available, explain the treatment plan, discuss dependence and addiction risk, discuss safe storage, address pregnancy-related risks where applicable, and discuss abuse-deterrent formulations when the rule requires that discussion.

State minimum versus clinic additions

Indiana’s rule does not itself require every chronic-pain agreement to contain a one-pharmacy rule, automatic discharge after a positive test, no-replacement rule for lost medication, fixed refill-notice period, missed-appointment termination, or blanket prohibition on marijuana. Those terms may appear in practice agreements and must be classified separately.

Primary sources

Reviewed: October 4, 2026.

Evidence boundary: Applicability depends on the treatment thresholds and exemptions in 844 IAC 5-6-3. This page records the current regulatory baseline, not a patient-specific legal conclusion.