WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the launch of seven new training opportunities to help health care providers reduce overdose risk and improve patient outcomes.
Training is available both online and in-person at no cost and includes continuing education credits for health care providers, which may also meet various licensing requirements.
“These new educational offerings provide practical guidance and information health care professionals can use to treat people with substance use disorder,” said Secretary of Health Debra Bogen.” Stigma, a common barrier to treatment and recovery, is also addressed throughout the curriculum.”
The courses cover the following topics:
• Pain Management Guidelines — Focus on CDC’s 2022 clinical practice guideline for prescribing opioids for pain and patient-centered care.
• Pain Management Assessment and Clinical Decision-Making for Opioid and Nonopioid Medications — Covers initiating opioids for pain and non-opioid pain management options, the Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), and the biopsychosocial model of pain.
• Opioid Treatment for Pain Management — Describes considerations for opioid initiation, dosage, and tapering.
• Identifying and Addressing Substance Use Impacts with SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) — Conducting screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment strategies.
• Strategies to Enhance Patient-Clinician Communication for Pain Management Care — Introduces motivational interviewing and shared decision-making.
• Pennsylvania Overdose Trends & Harm Reduction — Describes non-fatal and fatal overdose trends, data-informed overdose prevention, and naloxone access.
• Health Equity in Pain Management and Substance Use Disorder Care — Focuses on disparities is the substance use continuum of care, and clinical communication that supports health equity.
“Preventing overdose and saving lives takes a coordinated response,” said Latika Davis-Jones, Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs secretary. “But education is just as essential. These trainings help ensure providers are equipped to address not only pain management, but also the disparities that persist in care — key to turning the tide of the overdose crisis across Pennsylvania.”
Sen Baker: New law protects users of virtual currency
The General Assembly passed a new law to protect the increasing number of Pennsylvanians using virtual currency, according to Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, who serves as vice-chair of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee.
Act 7 of 2025 requires transmission of virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, to be treated similar to money transmission under state law. As more citizens use virtual currencies, the criminal element has increasingly focused on using this platform to evade prosecution.
“Millions of Pennsylvanians are choosing to use virtual currency,” Sen. Baker said. “Creating a statutory framework to protect users is the first step toward legitimizing these virtual currencies.”
The bill was amended to apply to money transmitting services that charge individual consumers a fee for use — virtual currency wallets that are owned by individual consumers would not be subject to the bill.
Pennsylvania will join 26 other states regulating virtual currency under their money transmitter acts so individuals can engage with virtual currencies at their own discretion with consumer safeguards in place.
Meuser co-sponsors bill to strengthen energy security
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, co-sponsored H.R.1914 — the Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act — legislation that repeals outdated restrictions on natural gas exports and streamlines the approval process for liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.
The bill ensures that LNG exports are treated like other commodities — free from political interference — and reaffirms America’s leadership as a reliable energy supplier to the world.
Specifically, the bill removes the Department of Energy’s discretionary role in approving LNG exports and grants sole authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for reviewing and authorizing export and import terminals.
Meuser said this reform codifies that LNG exports are in the public interest by default, removing a barrier that was used in 2024 by the Biden Administration to freeze export permits. He said that freeze allowed adversaries like Russia and Iran to gain ground in the global energy market while American contracts were delayed or canceled.
The legislation also maintains the president’s national security authorities to prohibit trade with sanctioned nations, such as those designated state sponsors of terrorism. It builds on bipartisan efforts in recent years to depoliticize energy exports.
“The United States has the capacity and technology to supply the world with clean, abundant natural gas — and Pennsylvania plays a large role in that effort,” said Meuser. “Natural gas produces significantly fewer emissions than other sources of energy, and the more we produce here at home, the lower global emissions will be — because no country produces it cleaner than the United States. This legislation removes artificial bottlenecks and ensures American LNG gets to our allies. Energy security is global security.”
Natural gas is vital to Pennsylvania’s economy and energy leadership. Our Commonwealth ranks second in the nation in natural gas production, supporting over 120,000 jobs. The industry contributes more than $41 billion in annual economic activity and $25 billion to Pennsylvania’s GDP. Additionally, Impact Fee revenues have generated $2.88 billion since 2012, funding local community initiatives and statewide infrastructure projects. And in 2023 alone, more than 186,000 Pennsylvanians received over $2.3 billion in oil and gas royalties.
The Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act was reported favorably by the Energy and Commerce Committee and now awaits consideration on the House Floor.