How to Complete the Michigan Opioid Start Talking Form (MDHHS-5730)

Michigan’s Opioid Start Talking form, numbered MDHHS-5730, is the state-required consent document a prescriber completes with a patient before writing a prescription for any opioid-containing controlled substance. You download it from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services opioids resource page, use it to document that you discussed the specific risks the statute lists, obtain the patient’s or guardian’s signature, and file the signed copy in the patient’s medical record.¹ Some older references call the form MDHHS-5714; the current version is MDHHS-5730.

When You Have to Use the Form

Public Act 246 of 2017 created two separate requirements, and the timing is different for each.

For adult patients, Section 7303c requires the Start Talking conversation before every opioid-containing controlled substance prescription, not just the first one in a course of treatment.² The requirement took effect June 1, 2018.

For minors, Section 7303b requires the consent form only before the first prescription in a single course of treatment, regardless of later dosage changes during that same course.³ The scope is narrower, but the documentation rules are stricter.

What You Have to Discuss With an Adult Patient

Before writing the prescription, review four topics with the patient or the patient’s representative:

The risk of opioid addiction.
How to properly dispose of expired, unused, or unwanted pills or liquid medication.
That delivering a controlled substance to another person is a felony under Michigan law.
If the patient is pregnant or a female of reproductive age, the short- and long-term effects of exposing a fetus to a controlled substance, including neonatal abstinence syndrome.

After the discussion, the patient or representative signs the form, and you place the signed copy in the medical record.²

What You Have to Discuss With a Minor and the Guardian

When the patient is under 18, Section 7303b requires a different conversation, and it has to happen with both the minor and the minor’s parent, guardian, or another adult authorized to consent to the minor’s treatment:

The risks of addiction and overdose associated with the specific controlled substance being prescribed.
The increased addiction risk for someone with both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.
The danger of taking an opioid with benzodiazepines, alcohol, or other central nervous system depressants.
Any other relevant information from the patient counseling section of the drug’s FDA-required labeling.

The minor’s Start Talking consent form has to be a standalone document. You cannot combine it with any other consent form your practice uses.³ The form must include the name and quantity of the controlled substance, the initial dose, the number of authorized refills, a statement that the DEA classifies the substance as having abuse potential, and a certification that you completed the required discussion. The parent or guardian signs and dates it, and the form goes into the minor’s medical record.

When a Non-Parent Adult Signs

If the parent or guardian is unavailable, another adult can sign the consent form, but only if the parent or guardian has given that adult written authorization to consent to the minor’s medical treatment.³ When that happens, the prescription cannot exceed a single 72-hour supply of the opioid.⁴ Writing for a longer duration in this situation puts you out of compliance.

When the Minor Is Exempt

The consent form is not required for a minor in any of these situations:

You determine in good faith that an immediate threat of serious risk to the minor’s life or physical health exists.³
The treatment is associated with or incident to a surgical procedure, inpatient or outpatient.²
The minor is being treated in a licensed hospice or the oncology department of a licensed hospital.
The prescription is issued at the time of discharge from one of those settings.
The minor can consent to their own treatment under Michigan law, such as an emancipated minor.

Filling Out and Filing the Form

The form is on michigan.gov/opioids under “Forms and Resources.”¹ The layout itself is straightforward. Fill in the patient’s identifying information and the details of the opioid being prescribed. Check off or initial the statements confirming each required discussion topic was covered. The patient, or the parent or guardian for a minor, signs and dates the form. You then sign to certify that the conversation took place.

In practices using electronic health records, the usual workflow is to print the form, obtain a wet signature, and scan the signed document back into the chart. Some systems route the form through a patient portal for signature before the visit, then receive it by fax or email before the prescription is written.

Keep the signed form for at least seven years from the date of service. That minimum applies both to healthcare facilities under MCL 333.20175⁵ and to individual licensees under MCL 333.16213.⁶ A longer retention period applies if federal law, state regulations, or accepted standards of medical practice require it.

What Happens If You Skip It

Michigan’s opioid legislation includes sanctions for prescribers who fail to inform minors and their guardians of opioid risks as required by the Start Talking provisions.⁷ Non-compliance can trigger review by Michigan’s Bureau of Professional Licensing within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which oversees discipline for licensed health professionals. Specific fine amounts are not set out in the Start Talking statutes themselves, but a licensing board investigation can result in sanctions ranging from a formal reprimand to restrictions on prescribing privileges. The signed form is your proof the conversation happened. Without it, you have nothing to show during an audit or complaint investigation.

1
State of Michigan. Forms and Resources
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code – Act No. 246 of 2017
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 333.7303b
4
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Michigan Opioid Laws Frequently Asked Questions
5
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 333.20175 – Maintaining Record for Each Patient
6
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 333.16213 – Retention of Records
7
MSMS. Michigan Opioid Laws