BILL NUMBER: AB 2655 CHAPTERED 09/03/02 CHAPTER 345 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 31, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 12, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 13, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2002 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Matthews FEBRUARY 22, 2002 An act to amend Section 11165 of, and to add and repeal Section 11165.1 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2655, Matthews. Controlled substances. Existing law provides for the electronic monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II controlled substances pursuant to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) program, as specified. The program is established contingent upon the availability of adequate funds, and is scheduled to become inoperative on July 1, 2003, and to be repealed on January 1, 2004. This bill would delete a provision providing for an appropriation from the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund to the Board of Pharmacy to fund CURES and would instead provide that the program shall be established, contingent upon the availability of adequate funds from the State Dentistry Fund and specified contingent funds of the Medical Board, Pharmacy Board, and Osteopathic Medical Board. This bill would further provide that the program instead shall become inoperative on July 1, 2008, and shall be repealed on January 1, 2009. The bill would also make a technical change. The bill would provide, in addition, that a licensed health care practitioner or pharmacist may make a written request for, and the Department of Justice may release to that practitioner or pharmacist, the history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual under his or her care based on data contained in CURES, as specified ; in order to prevent the inappropriate, improper, or illegal use of Schedule II controlled substances, the Department of Justice may initiate the referral of the history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual based on data contained in CURES to licensed health care practitioners or pharmacists providing care or services to the individual; and the history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual based on data contained in CURES is medical information subject to the provisions of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act. The bill would provide that these provisions shall become inoperative on July 1, 2008, and shall be repealed on January 1, 2009. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 11165 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 11165. (a) To assist law enforcement and regulatory agencies in their efforts to control the diversion and resultant abuse of Schedule II controlled substances, and for statistical analysis, education, and research, the Department of Justice shall, contingent upon the availability of adequate funds from the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California, the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, the State Dentistry Fund, and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California Contingent Fund, establish the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II controlled substances by all practitioners authorized to prescribe or dispense these controlled substances. CURES shall be implemented as a pilot project, commencing on July 1, 1997, to be administered concurrently with the existing triplicate prescription process, to examine the comparative efficiencies between the two systems. (b) The CURES pilot project shall operate under existing provisions of law to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of patients. Data obtained from CURES shall only be provided to appropriate state, local, and federal persons or public agencies for disciplinary, civil, or criminal purposes and to other agencies or entities, as determined by the Department of Justice, for the purpose of educating practitioners and others in lieu of disciplinary, civil, or criminal actions. Data may be provided to public or private entities, as approved by the Department of Justice, for educational, peer review, statistical, or research purposes, provided that patient information, including any information that may identify the patient, is not compromised. Further, data disclosed to any individual or agency as described in this subdivision, shall not be disclosed, sold, or transferred to any third party. (c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2008, and, as of January 1, 2009, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2009, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. SEC. 2. Section 11165.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 11165.1. (a) (1) A licensed health care practitioner eligible to obtain triplicate prescription forms pursuant to Section 11161 or a pharmacist may make a written request for, and the Department of Justice may release to that practitioner or pharmacist, the history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual under his or her care based on data contained in CURES. (2) Any request for, or release of, a controlled substance history pursuant to this section shall be made in accordance with guidelines developed by the Department of Justice. (b) In order to prevent the inappropriate, improper, or illegal use of Schedule II controlled substances, the Department of Justice may initiate the referral of the history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual based on data contained in CURES to licensed health care practitioners, pharmacists, or both, providing care or services to the individual. (c) The history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual based on data contained in CURES that is received by a practitioner or pharmacist from the Department of Justice pursuant to this section shall be considered medical information subject to the provisions of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act contained in Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 56) of Division 1 of the Civil Code. (d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2008, and, as of January 1, 2009, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2009, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.