BILL NUMBER: AB 611 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dahle
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section 11165.1 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to controlled substances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 611, as introduced, Dahle. Controlled substances:
prescriptions: reporting.
Existing law requires certain health care practitioners and
pharmacists to apply to the Department of Justice to obtain approval
to access information contained in the Controlled Substance
Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) Prescription Drug
Monitoring Program (PDMP) regarding the controlled substance history
of a patient under his or her care. Existing law requires the
Department of Justice, upon approval of an application, to provide
the approved health care practitioner or pharmacist the history of
controlled substances dispensed to an individual under his or her
care.
This bill would also authorize an individual designated to
investigate a holder of a professional license to apply to the
Department of Justice to obtain approval to access information
contained in the CURES PDMP regarding the controlled substance
history of an applicant or a licensee for the purpose of
investigating the alleged substance abuse of a licensee. The bill
would, upon approval of an application, require the department to
provide to the approved individual the history of controlled
substances dispensed to the licensee.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 11165.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
11165.1. (a) (1) (A) (i) A health care practitioner authorized to
prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or dispense Schedule II,
Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled substances pursuant to
Section 11150 shall, before January 1, 2016, or upon receipt of a
federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration, whichever
occurs later, submit an application developed by the Department of
Justice to obtain approval to access information online regarding the
controlled substance history of a patient that is stored on the
Internet and maintained within the Department of Justice, and, upon
approval, the department shall release to that practitioner the
electronic history of controlled substances dispensed to an
individual under his or her care based on data contained in the CURES
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP).
(ii) A pharmacist shall, before January 1, 2016, or upon
licensure, whichever occurs later, submit an application developed by
the Department of Justice to obtain approval to access information
online regarding the controlled substance history of a patient that
is stored on the Internet and maintained within the Department of
Justice, and, upon approval, the department shall release to that
pharmacist the electronic history of controlled substances dispensed
to an individual under his or her care based on data contained in the
CURES PDMP.
(iii) An individual designated by a board, bureau, or program
within the Department of Consumer Affairs to investigate a holder of
a professional license may, for the purpose of investigating the
alleged substance abuse of a licensee, submit an application
developed by the Department of Justice to obtain approval to access
information online regarding the controlled substance history of a
licensee that is stored on the Internet and maintained within the
Department of Justice, and, upon approval, the department shall
release to that individual the electronic history of controlled
substances dispensed to the licensee based on data contained in the
CURES PDMP. The application shall contain facts demonstrating the
probable cause to believe the licensee has violated a law governing
controlled substances.
(B) An application may be denied, or a subscriber may be
suspended, for reasons which include, but are not limited to, the
following:
(i) Materially falsifying an application for a subscriber.
(ii) Failure to maintain effective controls for access to the
patient activity report.
(iii) Suspended or revoked federal DEA registration.
(iv) Any subscriber who is arrested for a violation of law
governing controlled substances or any other law for which the
possession or use of a controlled substance is an element of the
crime.
(v) Any subscriber accessing information for any other reason than
caring for his or her patients.
(C) Any authorized subscriber shall notify the Department of
Justice within 30 days of any changes to the subscriber account.
(2) A health care practitioner authorized to prescribe, order,
administer, furnish, or dispense Schedule II, Schedule III, or
Schedule IV controlled substances pursuant to Section 11150 or a
pharmacist shall be deemed to have complied with paragraph (1) if the
licensed health care practitioner or pharmacist has been approved to
access the CURES database through the process developed pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 209 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) 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.
(c) In order to prevent the inappropriate, improper, or illegal
use of Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV 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.
(d) The history of controlled substances dispensed to an
individual based on data contained in CURES that is received by
a practitioner or pharmacist an
authorized subscriber 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.
(e) Information concerning a patient's controlled substance
history provided to a prescriber or pharmacist
an authorized subscriber pursuant to this section shall
include prescriptions for controlled substances listed in Sections
1308.12, 1308.13, and 1308.14 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.