Amended in Senate April 30, 2015

Amended in Senate April 16, 2015

Senate BillNo. 482


Introduced by Senator Lara

February 26, 2015


An act to add Section 11165.4 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 482, as amended, Lara. Controlled substances: CURES database.

Existing law classifies certain controlled substances into designated schedules. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV controlled substances by all practitioners authorized to prescribe or dispense these controlled substances. Existing law requires dispensing pharmacies and clinics to report specified information for each prescription of a Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled substance to the department.

This bill would require all prescribers, as defined, prescribing a Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance,begin delete and all dispensers, as defined, dispensing a Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance,end delete to consult a patient’s electronic history in the CURES database before prescribingbegin delete or dispensingend delete the controlled substance to the patient for the first time. The bill would also require the prescriber to consult the CURES database at least annually when the prescribed controlled substance remains part of the patient’s treatment. The bill would prohibit prescribing an additional Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance to a patient with an existing prescription until the prescriber determines that there is a legitimate need for the controlled substance.

The bill would make the failure to consult a patient’s electronic history in the CURES database a cause for disciplinary action by the prescriber’sbegin delete or dispenser’send delete licensing board and would require thebegin delete respective licensing boardsend deletebegin insert licensing boardsend insert to notify allbegin delete licenseesend deletebegin insert prescribersend insert authorized to prescribebegin delete or dispenseend delete controlled substances of these requirements. The bill would provide that a prescriberbegin delete or dispenserend delete is not in violation of these requirements during any time that the CURES database is suspended or not accessible, or during any time that the Internet is not operational. The bill would make its provisions operative upon the Department of Justice’s certification that the CURES database is ready for statewide use.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 11165.4 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code
, to read:

3

11165.4.  

(a) A prescriber shall access and consult the CURES
4database for the electronic history of controlled substances
5dispensed to a patient under his or her care before prescribing a
6Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance for the first time
7to that patient and at least annually when that prescribed controlled
8substance remains part of his or her treatment. If the patient has
9an existing prescription for a Schedule II or Schedule III controlled
10substance, the prescriber shall not prescribe an additional controlled
11substance until the prescriber determines that there is a legitimate
12need for that controlled substance.

begin delete

13(b) A dispenser shall access and consult the CURES database
14for the electronic history of controlled substances dispensed to a
15patient under his or her care before dispensing a Schedule II or
16Schedule III controlled substance for the first time to that patient.
17If the patient has an existing prescription for a Schedule II or
18Schedule III controlled substance, the dispenser shall not dispense
19an additional controlled substance until the dispenser checks the
20CURES database.

21(c)

end delete

P3    1begin insert(b)end insert Failure to consult a patient’s electronic history as required
2by subdivision (a)begin delete or (b)end delete is cause for disciplinary action by the
3begin delete respective licensing board of the prescriber or dispenserend delete
4begin insert prescriber’s licensing boardend insert. The licensing boards of all prescribers
5begin delete and dispensersend delete authorized to write or issue prescriptions for
6controlled substances shall notify these licensees of the
7requirements of this section.

begin delete

8(d)

end delete

9begin insert(c)end insert Notwithstanding any other law, a prescriberbegin delete or dispenserend delete is
10not in violation of this section during any period of time in which
11the CURES database is suspended or not accessible or any period
12of time in which the Internet is not operational.

begin delete

13(e)

end delete

14begin insert(d)end insert This section shall not become operative until the Department
15of Justice certifies that the CURES database is ready for statewide
16use.

begin delete

17(f)

end delete

18begin insert(e)end insert For purposes of this section,begin delete the following terms shall have
19the following meanings:end delete
begin insert “prescriber” means a health care
20practitioner who is authorized to write or issue prescriptions under
21Section 11150, excluding veterinarians.end insert

begin delete

22(1) “Dispenser” means a person who is authorized to dispense
23a controlled substance under Section 11011.

end delete
begin delete

24(2) “Prescriber” means a health care practitioner who is
25authorized to write or issue prescriptions under Section 11150,
26excluding veterinarians.

end delete
begin delete

27(g)

end delete

28begin insert(f)end insert A violation of this section shall not be subject to the
29provisions of Section 11374.



O

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