Amended in Assembly April 7, 2016

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, to consult a patient’s electronic history in the CURES database before prescribing 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’s licensing board and would require the licensing boards to notify all prescribers authorized to prescribe controlled substances of these requirements. The bill would provide that a prescriber is not in violation of these requirementsbegin delete during any time that the CURES database is suspended or not accessible, or during any time that the Internet is not operational.end deletebegin insert if a specified condition exists, including any time that the CURES database is suspended or not accessible, an inability to access the CURES database in a timely manner because of an emergency, when the controlled substance is prescribed to a patient receiving hospice care, or when the controlled substance is directly administered to the patient by the person prescribing the controlled substance.end insert 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.

13(b) Failure to consult a patient’s electronic history as required
14by subdivision (a) is cause for disciplinary action by the
15 prescriber’s licensing board. The licensing boards of all prescribers
16authorized to write or issue prescriptions for controlled substances
17shall notify these licensees of the requirements of this section.

begin delete

P3    1(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a prescriber is not in
2violation of this section during any period of time in which the
3CURES database is suspended or not accessible or any period of
4time in which the Internet is not operational.

end delete
begin insert

5
(c) A prescriber is not liable in a civil action solely for failing
6to consult the CURES database as required pursuant to subdivision
7(a).

end insert
begin insert

8
(d) The requirement in subdivision (a) does not apply, and a
9prescriber is not in violation of this section, if any of the following
10conditions are met:

end insert
begin insert

11
(1) The CURES database is suspended or inaccessible, the
12Internet is not operational, the data in the CURES database is
13inaccurate or incomplete, or it is not possible to query the CURES
14database in a timely manner because of an emergency.

end insert
begin insert

15
(2) The controlled substance is prescribed to a patient receiving
16hospice care.

end insert
begin insert

17
(3) The controlled substance is prescribed to a patient as a part
18of a surgical procedure that has or will occur in a licensed health
19care facility and the prescription is nonrefillable.

end insert
begin insert

20
(4) The controlled substance is directly administered to the
21patient by the prescriber or another person authorized to prescribe
22a controlled substance.

end insert
begin delete

14 23(d)

end delete

24begin insert(e)end insert This section shall not become operative until the Department
25of Justice certifies that the CURES database is ready for statewide
26use.begin insert The department shall notify the Secretary of State and the
27Office of Legislative Counsel of the date of that certification.end insert

begin delete

18 28(e)

end delete

29begin insert(f)end insert For purposes of this section, “prescriber” means a health care
30practitioner who is authorized to write or issue prescriptions under
31Section 11150, excluding veterinarians.

begin delete

28 32(f)

end delete

33begin insert(g)end insert A violation of this section shall not be subject to the
34provisions of Section 11374.

begin insert

35
(h) All applicable state and federal privacy laws govern the
36duties required by this section.

end insert
begin insert

37
(i) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
38of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall
P4    1not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect
2without the invalid provision or application.

end insert


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