BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 482 (Lara) - Controlled substances: CURES database
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|Version: April 30, 2015 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 7 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 18, 2015 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 482 would require prescribers to consult the
Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System
(CURES) prior to prescribing a Schedule II or III drug to a
patient for the first time.
Fiscal
Impact:
No significant costs are anticipated by the Department of
Justice. The Department has almost completed a substantial
upgrade to CURES and anticipates that by July 2015 the system
will have the capability to meet the demand expected due to
this bill.
Minor costs to the relevant boards that license prescribers,
SB 482 (Lara) Page 1 of
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such as the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic
Medical Board, and the Dental Board. Licensing boards will
incur some additional cost to notify their licensees of the
new requirement to check CURES. Those costs are expected to be
minor for the impacted boards.
Background: Under current law, the California Department of Justice
manages the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and
Evaluation System (CURES). This system is used to track
prescriptions of Schedule II, III, and IV drugs. Pharmacies are
required to submit information on those prescriptions when they
are dispensed. Prescribers (such as physicians), law enforcement
personnel, and regulatory agencies are authorized to access
CURES. For example, a physician (who has been approved by the
Department of Justice) can access CURES to review whether a
patient has already been prescribed controlled substances before
issuing a new prescription.
SB 809 (DeSaulnier, Statutes of 2013) raised licensing fees on
health care providers by $6 to fund CURES and requires health
care providers who can prescribe or furnish controlled
substances to apply for access to CURES by January 1, 2016. In
addition, CURES is currently being upgraded to address
shortcomings in usability and reliability, at a cost of $3.4
million. This upgrade is scheduled to be complete by July 2015.
The Department of Justice indicates that the upgraded system is
designed to accommodate high usage by prescribers and will be
able to accommodate the increased demand if this bill is
enacted.
Proposed Law:
SB 482 would require prescribers to consult the Controlled
Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES)
prior to prescribing a Schedule II or III drug to a patient for
the first time and annually when the controlled substance
remains part of the treatment.
Other provisions of the bill would:
If a patient has an existing prescription for a Schedule II or
III drug, prohibit the prescriber from prescribing an
additional controlled substance until the prescriber
determines that there is a legitimate need for that controlled
substance;
SB 482 (Lara) Page 2 of
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Make failure to consult CURES a cause for disciplinary action
by the prescriber's licensing board;
Require licensing boards to notify prescribers of this
requirement;
Provide that failure to access CURES when the system is
inaccessible is not a violation of the requirements of the
bill;
Make the requirements of the bill inoperative until the
Department of Justice determines CURES is ready for statewide
use.
Related
Legislation:
AB 611 (Dahle) would authorize an individual designated to
investigate a holder of a professional license to apply for
access to CURES, for the purpose of investigating a licensee.
That bill was held in the Assembly Business and Professions
Committee.
SB 1258 (DeSaulnier, 2014) would have made a variety of
changes to the ways that controlled substances are prescribed
and tracked in CURES and would have placed other requirements
on prescribing controlled substances. That bill was held on
this committee's Suspense File.
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