BILL NUMBER: AB 718 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Emmerson
( Coauthor: Senator Negrete
McLeod )
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add and repeal Section 4071.2 of the Business
and Professions Code, 14087.521 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 718, as amended, Emmerson. Inland Empire Health Plan
E-Prescribing Pilot Program.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the
State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic health
care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. Existing
law authorizes the California Medical Assistance Commission to
negotiate exclusive contracts with any county that seeks to provide,
or arrange for the provision of health care services provided under
the Medi-Cal program. Existing law authorizes the Board of
Supervisors of San Bernardino County to, by ordinance, establish a
commission to negotiate the above-described exclusive contract and to
arrange for the supervision of certain health care services.
The Pharmacy Law regulates, among other matters, the dispensing by
prescription of dangerous devices and dangerous drugs, which include
controlled substances. Existing law authorizes the electronic
transmission of prescriptions under specified circumstances.
This bill would, until January 1, 2013, create the Inland Empire
Health Plan E-Prescribing Pilot Program and would require the program
to promote health care quality and the exchange of health care
information and to include specified components, including electronic
prescribing, as defined. The bill would require the Inland Empire
Health Plan, a joint powers agency, to select, through a competitive
bid process, an entity with whose product has
specified certification to administer the program and would
require this entity to submit a report to the Legislature, by January
1, 2012, regarding the goals and results of the program and whether
the program should be extended, as specified. The bill would
provide that the above-described provisions shall be funded by funds
made available by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009. By imposing a new requirement on a joint powers
agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14087.521 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
14087.521. (a) The Inland Empire Health Plan E-Prescribing Pilot
Program is hereby created. For purposes of this section, "program"
means the Inland Empire Health Plan E-Prescribing Pilot Program.
(b) The program shall be administered by an entity whose product
has been certified by the Certification Commission for Health
Information Technology, either as a stand-alone electronic
prescribing product or service or as part of an electronic health
record product or service. This entity shall be selected by the
Inland Empire Health Plan through a competitive bid process.
(c) The program shall promote health care quality and the exchange
of health care information consistent with applicable law,
including, but not limited to, applicable state and federal
confidentiality and data security requirements and applicable state
record retention and reporting requirements. The program shall
include all of the following components:
(1) Integrated clinical decision support alerts for allergies,
drug-drug interactions, duplications in therapy, and elderly alerts.
(2) Current payer formulary information.
(3) Appropriate alternatives, when needed, to support
cost-effective prescribing at the point of care, except that nothing
in this section shall be construed to authorize the program to
establish a drug formulary.
(4) Drug compendia approved by the federal Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services.
(5) Electronic prescribing consistent with applicable state and
federal law.
(6) Patient drug history.
(d) Electronic prescribing pursuant to the program shall not
interfere with a patient's existing freedom to choose a pharmacy and
shall not interfere with the prescribing decision at the point of
care.
(e) The entity administering the program shall, on or before
January 1, 2012, submit a report to the Legislature on the goals and
results of the program and whether the program should be extended.
This report shall include quantifiable data on all of the following:
(1) The number of prescribers enrolled in the program who use
electronic prescribing.
(2) The number of pharmacies participating in the program.
(3) The number and percentage of prescriptions sent electronically
as a percentage of the overall number of prescriptions reimbursed by
the plan.
(4) Expenditures on the program.
(5) Data on whether and to what extent the program achieved the
following goals:
(A) Reduced medication errors.
(B) Reduced prescription fraud.
(C) Reduced health care costs, including, but not limited to,
inpatient hospitalization, by reducing medication errors, increasing
patient medication compliance, and identifying medication
contraindications.
(f) For purposes of this section, "electronic prescribing" shall
have the same meaning as "electronic data transmission prescription"
as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 4040 of the Business and
Professions Code.
(g) This section shall be funded by funds made available by the
federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law
111-5).
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.
SECTION 1. Section 4071.2 is added to the
Business and Professions Code, to read:
4071.2. (a) The Inland Empire Health Plan E-Prescribing Pilot
Program is hereby created. For purposes of this section, "program"
means the Inland Empire Health Plan E-Prescribing Pilot Program.
(b) The program shall be administered by an entity with
certification from the Certification Commission for Healthcare
Information Technology. This entity shall be selected by the Inland
Empire Health Plan through a competitive bid process.
(c) The program shall promote health care quality and the exchange
of health care information consistent with applicable law,
including, but not limited to, applicable state and federal
confidentiality and data security requirements and applicable state
record retention and reporting requirements. The program shall
include all of the following components:
(1) Integrated clinical decision support alerts for allergies,
drug-drug interactions, duplications in therapy, and elderly alerts.
(2) Current payer formulary information.
(3) Appropriate alternatives, when needed, to support
cost-effective prescribing at the point of care.
(4) Drug compendia approved by the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services.
(5) Electronic prescribing consistent with applicable state and
federal law.
(6) Patient drug history.
(d) Electronic prescribing pursuant to the program shall not
interfere with a patient's existing freedom to choose a pharmacy and
shall not interfere with the prescribing decision at the point of
care.
(e) The entity administering the program shall, on or before
January 1, 2012, submit a report to the Legislature on the goals and
results of the program and whether the program should be extended.
This report shall include quantifiable data on all of the following:
(1) The number of prescribers enrolled in the program who use
electronic prescribing.
(2) The number of pharmacies participating in the program.
(3) The number and percentage of prescriptions sent electronically
as a percentage of the overall number of prescriptions reimbursed by
the plan.
(4) Expenditures on the program.
(5) Data on whether and to what extent the program achieved the
following goals:
(A) Reduced medication errors.
(B) Reduced prescription fraud.
(C) Reduced health care costs, including, but not limited to,
inpatient hospitalization, by reducing medication errors, increasing
patient medication compliance, and identifying medication
contraindications.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 4321, a violation of this section
shall not be a crime.
(g) For purposes of this section, notwithstanding subdivision (c)
of Section 4040, "electronic prescribing" means a prescription or
prescription-related information transmitted between the point of
care and the pharmacy using electronic media.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.