BILL NUMBER: SB 616 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 26, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 4, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 11165 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to controlled substances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 616, as amended, DeSaulnier. Controlled substances: reporting.
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,
on a weekly basis, specified information for each prescription of
Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled substances, to
the department, as specified.
This bill would require that dispensing pharmacies and
clinics report that information to the department twice a week
establish the CURES Fund within the state treasury to
receive contributions to be allocated, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to the Department of Justice for the purposes of the
CURES program, and would make related findings and declarations
.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1 . The Legislature finds and
declares all of the following:
(a) The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation
System (CURES) is a valuable investigative, preventive, and
educational tool for law enforcement, regulatory boards, educational
researchers, and the health care community. Recent budget cuts to the
Attorney General's Division of Law Enforcement have resulted in
insufficient funding to support the CURES Prescription Drug
Monitoring Program (PDMP). The PDMP is necessary to ensure health
care professionals have the necessary data to make informed treatment
decisions and to allow law enforcement to investigate diversion of
prescription drugs. Without a dedicated funding source, the CURES
PDMP is not sustainable.
(b) Each year the CURES program responds to more than 60,000
requests from practitioners and pharmacists regarding all of the
following:
(1) Helping identify and deter drug abuse and diversion of
prescription drugs through accurate and rapid tracking of Schedule
II, II, and IV controlled substances.
(2) Helping practitioners make better prescribing decisions.
(3) Helping reduce misuse, abuse, and trafficking of those drugs.
(c) Schedules II, III, and IV, controlled substances have had
deleterious effects on private and public interests, including the
misuse, abuse, and trafficking in dangerous prescription medications
resulting in injury and death. It is the intent of the Legislature to
work with stakeholders to fully fund the operation of the CURES
program which seeks to mitigate those deleterious effects, and which
has proven to be a cost-effective tool to help reduce the misuse,
abuse, and trafficking of those drugs.
SECTION 1 SEC. 2 . Section 11165 of
the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11165. (a) To assist law enforcement and regulatory agencies in
their efforts to control the diversion and resultant abuse of
Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV controlled substances, and
for statistical analysis, education, and research, the Department of
Justice shall, contingent upon the availability of adequate funds
from the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California, the
Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, the State Dentistry Fund, the Board
of Registered Nursing Fund, and the Osteopathic
Medical Board of California Contingent Fund, and the CURES Fund,
maintain the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and
Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of, and
Internet access to information regarding, 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.
(b) The reporting of Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled
substance prescriptions to CURES shall be contingent upon the
availability of adequate funds from the Department of Justice. The
department may seek and use grant funds to pay the costs incurred
from the reporting of controlled substance prescriptions to CURES.
Funds shall not be appropriated from the Contingent Fund of the
Medical Board of California, the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, the
State Dentistry Fund, the Board of Registered Nursing Fund, the
Naturopathic Doctor's Fund, or the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California Contingent Fund to pay the costs of reporting Schedule III
and Schedule IV controlled substance prescriptions to CURES.
(c) CURES shall operate under existing provisions of law to
safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of patients. Data obtained
from CURES shall only be provided to appropriate state, local, and
federal persons or public agencies for disciplinary, civil, or
criminal purposes and to other agencies or entities, as determined by
the Department of Justice, for the purpose of educating
practitioners and others in lieu of disciplinary, civil, or criminal
actions. Data may be provided to public or private entities, as
approved by the Department of Justice, for educational, peer review,
statistical, or research purposes, provided that patient information,
including any information that may identify the patient, is not
compromised. Further, data disclosed to any individual or agency as
described in this subdivision shall not be disclosed, sold, or
transferred to any third party.
(d) For each prescription for a Schedule II, Schedule III, or
Schedule IV controlled substance, as defined in the controlled
substances schedules in federal law and regulations, specifically
Sections 1308.12, 1308.13, and 1308.14, respectively, of Title 21 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, the dispensing pharmacy or clinic
shall provide the following information to the Department of Justice
twice a week on a weekly basis and in a
format specified by the Department of Justice:
(1) Full name, address, and the telephone number of the ultimate
user or research subject, or contact information as determined by the
Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, and the gender, and date of birth of the ultimate user.
(2) The prescriber's category of licensure and license number;
federal controlled substance registration number; and the state
medical license number of any prescriber using the federal controlled
substance registration number of a government-exempt facility.
(3) Pharmacy prescription number, license number, and federal
controlled substance registration number.
(4) NDC (National Drug Code) number of the controlled substance
dispensed.
(5) Quantity of the controlled substance dispensed.
(6) ICD-9 (diagnosis code), if available.
(7) Number of refills ordered.
(8) Whether the drug was dispensed as a refill of a prescription
or as a first-time request.
(9) Date of origin of the prescription.
(10) Date of dispensing of the prescription.
(e) The CURES Fund is hereby established within the State
Treasury. The Cures Fund shall consist of all funds contributed by
organizations for the purposes of funding the CURES program. Money in
the CURES Fund shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be
available for allocation to the Department of Justice for the
purposes of funding the CURES program.