BILL ANALYSIS
AB 141
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 141 (Knox)
As Amended May 28, 1999
Majority vote
HEALTH 14-0 APPROPRIATIONS 15-6
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|Ayes:|Gallegos, Baugh, |Ayes:|Migden, Cedillo, Davis, |
| |Aanestad, Bates, Corbett, | |Hertzberg, Kuehl, |
| |Firebaugh, Kuehl, | |Maldonado, Papan, Romero, |
| |Steinberg, Strickland, | |Shelley, Steinberg, |
| |Thomson, Vincent, Wayne, | |Thomson, Wesson, Wiggins, |
| |Wildman, Zettel | |Wright, Aroner |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Brewer, Ashburn, Battin, |
| | | |Pescetti, Runner, Zettel |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Board of Pharmacy (Board) to conduct a
study of the incidence of medication errors in pharmacies and to
issue a report of its findings from the study to the Legislature
by December 1, 2002. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Board to conduct a study of the incidence of
medication errors in pharmacies in California, employing a
methodology that uses "test" prescriptions, as defined,
distributed to a statistically significant cross section of
pharmacies in the state.
2)Defines "test" prescription to be a prescription that is
prepared solely for the purposes of this study and not for the
actual medical needs of a patient, and requires all "test"
prescription drugs, after examination for purposes of the
study, to be forwarded to the Board to remain in the Board's
custody until destroyed.
3)Requires the Board to ensure that the study is based on sound
scientific and analytic principles, and permits the Board to
contract with outside entities to design the study, collect
and analyze data results, and disseminate findings.
4)States that the purpose of the study is to measure the
frequency and describe the type of medication errors occurring
AB 141
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in California, to improve patient safety, and to identify
broader issues that may become the basis for instituting
profession-wide standards and changes.
5)Specifies that the information collected and produced in the
course of the study shall be used for research purposes only
and shall be disclosed for the sole purpose of determining the
validity and propriety of the study.
6)Requires the identity of individual pharmacists and pharmacies
to remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to any
person or private, public, or other governmental entity.
7)Prohibits information derived from the study from being used
for disciplinary purposes by the Board or any other government
agency, and prohibits the information, records, and reports
received or generated in connection with the study from being
subject to disclosure or discovery in connection with any
administrative, civil or criminal investigation or proceeding.
8)Authorizes up to $600,000 to be expended from the Pharmacy
Board Contingent Fund by the California State Board of
Pharmacy for the purpose of conducting the study, and requires
the Board to reimburse the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund in
an amount equal to any private funding obtained by the Board
for these purposes.
9)Requires the Board to issue a report of its findings from the
study to the Legislature by December 1, 2002, and sunsets the
provisions of this bill on January 1, 2003.
EXISTING LAW establishes the Board of Pharmacy within the
Department of Consumer Affairs, and charges the Board with the
administration and enforcement of laws pertaining to the
practice of pharmacy.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, the cost of the study would depend on its
scope, but would likely be in the range of $500,000 to $1
million on a one-time basis from the Pharmacy Board Contingent
Fund. This bill authorizes up to $600,000 from this fund.
COMMENTS : The author introduced this bill at the request of the
Engineers and Scientists of California (ESC), the Region 8
States Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW),
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and the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA). According to
ESC and UFCW, there is strong evidence that prescription error
rates have increased dramatically, and point to a study
published in the February 1998 issue of the journal Lancet .
This study found that deaths due to medication errors in the
United States more than doubled between 1983 and 1993. CPhA
argues in support that this bill would focus the concern of the
Board on the issue of prescription errors in California. CPhA
states that while studies exist reinforcing evidence that
prescription error rates are increasing, it is important to
specifically examine the degree of this problem in California.
The Consumer Federation of California states in support that
this bill will require the Board to be more cognizant of the
existence and causes of increasing prescription error rates in
California, and that consumers will ultimately benefit from
increased awareness of prescription error rates in California.
The California Nurses Association also supports this bill,
arguing that reducing medication errors to a minimum should be
one of the prime regulatory objectives of the Board.
A similar bill requiring a study of prescriptions errors, AB
1889 (Knox), was vetoed in 1998. Among the points raised in the
veto message, the Governor stated that AB 1889's reference to
"placebo" prescriptions was inappropriate, and that a study
should use "fictitious," rather than "placebo," prescriptions.
This bill addresses that concern by using "test" prescriptions,
rather than the "placebo" prescriptions of AB 1889. The
Governor also suggested that a study of this problem could be
done by national organizations rather than the Board of
Pharmacy.
Analysis Prepared by : Vincent D. Marchand / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN:
0001486