BILL NUMBER: AB 2018	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 5, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Thomson  and Runner
  , Runner, and Migden 
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aanestad  and Aroner
  , Aroner, Bates, Cardenas, Cox, Honda, and
Strom-Martin  )
    (Coauthor:  Senator Bowen) 

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2000

   An act to amend Sections  11164 and 11165  
11158, 11164, 11165, 11167, and 11167.5  of, and to repeal
Sections  11161, 11167, 11167.5   11159.2,
11161, 11162, 11162.5, 11163, 11168  , and 11169 of, the Health
and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2018, as amended, Thomson.  Controlled substances:  Schedule
II: triplicate prescription.
    (1)  Existing law provides that no person shall
prescribe a controlled substance, nor shall any person fill,
compound, or dispense such a prescription unless it complies with
specified requirements, one of which is that prescriptions for
Schedule II controlled substances shall be prepared in triplicate.
The Department of Justice is required to issue these triplicate
prescriptions to any practitioner authorized to write a prescription
for Schedule II controlled substances.   Existing law also
imposes specified printing and distribution requirements on
prescription blanks, provides that it is a crime to counterfeit or
knowingly possess official prescription blanks, limits the number of
prescription blank groups issued to an individual prescriber by the
Department of Justice, requires the retention of a prescriber's
prescription book for 3 years, and provides that, subject to a
specified alternate procedure and related requirements, a
prescription for a Schedule II drug for use by a terminally ill
patient is exempt from specified reporting requirements. 
   This bill would eliminate the triplicate prescription requirement
for Schedule II controlled substances.  The bill would make
conforming changes to related provisions  and would repeal
specified printing and distribution requirements applicable to
prescription blanks for Schedule II and other drugs, provisions
making it a crime to counterfeit or knowingly possess prescription
blanks, the 3-year recordkeeping requirement, and the alternate
Schedule II prescribing procedure applicable to terminally ill
patients  .
    (2)  Existing law provides for the electronic monitoring
of the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II controlled
substances pursuant to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review
and Evaluation System (CURES) program, as specified.  The program is
scheduled to become inoperative on July 1, 2003.
   This bill would continue the program indefinitely by repealing its
repeal date.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  yes.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.   Section 11158 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read: 
   11158.  (a) Except as provided in Section 11159 or in subdivision
(b) of this section, no controlled substance classified in Schedule
II shall be dispensed without a prescription meeting the requirements
of this chapter.  Except as provided in Section 11159 or when
dispensed directly to an ultimate user by a practitioner, other than
a pharmacist or pharmacy, no controlled substance classified in
Schedule III, IV, or V may be dispensed without a prescription
meeting the requirements of this chapter.
   (b) A practitioner specified in Section 11150 may dispense
directly to an ultimate user a controlled substance classified in
Schedule II in an amount not to exceed a 72-hour supply for the
patient in accordance with directions for use given by the dispensing
practitioner only where the patient is not expected to require any
additional amount of the controlled substance beyond the 72 hours.
  Practitioners dispensing drugs pursuant to this subdivision
shall meet the requirements of subdivision (f) of Section 11164.

   (c) Except as otherwise prohibited or limited by law, a
practitioner specified in Section 11150, may administer controlled
substances in the regular practice of his or her profession.   
  SEC. 2.  Section 11159.2 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
 
   11159.2.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance for use by a
patient who has a terminal illness shall not be subject to Section
11164.
   (b) (1) The prescription shall be signed and dated by the
prescriber and shall contain the name of the person for whom the
controlled substance is prescribed, the name and quantity of the
controlled substance prescribed, and directions for use.  The
signature, date, and information required by this paragraph shall be
wholly written in ink or indelible pencil in the handwriting of the
prescriber.
   (2) The prescription shall also contain the address of the person
for whom the controlled substance is prescribed, as provided in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 11164, and shall contain
the name, address, telephone number, category of professional
licensure, and federal controlled substance registration number of
the prescriber, as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 11164.
   (3) The prescription shall also indicate that the prescriber has
certified that the patient is terminally ill by the words "11159.2
exemption."
   (c) A pharmacist may fill a prescription pursuant to this section
when there is a technical error in the certification required by
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), provided that he or she has
personal knowledge of the patient's terminal illness, and
subsequently returns the prescription to the prescriber for
correction within 72 hours.
   (d) For purposes of this section, "terminally ill" means a patient
who meets all of the following conditions:
   (1) In the reasonable medical judgment of the prescribing
physician, the patient has been determined to be suffering from an
illness that is incurable and irreversible.
   (2) In the reasonable medical judgment of the prescribing
physician, the patient's illness will, if the illness takes its
normal course, bring about the death of the patient within a period
of one year.
   (3) The patient's treatment by the physician prescribing a
Schedule II controlled substance pursuant to this section primarily
is for the control of pain, symptom management, or both, rather than
for cure of the illness.   
  SEC. 3.   Section 11161 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.   
  SEC. 2.  
  SEC. 4.  Section 11162 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
 
   11162.  The prescription blanks shall be printed on distinctive
paper, the serial number of the group being shown on each form, and
each form being serially numbered.  The prescription blanks shall
bear the preprinted name, address, and category of professional
licensure of the practitioner to whom they are issued, and the
federal registry number for controlled substances.   
  SEC. 5.  Section 11162.5 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
 
   11162.5.  (a) Every person who counterfeits a prescription blank
purporting to be an official prescription blank prepared and issued
pursuant to Section 11161, or knowingly possesses more than three
such counterfeited prescription blanks, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison or by imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than one year.
   (b) Every person who knowingly possesses three or fewer
counterfeited prescription blanks purporting to be official
prescription blanks prepared and issued pursuant to Section 11161,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the
county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both.   
  SEC. 6.  Section 11163 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
 
   11163.  Not more than one such prescription group shall in any
case be issued or furnished by the Department of Justice to the same
prescriber at one time.   
  SEC. 7.   Section 11164 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
   11164.  Except as provided in Section 11167, no person shall
prescribe a controlled substance, nor shall any person fill,
compound, or dispense such a prescription unless it complies with the
requirements of this section.
   (a) Each prescription for a controlled substance classified in
Schedule II, III, IV, or V, except as authorized by subdivision
 (c)   (b)  , shall be subject to the
following requirements:
   (1) The prescription shall be signed and dated by the prescriber
and shall contain the name of the person for whom the controlled
substance is prescribed, the name and quantity of the controlled
substance prescribed, and directions for use.   With respect
to prescriptions   Prescriptions  for controlled
substances classified in Schedules  III and IV, 
 II, III, and IV shall include  the signature, date, and
information required by this paragraph  , and  shall be
wholly written in ink or indelible pencil in the handwriting of the
prescriber.
   (2) In addition, the prescription shall contain the name, address,
telephone number, category of professional licensure, and federal
controlled substance registration number of the prescriber.  The
information required by this paragraph shall be either preprinted
upon the prescription blank, typewritten, rubber stamped, or printed
by hand.  Notwithstanding any provision in this section, the
prescriber's address, telephone number, category of professional
licensure, or federal controlled substances registration number need
not appear on the prescription if that information is readily
retrievable in the pharmacy.
   (3) The prescription shall also contain the address of the person
for whom the controlled substance is prescribed.  If the prescriber
does not specify this address on the prescription, the pharmacist
filling the prescription or an employee acting under the direction of
the pharmacist shall write or type the address on the prescription
or maintain this information in a readily retrievable form in the
pharmacy.
   (b) Any controlled substance classified in Schedule  II,
 III, IV, or V may be dispensed upon an oral or
electronically transmitted prescription, which shall be reduced to
writing by the pharmacist filling the prescription or by any other
person expressly authorized by provisions of the Business and
Professions Code.  The date of issue of the prescription and all the
information required for a written prescription by subdivision
 (b)   (a)  shall be included in the
written record of the prescription.  The pharmacist need not reduce
to writing the address, telephone number, license classification, or
federal registry number of the prescriber or the address of the
patient if that information is readily retrievable in the pharmacy.
Pursuant to authorization of the prescriber, any employee of the
prescriber on behalf of the prescriber may orally or electronically
transmit a prescription for a controlled substance classified in
Schedule  II,  III, IV, or V, if in these cases the
written record of the prescription required by this subdivision
specifies the name of the employee of the prescriber transmitting the
prescription.
   (c) The use of commonly used abbreviations shall not invalidate an
otherwise valid prescription.
   (d) Notwithstanding any provision of subdivisions (a) and (b),
prescriptions for a controlled substance classified in Schedule V may
be for more than one person in the same family with the same medical
need.   
  SEC. 3.  
  SEC. 8.   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 controlled substances, and for statistical analysis,
education, and research, the Department of Justice shall, contingent
upon the availability of adequate funds, establish the Controlled
Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for the
electronic monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule
II controlled substances by all practitioners authorized to prescribe
or dispense these controlled substances.
   (b) The CURES Program 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.  
   (c) The sum of one million fifty thousand dollars ($1,050,000) is
hereby appropriated from the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund to the
Board of Pharmacy for the purpose of entering into an interagency
agreement with the Department of Justice for the implementation,
operation, and evaluation of CURES.   
  SEC. 4.  Section 11167 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.

  SEC. 5.  Section 11167.5 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.

  SEC. 6.  
  SEC. 9.  Section 11167 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read: 
   11167.  Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 11164, in an
emergency where failure to issue a prescription may result in loss of
life or intense suffering, an order for a Schedule II controlled
substance may be dispensed on an oral  , written, 
or electronic data transmission order, subject to all of the
following requirements:
   (a) The order contains all information required by subdivision (a)
of Section 11164.
   (b)  Any written order is signed and dated by the
prescriber in indelible pencil or ink, and the   The
 pharmacy reduces any oral or electronic data transmission order
to writing prior to actually dispensing the controlled substance.
   (c) The prescriber provides a  triplicate  
written  prescription, completed as provided by subdivision (a)
of Section 11164, by the seventh day following the transmission of
the initial order; a postmark by the seventh day following
transmission of the initial order shall constitute compliance.
   (d) If the prescriber fails to comply with subdivision (c), the
pharmacy shall so notify the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in
writing within 144 hours of the prescriber's failure to do so and
shall make and retain a written, readily retrievable record of the
prescription, including the date and method of notification of the
Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.   
  SEC. 10.  Section 11167.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read: 
   11167.5.  (a) An order for a controlled substance classified in
Schedule II in a licensed skilled nursing facility, an intermediate
care facility, or a licensed home health agency providing hospice
care may be dispensed upon an oral or electronically transmitted
prescription.  Prior to filling the prescription, the pharmacist
shall reduce it to writing in ink or indelible pencil in the
handwriting of the pharmacist  upon an official prescription
form issued by the Department of Justice for that purpose  .
  The prescriptions shall  be prepared in triplicate and
shall  contain the date the prescription was orally or
electronically transmitted by the prescriber, the name of the person
for whom the prescription was authorized, the name and address of the
licensed facility or home health agency providing hospice care in
which that person is a patient, the name and quantity of the
controlled substance prescribed, the directions for use, and the
name, address, category of professional licensure, and federal
controlled substance registration number of the prescriber.  The
 duplicate   prescription  shall be
retained by the pharmacist, and  the triplicate shall be
forwarded to the prescriber by the end of the month in which the
prescription was issued.  The original  shall be properly
endorsed by the pharmacist with the pharmacy's state license number,
the signature of the pharmacist, the name and address of the
pharmacy, and the signature of the person who received the controlled
substances for the licensed facility or home health agency providing
hospice care  and shall be forwarded by the pharmacist to
the Department of Justice at the end of the month in which the
prescription was filled  .  A skilled nursing facility,
intermediate care facility, or licensed home health agency providing
hospice care shall forward to the dispensing pharmacist a copy of any
signed telephone orders, chart orders, or related documentation
substantiating each oral or electronically transmitted prescription
transaction under this section.
   (b) For the purposes of this section, "hospice care" means
interdisciplinary health care which is designed to alleviate the
physical, emotional, social, and spiritual discomforts of an
individual who is experiencing the last phases of a terminal disease
and to provide supportive care for the primary care person and the
family of the patient under hospice care.   
  SEC. 11.  Section 11168 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
 
   11168.  The prescription book containing the prescriber's copies
of prescriptions issued shall be retained by the prescriber which
shall be preserved for three years.   
  SEC. 12.   Section 11169 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.