Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Health Care & Wellness Committee

HB 1593

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Allows the Department of Health (Department) to provide data in the Prescription Monitoring Program to personnel of a test site that is engaged by agreement with a person authorized to prescribe and dispense drugs for medical care.
Requires test sites authorized to receive access to data in the Prescription Monitoring Program to be licensed by the Department and certified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Background:

Prescription Monitoring Program.

In 2007, the Department of Health (Department) was authorized to create a Prescription Monitoring Program. Practitioners and pharmacies that dispense Schedules II, III, IV, and V drugs are required to report information regarding each drug prescription, for more than one day use, identified as a Schedules II, III, IV, and V drugs to the Department. The program's purpose is to improve patient care and stop prescription drug misuse. This information is then made available to authorized persons, such as medical providers and pharmacists.

Test sites.

A test site is any facility or site, public or private, which analyzes materials derived from the human body for the purposes of health care, treatment, or screening. A test site must be licensed by the state for the tests it performs.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) certifies laboratories through the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. The DHHS notifies federal agencies of the laboratories and instrumented initial testing facilities (IITF) currently certified to meet the standards of the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. A notice listing all currently certified laboratories and IITFs is published in the Federal Register during the first week of each month. If any laboratory or IITF's certification is suspended or revoked, the laboratory/IITF will be omitted from subsequent lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Mandatory Guidelines.

Summary of Bill:

The Department of Health (Department) may provide data in the Prescription Monitoring Program to personnel of a test site if:

a person authorized to prescribe or dispense drugs engages the test site to provide assistance in determining which medications are being used by a patient under his or her care;
the test site has a procedure to ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of patients and their information are not disclosed to unauthorized parties;
the test site is licensed by the Department; and
the test site is certified as a drug testing laboratory by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration.