BILL REQ. #: H-4197.1
| State of Washington | 61st Legislature | 2010 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/14/10. Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.
AN ACT Relating to authorizing a privately funded prescription monitoring program; amending RCW 70.225.010, 70.225.020, 70.225.040, and 70.225.060; adding new sections to chapter 70.225 RCW; and repealing RCW 70.225.030 and 70.225.050.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 70.225.010 and 2007 c 259 s 42 are each amended to
read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Controlled substance" has the meaning provided in RCW
69.50.101.
(2) "Department" means the department of health.
(3) "Patient" means the person or animal who is the ultimate user
of a drug for whom a prescription is issued or for whom a drug is
dispensed.
(4) "Dispenser" means a practitioner or pharmacy that delivers a
Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substance to the ultimate user,
but does not include:
(a) A practitioner or other authorized person who administers, as
defined in RCW 69.41.010, a controlled substance; or
(b) A licensed wholesale distributor or manufacturer, as defined in
chapter 18.64 RCW, of a controlled substance.
(5) "Privately funded prescription monitoring program" means a
single, statewide program established and funded in the private sector,
and approved by the secretary of the department, to monitor the
prescribing and dispensing of all Schedule II, III, IV, and V
controlled substances and additional drugs identified by the board of
pharmacy as demonstrating potential for abuse by all professionals
licensed to prescribe or dispense such substances in this state.
(6) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 (1) Between January 1st and March 30th of
each calendar year, proposals for a privately funded prescription
monitoring program may be submitted to the secretary.
(2) By no later than July 1st of each calendar year, the secretary
must complete review of proposals for privately funded prescription
monitoring programs, if any, submitted to the department by March 30th
of that year, and must complete a review of the privately funded
prescription monitoring program currently in effect, if any. Within
thirty days of completing the review, the secretary may select the
qualified privately funded prescription monitoring program which will
be in place for the succeeding twelve months. At any time, in the
event a privately funded prescription monitoring program ceases to
operate for any reason, the secretary has the authority to authorize
another qualified privately funded prescription monitoring program to
replace it.
(3) The secretary may choose only one privately funded prescription
monitoring program to operate in the state at any given time.
(4) The secretary has the authority to:
(a) Select none of the proposed privately funded prescription
monitoring programs;
(b) Remove the privately funded prescription monitoring program
currently in place;
(c) Select a new privately funded prescription monitoring program;
or
(d) Renew the authorization for the privately funded prescription
monitoring program currently in place.
(5) Any privately funded prescription monitoring program that is
approved by the secretary must meet the following requirements:
(a) Demonstrate to the secretary that it has funding adequate to
support its operation. This subsection shall not prohibit the
privately funded prescription monitoring program from accepting state
funding, funds from federal or private grants, or donations.
(b) Demonstrate to the secretary that it possesses electronic
infrastructure capable of receiving, storing, and retrieving data of
the type and magnitude contemplated by the operation of this chapter,
and allow real-time access, to the extent real-time access is
technologically feasible, to that data; and
(c) Demonstrate to the secretary that its electronic
infrastructure, data storage, and computer software is capable of
exchanging information of a type and in a manner that is compatible
with similar prescription monitoring programs in other states.
(6) The secretary may withdraw the department's authorization of
the privately funded prescription monitoring program if it fails to
meet all of the requirements of this section.
(7) This chapter does not require the secretary to select or
continue authorizing any privately funded prescription monitoring
program.
Sec. 3 RCW 70.225.020 and 2007 c 259 s 43 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) When ((sufficient funding is provided for such purpose through
federal or private grants, or is appropriated by the legislature, the
department shall establish and maintain a prescription monitoring
program to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of all Schedules II,
III, IV, and V controlled substances and any additional drugs
identified by the board of pharmacy as demonstrating a potential for
abuse by all professionals licensed to prescribe or dispense such
substances in this state. The program shall be designed to improve
health care quality and effectiveness by reducing abuse of controlled
substances, reducing duplicative prescribing and overprescribing of
controlled substances, and improving controlled substance prescribing
practices with the intent of eventually establishing an electronic
database available in real time to dispensers and prescribers of
control [controlled] substances. As much as possible, the department
should establish a common database with other states)) the secretary
has approved a privately funded prescription monitoring program, all
dispensers, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, must
comply with the selected program's instructions for connecting to its
network and begin transmitting all required data when its connection
with the program is confirmed.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, each
dispenser shall submit to the ((department)) privately funded
prescription monitoring program by electronic means information
regarding each prescription dispensed for a drug included under
subsection (1) of this section. Drug prescriptions for more than
immediate one day use should be reported. The information submitted
for each prescription shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Patient identifier;
(b) Drug dispensed;
(c) Date of dispensing;
(d) Quantity dispensed;
(e) Prescriber; and
(f) Dispenser.
(3) Each dispenser shall submit the information in accordance with
transmission methods established by the ((department)) privately funded
prescription monitoring program.
(4) The data submission requirements of this section do not apply
to:
(a) Medications provided to patients receiving inpatient services
provided at hospitals licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW; or patients of
such hospitals receiving services at the clinics, day surgery areas, or
other settings within the hospital's license where the medications are
administered in single doses; or
(b) Pharmacies operated by the department of corrections for the
purpose of providing medications to offenders in department of
corrections institutions who are receiving pharmaceutical services from
a department of corrections pharmacy, except that the department of
corrections must submit data related to each offender's current
prescriptions for controlled substances upon the offender's release
from a department of corrections institution.
(((5) The department shall seek federal grants to support the
activities described in chapter 259, Laws of 2007. The department may
not require a practitioner or a pharmacist to pay a fee or tax
specifically dedicated to the operation of the system.))
Sec. 4 RCW 70.225.040 and 2007 c 259 s 45 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Prescription information submitted to the ((department))
privately funded prescription monitoring program shall be confidential,
in compliance with chapter 70.02 RCW and federal health care
information privacy requirements and not subject to disclosure, except
as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
(2) The department shall ((maintain)) verify that the privately
funded prescription monitoring program has procedures in place to
ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of patients and patient
information collected, recorded, transmitted, and maintained is not
disclosed to persons except as in subsections (3) and (4) of this
section.
(3) The ((department may)) privately funded prescription monitoring
program must provide data in the prescription monitoring program to the
following persons:
(a) Persons authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled
substances, for the purpose of providing medical or pharmaceutical care
for their patients;
(b) An individual who requests the individual's own prescription
monitoring information;
(c) ((Health professional licensing, certification, or regulatory
agency or entity;)) Appropriate local, state, and federal law enforcement or
prosecutorial officials who are engaged in a bona fide specific
investigation involving a designated person, and who have appropriate
warrants or court orders permitting such disclosure;
(d)
(((e))) (d) Authorized practitioners of the department of social
and health services regarding medicaid program recipients;
(((f))) (e) The director or director's designee within the
department of labor and industries regarding workers' compensation
claimants;
(((g))) (f) The director or the director's designee within the
department of corrections regarding offenders committed to the
department of corrections; and
(((h))) (g) Other entities under grand jury subpoena or court
order((; and)).
(i) Personnel of the department for purposes of administration and
enforcement of this chapter or chapter 69.50 RCW
(4) The ((department)) privately funded prescription monitoring
program may provide data to public or private entities for statistical,
research, or educational purposes after removing information that could
be used to identify individual patients, dispensers, prescribers, and
persons who received prescriptions from dispensers.
(((5) A dispenser or practitioner acting in good faith is immune
from any civil, criminal, or administrative liability that might
otherwise be incurred or imposed for requesting, receiving, or using
information from the program.))
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A dispenser or practitioner acting in good
faith is immune from any civil, criminal, or administrative liability
that might otherwise be incurred or imposed for requesting, receiving,
or using information from the program.
Sec. 6 RCW 70.225.060 and 2007 c 259 s 48 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) A dispenser who knowingly fails to submit prescription
monitoring information to the ((department)) privately funded
prescription monitoring program as required by this chapter or
knowingly submits incorrect prescription information is subject to
disciplinary action under chapter 18.130 RCW.
(2) A person authorized to have prescription monitoring information
under this chapter who knowingly discloses such information in
violation of this chapter is subject to civil penalty, as determined by
the secretary by rule.
(3) A person authorized to have prescription monitoring information
under this chapter who uses such information in a manner or for a
purpose in violation of this chapter is subject to civil penalty, as
determined by the secretary by rule.
(4) In accordance with chapter 70.02 RCW and federal health care
information privacy requirements, any physician or pharmacist
authorized to access a patient's prescription monitoring may discuss or
release that information to other health care providers involved with
the patient in order to provide safe and appropriate care coordination.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 The following acts or parts of acts are each
repealed:
(1) RCW 70.225.030 (Enhancement of program -- Feasibility study) and
2007 c 259 s 44; and
(2) RCW 70.225.050 (Department may contract for operation of
program) and 2007 c 259 s 46.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 Sections 2 and 5 of this act are each added
to chapter