By: Williams S.B. No. 1643

(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2013; March 20, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services; April 22, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 22, 2013, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1643 By: Huffman

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the monitoring of prescriptions for certain controlled substances; providing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 481.002, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subdivision (32) and adding Subdivision (54) to read as follows:

(32) "Patient" means a human for whom or an animal for which a drug:

(A) is administered, dispensed, delivered, or prescribed by a practitioner; or

(B) is intended to be administered, dispensed, delivered, or prescribed by a practitioner.

(54) "Health information exchange" means an organization that:

(A) assists in the transmission or receipt of health-related information among organizations transmitting or receiving the information according to nationally recognized standards and under an express written agreement; or

(B) compiles and organizes health-related information that is transmitted by the organization.

SECTION 2. Subsections (e) and (i), Section 491.075, Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(e) Each official prescription form or electronic prescription used to prescribe a Schedule II controlled substance must contain:

(1) information provided by the prescribing practitioner, including:

(A) the date the prescription is issued;

(B) the controlled substance prescribed;

(C) the quantity of controlled substance prescribed, shown:

(i) numerically, followed by the number written as a word, if the prescription is written; or

(ii) numerically, if the prescription is electronic;

(D) the intended use of the controlled substance or the diagnosis for which it is prescribed and the instructions for use of the substance;

(E) the practitioner's name, address, and Federal Drug Enforcement Administration number issued for prescribing a controlled substance in this state;

(F) the name, address, and date of birth or age of the person for whom the controlled substance is prescribed; and

(G) if the prescription is issued to be filled at a later date under Section 481.074(d-1), the earliest date on which a pharmacy may fill the prescription;

(2) information provided by the dispensing pharmacist, including the date the prescription is filled and the method of payment used to pay for the prescription; and

(3) for a written prescription, the signatures of the prescribing practitioner and the dispensing pharmacist or for an electronic prescription, the prescribing practitioner's electronic signature or other secure method of validation authorized by federal law.

(i) Each dispensing pharmacist shall:

(1) fill in on the official prescription form or note in the electronic prescription record each item of information given orally to the dispensing pharmacy under Subsection (h), [and] the date the prescription is filled, and the method of payment used to pay for the prescription, and:

(A) for a written prescription, fill in the dispensing pharmacist's signature; or

(B) for an electronic prescription, appropriately record the identity of the dispensing pharmacist in the electronic prescription record;

(2) retain with the records of the pharmacy for at least two years:

(A) the official prescription form or the electronic prescription record, as applicable; and

(B) the name or other patient identification required by Section 481.074(m) or (n); and

(3) send all information required by the director, including any information required to complete an official prescription form or electronic prescription record, to the director by electronic transfer or another form approved by the director not later than the seventh day after the date the prescription is completely filled.

SECTION 3. Section 481.076, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) The director may not permit any person to have access to information submitted to the director under Section 481.074(q) or 481.075 except:

(1) an investigator for the Texas Medical Board, the Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners, the State Board of Dental Examiners, the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, the Texas Board of Nursing, or the Texas State Board of Pharmacy;

(2) an authorized officer or member of the department engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of this chapter or another law governing illicit drugs in this state or another state; or

(3) if the director finds that proper need has been shown to the director:

(A) a law enforcement or prosecutorial official engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of this chapter or another law governing illicit drugs in this state or another state;

(B) a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician, as defined by Section 551.003, Occupations Code, acting at the direction of a pharmacist or a practitioner who is a physician, dentist, veterinarian, podiatrist, or advanced practice nurse or is a physician assistant described by Section 481.002(39)(D) or a nurse licensed under Chapter 301, Occupations Code, acting at the direction of a practitioner and is inquiring about a recent Schedule II, III, IV, or V prescription history of a particular patient of the practitioner; or

(C) a pharmacist or practitioner who is inquiring about the person's own dispensing or prescribing activity.

(a-1) A person authorized to receive information under Subsection (a)(3)(B) or (C) may access that information through a health information exchange.

(d) Information submitted to the director under this section may be used only for:

(1) the administration, investigation, or enforcement of this chapter or another law governing illicit drugs in this state or another state;

(2) investigatory or evidentiary purposes in connection with the functions of an agency listed in Subsection (a)(1); [or]

(3) dissemination by the director to the public in the form of a statistical tabulation or report if all information reasonably likely to reveal the identity of each patient, practitioner, or other person who is a subject of the information has been removed; or

(4) inclusion in a patient's medical records as part of the patient's medical history.

(e) The director shall remove from the information retrieval system, destroy, and make irretrievable the record of the identity of a patient submitted under this section to the director not later than the end of the 36th [12th] calendar month after the month in which the identity is entered into the system. However, the director may retain a patient identity that is necessary for use in a specific ongoing investigation conducted in accordance with this section until the 30th day after the end of the month in which the necessity for retention of the identity ends.

SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 481.127, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly gives, permits, or obtains unauthorized access to information submitted to the director under Section 481.074(q) or 481.075.

SECTION 5. Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subchapter I to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER I. INTERAGENCY PRESCRIPTION MONITORING WORK GROUP

Sec. 481.351. INTERAGENCY PRESCRIPTION MONITORING WORK GROUP. The interagency prescription monitoring work group is created to evaluate the effectiveness of prescription monitoring under this chapter and offer recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of recordkeeping and other functions related to the regulation of dispensing controlled substances by prescription.

Sec. 481.352. MEMBERS. The work group is composed of:

(1) the director or the director's designee;

(2) the commissioner of state health services or the commissioner's designee;

(3) the executive director of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy or the executive director's designee; and

(4) the executive director of the Texas Medical Board or the executive director's designee.

Sec. 481.353. MEETINGS. (a) The work group shall meet at least quarterly.

(b) The work group is subject to Chapter 551, Government Code.

(c) The work group shall proactively engage stakeholders and solicit and take into account input from the public.

Sec. 481.354. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the work group shall submit to the legislature its recommendations relating to prescription monitoring.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

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