A dispenser shall electronically submit to the Department specified information for each Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance dispensed. The Department may issue a waiver to a dispenser who is unable to submit the required information electronically. If a waiver is obtained, a dispenser may submit the required information in paper format or by other approved means. Beginning January 1, 2019, the Department shall begin phasing in a requirement that dispensers report data in real time with all reported data to be submitted in real time by January 1, 2020.

Prescribers shall utilize the program prior to prescribing a Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance, except in the following cases: (1) medical emergency; (2) circumstances beyond the control of the prescriber; (3) terminal illness or long-term care facility residency; (4) when a patient is under the care of a hospital or ambulatory surgical center that distributes controlled substances for the purpose of inpatient care or issues prescriptions at the time of discharge in a supply not to exceed five days; (5) when the controlled substance is administered directly to the patient in an emergency room setting; or (6) when there is a previously established prescriber-patient relationship and a nonopioid controlled substance, other than a benzodiazepine, is being prescribed.

All dispensation information shall be kept confidential with specified exceptions. This act authorizes the release of non-personal, general information for statistical, educational, and research purposes. The Department shall review the dispensation information and, if there is reasonable cause to believe a violation of law or breach of professional standards may have occurred, the Department shall notify the appropriate law enforcement or professional regulatory entity and provide the dispensation information required for an investigation. No dispensation information submitted to the Department shall be used by any local, state, or federal authority to prevent an individual from owning or obtaining a firearm, or used as the sole basis for probable cause to obtain an arrest or search warrant in a criminal investigation.

Beginning August 28, 2019, the Department shall maintain an individual's prescription and dispensation information obtained under this act for a maximum of two years from the date of dispensation.

Any individual who has authority under this act to access the program's database shall complete a Department-approved training course prior to accessing the database for the first time.

Dispensers who knowingly fail to submit the required information or who knowingly submit incorrect dispensation information shall be subject to a penalty of $1,000 per violation. Any persons who are authorized to have prescription or dispensation information and who knowingly disclose such information or who knowingly use it in a manner and for a purpose in violation of this act shall be guilty of a Class E felony. A prescriber who fails to utilize the program as required in the act shall be subject to disciplinary action by his or her respective professional board.

If a political subdivision of this state is operating a prescription monitoring program for controlled substances, the political subdivision's program shall be permitted to continue operating until such time as the Department's program is available for statewide utilization.

This provisions of this act shall automatically sunset on August 28, 2023, unless reauthorized.

This act is similar to SCS/SBs 314 & 340 (2017), SB 231 (2017), SS/SCS/SB 74 (2017), HB 1892 (2016), SB 768 (2016), HCS/SS/SCS/SBs 63 & 111 (2015), HCS/HB 130 (2015), and HCS/HB 816 (2015).

SARAH HASKINS