Bill Text: CA AB679 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 679 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Controlled substances.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Passed) 2015-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 778, Statutes of 2015. [AB679 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB679-Chaptered.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 679	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  778
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 11, 2015
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 11, 2015
	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 25, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 18, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Travis Allen

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2015

   An act to amend Section 11165.1 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to controlled substances, and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 679, Travis Allen. Controlled substances.
    Existing law classifies certain controlled substances into
designated schedules. Existing law requires the Department of Justice
to maintain the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and
Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of the
prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule
IV controlled substances by all practitioners authorized to
prescribe or dispense these controlled substances. Existing law
authorizes the Department of Justice to provide the history of
controlled substances dispensed to an individual to a licensed health
care practitioner, pharmacist, or both, providing care or services
to the individual. By January 1, 2016, or upon licensure in the case
of a pharmacist, or upon receipt of a federal Drug Enforcement
Administration registration in the case of another health care
practitioner authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or
dispense controlled substances, whichever respective event occurs
later, existing law requires those persons to apply to the Department
of Justice to obtain approval to access information contained in the
CURES database regarding the controlled substance history of a
patient under his or her care.
   This bill would extend those January 1, 2016, deadlines to July 1,
2016.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 11165.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
   11165.1.  (a) (1) (A) (i) A health care practitioner authorized to
prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or dispense Schedule II,
Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled substances pursuant to
Section 11150 shall, before July 1, 2016, or upon receipt of a
federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration, whichever
occurs later, submit an application developed by the Department of
Justice to obtain approval to access information online regarding the
controlled substance history of a patient that is stored on the
Internet and maintained within the Department of Justice, and, upon
approval, the department shall release to that practitioner the
electronic history of controlled substances dispensed to an
individual under his or her care based on data contained in the CURES
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP).
   (ii) A pharmacist shall, before July 1, 2016, or upon licensure,
whichever occurs later, submit an application developed by the
Department of Justice to obtain approval to access information online
regarding the controlled substance history of a patient that is
stored on the Internet and maintained within the Department of
Justice, and, upon approval, the department shall release to that
pharmacist the electronic history of controlled substances dispensed
to an individual under his or her care based on data contained in the
CURES PDMP.
   (B) An application may be denied, or a subscriber may be
suspended, for reasons which include, but are not limited to, the
following:
   (i) Materially falsifying an application for a subscriber.
   (ii) Failure to maintain effective controls for access to the
patient activity report.
   (iii) Suspended or revoked federal DEA registration.
   (iv) Any subscriber who is arrested for a violation of law
governing controlled substances or any other law for which the
possession or use of a controlled substance is an element of the
crime.
   (v) Any subscriber accessing information for any other reason than
caring for his or her patients.
   (C) Any authorized subscriber shall notify the Department of
Justice within 30 days of any changes to the subscriber account.
   (2) A health care practitioner authorized to prescribe, order,
administer, furnish, or dispense Schedule II, Schedule III, or
Schedule IV controlled substances pursuant to Section 11150 or a
pharmacist shall be deemed to have complied with paragraph (1) if the
licensed health care practitioner or pharmacist has been approved to
access the CURES database through the process developed pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 209 of the Business and Professions Code.
   (b) Any request for, or release of, a controlled substance history
pursuant to this section shall be made in accordance with guidelines
developed by the Department of Justice.
   (c) In order to prevent the inappropriate, improper, or illegal
use of Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled
substances, the Department of Justice may initiate the referral of
the history of controlled substances dispensed to an individual based
on data contained in CURES to licensed health care practitioners,
pharmacists, or both, providing care or services to the individual.
   (d) The history of controlled substances dispensed to an
individual based on data contained in CURES that is received by a
practitioner or pharmacist from the Department of Justice pursuant to
this section shall be considered medical information subject to the
provisions of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act
contained in Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 56) of Division 1 of
the Civil Code.
   (e) Information concerning a patient's controlled substance
history provided to a prescriber or pharmacist pursuant to this
section shall include prescriptions for controlled substances listed
in Sections 1308.12, 1308.13, and 1308.14 of Title 21 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
  SEC. 2.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to ensure that health care practitioners and pharmacists
are not out of compliance with the requirement to apply to access
data contained in the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and
Evaluation System Prescription Drug Monitoring Program on January 1,
2016, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.