Bill Text: WV HB4372 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requiring the Board of Pharmacy to make appropriate referrals of reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 8-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-31 - To House Health and Human Resources [HB4372 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB4372-Introduced.html

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WEST virginia legislature

2018 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4372

By Delegates Sobonya, C. Miller, C. Romine, Frich, Butler, Summers, Rowan, Ward and Householder

[Introduced January 31, 2018; Referred
to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §30-5-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-5-25a, all relating generally to requiring the Board of Pharmacy to review, investigate, and make appropriate referrals of reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances; authorizing the board to investigate suspicious orders by controlled substances registrants and to conduct hearings on the denial, suspension or revocation of registrations; directing the board to maintain a log of reports of suspicious orders; requiring reports to be reviewed by the  Attorney General; and directing reports of suspicious orders to be referred to agencies and authorities with appropriate jurisdiction.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 5. PHARMACISTS, PHARMACY TECHNICIANS, PHARMACY INTERNS, AND PHARMACIES.

§30-5-6. Powers and duties of the board.

The board has all the powers and duties set forth in this article, by rule, in §30-1-1 et seq. of this code and elsewhere in law, including the power to:

(a) Hold meetings;

(b) Establish additional requirements for a license, permit and registration;

(c) Establish procedures for submitting, approving and rejecting applications for a license, permit and registration;

(d) Determine the qualifications of any applicant for a license, permit and registration;

(e) Establish a fee schedule;

(f) Issue, renew, deny, suspend, revoke or reinstate a license, permit, and registration;

(g) Prepare, conduct, administer and grade written, oral or written and oral examinations for a license and registration and establish what constitutes passage of the examination;

(h) Contract with third parties to administer the examinations required under the provisions of this article;

(i) Maintain records of the examinations the board or a third party administers, including the number of persons taking the examination and the pass and fail rate;

(j) Regulate mail order pharmacies;

(k) Maintain an office and hire, discharge, establish the job requirements and fix the compensation of employees and contract with persons necessary to enforce the provisions of this article. Inspectors shall be licensed pharmacists;

(l) Investigate alleged violations of the provisions of this article, legislative rules, orders and final decisions of the board;

(m) Conduct disciplinary hearings of persons regulated by the board;

(n) Determine disciplinary action and issue orders;

(o) Institute appropriate legal action for the enforcement of the provisions of this article;

(p) Maintain an accurate registry of names and addresses of all persons regulated by the board;

(q) Keep accurate and complete records of its proceedings, and certify the same as may be necessary and appropriate;

(r) Propose rules in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement the provisions of this article;

(s) Sue and be sued in its official name as an agency of this state;

(t) Confer with the Attorney General or his or her assistant in connection with legal matters and questions; and

(u) Investigate reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances that occur at any point in the distribution chain from the manufacturer to the end consumer;

(v) Conduct hearings for the denial, suspension or revocation of a controlled substance registration pursuant to §60A-304 (a) and §60A-304 (b) of this code; and

(u) (w) Take all other actions necessary and proper to effectuate the purposes of this article.

§30-5-25a. Reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances; logging, review and referral.

(a) The board shall maintain a log of suspicious orders for controlled substances occurring at any point in the distribution chain from the manufacturer to the end consumer.  The board shall, at a minimum, record the date the board receives a report of a suspicious order, the parties allegedly involved and the date that the board forwards the report to the Attorney General.

(b) Upon receipt of any report or statement indicating that a suspicious order or orders for controlled substances has or have occurred, the board shall immediately log the receipt of the report and forward the report to the Attorney General for review. The purpose of the review is solely to determine whether the report should be referred to another authority with jurisdiction over the matters appearing in the report or whether the board itself has jurisdiction.

(c) After review of a report, the Attorney General shall refer the report and related information to the appropriate authority or authorities as listed below:

(1) If the report describes or indicates a suspicious order or orders that appear to have been perpetrated by a controlled substance registrant other than a pharmacist or pharmacy technician licensed by the board, then the Attorney General shall refer the report and related information to a law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction over that registrant and to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency;

(2) If the report describes or indicates a suspicious order or orders that appear to have been perpetrated by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician licensed by the board, then the Attorney General shall notify the board and the board may treat the report and related information as a complaint of unprofessional conduct by a licensee and pursue an investigation of the alleged conduct pursuant to the provisions of this article and the rules of the board;

(3) If the report describes or indicates a suspicious order or orders that appear to have been perpetrated by a medical professional who is licensed by another board of this state, then the Attorney General shall refer the report and related information to the appropriate professional licensing board to determine if unprofessional conduct has occurred under the standards of that profession;

(4) If the report describes or indicates a suspicious order or orders that appear to involve a patient or consumer who is obtaining or has obtained similar controlled substances or antagonistic medications from multiple prescribers at the same time, then the Attorney General shall inform the board and the board shall notify the prescribers of the orders received and shall also notify each professional licensing board with jurisdiction over the prescribers involved; and

(5) If the report and related information does not, on its face, describe a suspicious order or orders, or if there is sufficient, credible reason and justification for the order or orders reported, then the Attorney General shall inform the board and the board may close its file in this matter with no referral: Provided, That closure of the file may not bar reconsideration of the material by the board if other, similar orders involving the same party or parties arise within two years of the closure of the board’s file for the original report.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Board of Pharmacy to log reports of suspicious transactions in controlled substances, to refer all reports to the Attorney General to determine which agencies may have jurisdiction to investigate and pursue appropriate proceedings, and then make referral to appropriate enforcement authorities.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.