ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 239
(By Senators Wooton, Facemyer, Fanning, Hunter, Ross, Rowe,
Snyder and Deem)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 27, 2001.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections three, four and five, article
nine, chapter sixty-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
the controlled substances monitoring act; changing the program
to a target program; adding Schedule III and IV controlled
substances to the program for targeted monitoring; making the
program contingent on funding; requiring annual program
reporting; and making technical changes to corresponding
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, four and five, article nine, chapter
sixty-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 9. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES MONITORING.
§60A-9-3. Reporting system requirements; implementation; central
repository requirement.
(a) On or before the first day of May, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, the board of pharmacy shall implement a program
wherein a central repository is established and maintained which
shall contain such that contains the information as is required by
the provisions of this article regarding Schedule II targeted
controlled substances prescriptions written or filled in this
state. On or before the first day of July, two thousand one, the
board of pharmacy shall implement procedures to change the program
to a targeted program and add specific Schedule II, Schedule III
and Schedule IV controlled substances prescriptions written or
filled in this state. In implementing this program, the board of
pharmacy shall consult with the division of public safety West
Virginia state police, the licensing boards of practitioners
affected by this article and affected practitioners.
(b) The program authorized by subsection (a) of this section
shall be designed to minimize inconvenience to patients, prescribing practitioners and pharmacists while effectuating the
collection and storage of the required information. The board of
pharmacy shall allow reporting of the required information by
electronic data transfer where feasible, and where such is
infeasible, on reporting forms promulgated by the board of
pharmacy. The information required to be submitted by the
provisions of this article shall be required to be filed no more
frequently than once in a two-month period.
(c) The program authorized by subsection (a) of this section
shall also provide for the reimbursement, in whole or in part, of
the costs reasonably and necessarily incurred by pharmacists or
pharmacies in modifying software in conformance with the reporting
requirements of this article: Provided, That the total
expenditures for reimbursements shall not exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars. The board of pharmacy is hereby authorized to
promulgate an emergency legislative rule to effectuate the
reimbursement provisions of this section in accordance with the
provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The board of
pharmacy shall provide for the electronic transmission of the
information required to be provided by this article by and through
the use of a toll-free telephone line.
(d) Continued operation of the controlled substances
monitoring program is contingent upon available funding from
legislative appropriations, federal grants or fees as authorized by
legislative rule.
(e) The board of pharmacy and the West Virginia state police
shall file a report with the Legislature on or before the first day
of January, two thousand two, and annually thereafter, which is to
include information on the effectiveness of the program; the number
of substances monitored; the cost of monitoring by classification;
the total number of actions taken as a result of information
received through the program, including, but not limited to,
disciplinary actions, prosecutions and convictions; and any
recommendations for additional modifications to this program.
§60A-9-4. Required information.
(a) Whenever a medical services provider dispenses a
controlled substance listed in the provisions of section two
hundred six, article two of this chapter, targeted by the board of
pharmacy or whenever a prescription for such controlled substances
is filled by: (i) A pharmacist or pharmacy in this state; (ii) a
hospital, or other health care facility, for out-patient use; or
(iii) a pharmacy or pharmacist, licensed by the board of pharmacy, but situated outside this state for delivery to a person residing
in this state, the medical services provider, health care facility,
pharmacist or pharmacy shall, in a manner prescribed by rules
promulgated by the board of pharmacy under this article, report the
following information, as applicable:
(1) The name, address, pharmacy prescription number and DEA
controlled substance registration number of the dispensing
pharmacy;
(2) The name, and address and date of birth of the person for
whom the prescription is written;
(3) The name, address and drug enforcement administration
controlled substances registration number of the practitioner
writing the prescription;
(4) The name and national drug code number of the Schedule II
controlled substance dispensed;
(5) The quantity and dosage of the Schedule II targeted
controlled substance dispensed;
(6) The date the prescription was filled; and
(7) The number of refills, if any, authorized by the
prescription.
(b) The board of pharmacy may prescribe by rule promulgated under this article the form to be used in prescribing a Schedule II
the targeted controlled substances if, in the determination of the
board, the administration of the requirements of this section would
be facilitated.
§60A-9-5. Confidentiality; limited access to records; period of
retention; no civil liability for required reporting.
The information required by this article to be kept by the
board of pharmacy shall be confidential and shall be open to
inspection only by inspectors and agents of the board of pharmacy,
members of the division of public safety West Virginia state police
expressly authorized by the superintendent to have access to the
information, duly authorized agents of licensing boards of
practitioners authorized to prescribe Schedule II targeted
controlled substances and persons with an enforceable court order
or regulatory agency administrative subpoena. The board shall
maintain the information required by this article for a period of
no less than five years. Notwithstanding any provisions of this
code, data obtained under the provisions of this article may be
used for compilation of educational, scholarly or statistical
purposes as long as the identities of persons or entities remain
confidential. No individual or entity required to report under section four of this article shall be subject to a claim for civil
damages or other civil relief for the reporting of information to
the board of pharmacy as required under, and in accordance with,
the provisions of this article.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
modify the controlled
substances monitoring act to expand the coverage and to allow for
targeting for specific drugs of abuse.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)