Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1250 3
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By: Representative L. Johnson 5
By: Senators J. Boyd, Irvin 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG MO NITORING 9
PROGRAM ADVISORY COM MITTEE; TO AMEND THE 10
CONFIDENTIALITY OF A ND THE PROVIDING OF INFORMATION 11
BY THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROG RAM; AND FOR 12
OTHER PURPOSES. 13
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Subtitle 16
TO AMEND THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING 17
PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE; AND TO AMEND 18
THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF AND THE PROVIDING 19
OF INFORMATION BY THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG 20
MONITORING PROGRAM. 21
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 24
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 20 -7-605(c), concerning the creation and 26
members of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Committee, is 27
amended to read as follows: 28
(c) The committee shall consist of: 29
(1) One (1) representative designated by ea ch of the following 30
organizations: 31
(A) The Arkansas Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.; 32
(B) The Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police; 33
(C) The Arkansas Drug Director; 34
(D) The Arkansas Medical Society, Inc.; 35
(E) The Arkansas Nurses Association; 36 HB1250
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(F) The Arkansas Optometric Association, Inc.; 1
(G) The Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association; 2
(H) The Arkansas Pharmacist's Association; 3
(I) The Arkansas Podiatric Medical Association, Inc.; 4
(J) The Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association; 5
(K) The Arkansas Sheriffs' Association; 6
(L) The Arkansas State Dental Association; 7
(M) The Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association; 8
(N) The State Board of Health; and 9
(O) The Arkansas Public Defender Commission; 10
(2) One (1) mental health provider or certified drug and alcohol 11
counselor; 12
(3) One (1) consumer appointed by the Governor; 13
(4) One (1) obstetrician and gynecologist licensed by the 14
Arkansas State Medical Board and designated by the Department of Health; 15
(5) One (1) member of the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership 16
designated by the Department of Health; 17
(6) The Chair of the Arkansas State Medical Board or his or her 18
designee who is also a member of the Arkansas State Medical Board; and 19
(5)(7) The President of the Arkansas State Board of Dental 20
Examiners or his or her designee who is also a member of the Arkansas State 21
Board of Dental Examiners. 22
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 20 -7-606(b)(2), concerning the 24
confidentiality of the Prescript ion Drug Monitoring Program, is amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(2) Information in the controlled substances database may be 27
accessed by: 28
(A) A certified law enforcement officer pursuant to a 29
criminal investigation but only after the law enforcement off icer obtains a 30
search warrant signed by a judge that demonstrates probable cause to believe 31
that a violation of federal or state criminal law has occurred, that 32
specified information contained in the database would assist in the 33
investigation of the crime, and that the specified information should be 34
released to the certified law enforcement officer; 35
(B) A regulatory body engaged in the supervision of 36 HB1250
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activities of licensing or regulatory boards of practitioners authorized to 1
prescribe or dispense contr olled substances; 2
(C) A person or entity investigating a case involving 3
breaches of privacy involving the database or its records; 4
(D) A certified law enforcement prescription drug 5
diversion investigator of a qualified law enforcement agency; 6
(E) A practitioner within the Arkansas Medicaid 7
prescription drug program; 8
(F) The Department of Human Services or the Crimes Against 9
Children Division if: 10
(i) The purpose of the database access is related to 11
an investigation under the Child Maltre atment Act, § 12-18-101 et seq., and 12
not pursuant to a criminal investigation by a certified law enforcement 13
officer; and 14
(ii) The Department of Human Services has obtained a 15
circuit court order to access the database under § 12 -18-622; or 16
(G) The Office of Medicaid Inspector General for review 17
and investigation of fraud, waste, and abuse within the Arkansas Medicaid 18
prescription drug program if access is limited to beneficiaries of the 19
Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program ; or 20
(H) The State Medical Examiner as authorized by law to 21
investigate causes of deaths for cases under investigation pursuant to his or 22
her official duties and responsibilities . 23
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 20 -7-607(b), concerning providing 25
prescription monitoring inf ormation from the Prescription Drug Monitoring 26
Program, is amended to read as follows: 27
(b) The department shall provide information in the program upon 28
request and at no cost only to the following persons: 29
(1)(A) A person authorized to prescribe or di spense controlled 30
substances for the purpose of providing medical or pharmaceutical care for 31
his or her patients or for reviewing information regarding prescriptions that 32
are recorded as having been issued or dispensed by the requester. 33
(B) An agent or employee of the prescriber or dispenser to 34
whom the prescriber or dispenser has delegated the task of assessing the data 35
described in this subsection, but only if the agent or employee has been 36 HB1250
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granted access by a delegate account; 1
(2) A patient who re quests his or her own prescription 2
monitoring information; 3
(3) A parent or legal guardian of a minor child who requests the 4
minor child's program information; 5
(4)(A) A designated representative of a professional licensing 6
board of the professions of the healing arts representing healthcare 7
disciplines whose licensees are prescribers pursuant to an investigation of a 8
specific individual, entity, or business licensed or permitted by the 9
licensing board. 10
(B) Except as permitted by subdivision (a)(2) of this 11
section, the department shall provide information under subdivision (b)(4)(A) 12
of this section only if the requesting licensing board states in writing that 13
the information is necessary for an investigation; 14
(5) The State Medical Examiner as auth orized by law to 15
investigate causes of deaths for cases under investigation pursuant to his or 16
her official duties and responsibilities A mortality review recognized by the 17
department; 18
(6) Local, state, and federal law enforcement or prosecutorial 19
officials engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of the 20
laws governing controlled substances required to be submitted under this 21
subchapter pursuant to the agency's official duties and responsibilities; and 22
(7) Personnel of the department for purposes of administration 23
and enforcement of this subchapter. 24
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