84R1549 JSC-D
By: Schwertner S.B. No. 195
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to information relating to prescriptions for certain
controlled substances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 481.074(c), (p), and (q), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) Not later than the seventh day after the date a
prescribing practitioner authorizes an emergency oral or
telephonically communicated prescription, the prescribing
practitioner shall cause a written or electronic prescription,
completed in the manner required by Section 481.075, to be
delivered to the dispensing pharmacist at the pharmacy where the
prescription was dispensed. A written prescription may be
delivered in person or by mail. The envelope of a prescription
delivered by mail must be postmarked not later than the seventh day
after the date the prescription was authorized. On receipt of a
written prescription, the dispensing pharmacy shall file the
transcription of the telephonically communicated prescription and
the pharmacy copy and shall send information to the Texas State
Board of Pharmacy [director] as required by Section 481.075. On
receipt of an electronic prescription, the pharmacist shall
annotate the electronic prescription record with the original
authorization and date of the emergency oral or telephonically
communicated prescription.
(p) On receipt of the prescription, the dispensing pharmacy
shall file the facsimile copy of the prescription and shall send
information to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy [director] as
required by Section 481.075.
(q) Each dispensing pharmacist shall send all required
information [required by the director], including any information
required to complete the Schedule III through V prescription forms,
to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy [director] by electronic
transfer or another form approved by the board [director] not later
than the seventh day after the date the prescription is completely
filled.
SECTION 2. Section 481.075(i), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(i) Each dispensing pharmacist shall:
(1) fill in on the official prescription form or note
in the electronic prescription record each item of information
given orally to the dispensing pharmacy under Subsection (h) and
the date the prescription is filled, and:
(A) for a written prescription, fill in the
dispensing pharmacist's signature; or
(B) for an electronic prescription,
appropriately record the identity of the dispensing pharmacist in
the electronic prescription record;
(2) retain with the records of the pharmacy for at
least two years:
(A) the official prescription form or the
electronic prescription record, as applicable; and
(B) the name or other patient identification
required by Section 481.074(m) or (n); and
(3) send all required information [required by the
director], including any information required to complete an
official prescription form or electronic prescription record, to
the Texas State Board of Pharmacy [director] by electronic transfer
or another form approved by the board [director] not later than the
seventh day after the date the prescription is completely filled.
SECTION 3. Section 481.076, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 481.076. OFFICIAL PRESCRIPTION INFORMATION; DUTIES OF
TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY. (a) The board [director] may not
permit any person to have access to information submitted to the
board [director] under Section 481.074(q) or 481.075 except:
(1) an investigator for the board, the Texas Medical
Board, the Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners, the
State Board of Dental Examiners, the State Board of Veterinary
Medical Examiners, or the Texas Board of Nursing[, or the Texas
State Board of Pharmacy];
(2) an authorized officer or member of the department
or authorized employee or member of the board engaged in the
administration, investigation, or enforcement of this chapter or
another law governing illicit drugs in this state or another state;
[or]
(3) if the board [director] finds that proper need has
been shown to the board, [director:
[(A)] a law enforcement or prosecutorial
official engaged in the administration, investigation, or
enforcement of this chapter or another law governing illicit drugs
in this state or another state;
(4) [(B)] a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician, as
defined by Section 551.003, Occupations Code, acting at the
direction of a pharmacist or a practitioner who is a physician,
dentist, veterinarian, podiatrist, or advanced practice nurse or is
a physician assistant described by Section 481.002(39)(D) or a
nurse licensed under Chapter 301, Occupations Code, acting at the
direction of a practitioner and is inquiring about a recent
Schedule II, III, IV, or V prescription history of a particular
patient of the practitioner; [or]
(5) [(C)] a pharmacist or practitioner who is
inquiring about the person's own dispensing or prescribing
activity; or
(6) one or more states or an association of states with
which the board has an interoperability agreement, as provided by
Subsection (j).
(a-1) A person authorized to receive information under
Subsection (a)(4) [(a)(3)(B)] or (5) [(C)] may access that
information through a health information exchange, subject to
proper security measures to ensure against disclosure to
unauthorized persons.
(a-2) A person authorized to receive information under
Subsection (a)(4) [(a)(3)(B)] may include that information in any
form in the medical or pharmacy record of the patient who is the
subject of the information. Any information included in a
patient's medical or pharmacy record under this subsection is
subject to any applicable state or federal confidentiality or
privacy laws.
(b) This section does not prohibit the board [director] from
creating, using, or disclosing statistical data about information
received by the board [director] under this section if the board
[director] removes any information reasonably likely to reveal the
identity of each patient, practitioner, or other person who is a
subject of the information.
(c) The board [director] by rule shall design and implement
a system for submission of information to the board [director] by
electronic or other means and for retrieval of information
submitted to the board [director] under this section and Sections
481.074 and 481.075. The board [director] shall use automated
information security techniques and devices to preclude improper
access to the information. The board [director] shall submit the
system design to the director [Texas State Board of Pharmacy] and
the Texas Medical Board for review and approval or comment a
reasonable time before implementation of the system and shall
comply with the comments of those agencies unless it is
unreasonable to do so.
(d) Information submitted to the board [director] under
this section may be used only for:
(1) the administration, investigation, or enforcement
of this chapter or another law governing illicit drugs in this state
or another state;
(2) investigatory or evidentiary purposes in
connection with the functions of an agency listed in Subsection
(a)(1); or
(3) dissemination by the board [director] to the
public in the form of a statistical tabulation or report if all
information reasonably likely to reveal the identity of each
patient, practitioner, or other person who is a subject of the
information has been removed.
(e) The board [director] shall remove from the information
retrieval system, destroy, and make irretrievable the record of the
identity of a patient submitted under this section to the board
[director] not later than the end of the 36th calendar month after
the month in which the identity is entered into the system.
However, the board [director] may retain a patient identity that is
necessary for use in a specific ongoing investigation conducted in
accordance with this section until the 30th day after the end of the
month in which the necessity for retention of the identity ends.
(f) If the board [director] permits access to information
under Subsection (a)(2) relating to a person licensed or regulated
by an agency listed in Subsection (a)(1), the board [director]
shall notify and cooperate with that agency regarding the
disposition of the matter before taking action against the person,
unless the board [director] determines that notification is
reasonably likely to interfere with an administrative or criminal
investigation or prosecution.
(g) If the board [director] permits access to information
under Subsection (a)(3) [(a)(3)(A)] relating to a person licensed
or regulated by an agency listed in Subsection (a)(1), the board
[director] shall notify that agency of the disclosure of the
information not later than the 10th working day after the date the
information is disclosed.
(h) If the board [director] withholds notification to an
agency under Subsection (f), the board [director] shall notify the
agency of the disclosure of the information and the reason for
withholding notification when the board [director] determines that
notification is no longer likely to interfere with an
administrative or criminal investigation or prosecution.
(i) Information submitted to the board [director] under
Section 481.074(q) or 481.075 is confidential and remains
confidential regardless of whether the board [director] permits
access to the information under this section.
(j) The board may enter into an interoperability agreement
with one or more states or an association of states authorizing the
board to access prescription monitoring information maintained or
collected by the other state or states or the association,
including information maintained on a central database such as the
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Prescription Monitoring
Program InterConnect. Pursuant to an interoperability agreement,
the board may authorize the prescription monitoring program of one
or more states or an association of states to access information
submitted to the board under Sections 481.074(q) and 481.075,
including by submitting or sharing information through a central
database such as the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
Prescription Monitoring Program InterConnect.
(k) A person authorized to access information under
Subsection (a)(4) who is registered with the board for electronic
access to the information is entitled to directly access the
information available from other states pursuant to an
interoperability agreement described by Subsection (j).
(l) In this section, "board" means the Texas State Board of
Pharmacy.
SECTION 4. Section 481.0761, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), (e), and (f) and
adding Subsections (c-1) and (g) to read as follows:
(a) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy [director] shall
consult with the director [Texas State Board of Pharmacy] and by
rule establish and revise as necessary a standardized database
format that may be used by a pharmacy to transmit the information
required by Sections 481.074(q) and 481.075(i) to the board
[director] electronically or to deliver the information on storage
media, including disks, tapes, and cassettes.
(c) The director by rule may:
(1) permit more than one prescription to be
administered or dispensed and recorded on one prescription form for
a Schedule III through V controlled substance;
(2) [(1-a)] establish a procedure for the issuance of
multiple prescriptions of a Schedule II controlled substance under
Section 481.074(d-1); and
(3) [(2)] remove from or return to the official
prescription program any aspect of a practitioner's or pharmacist's
hospital practice, including administering or dispensing.
(c-1) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy by rule may:
(1) [;
[(3)] waive or delay any requirement relating to the
time or manner of reporting;
(2) [(4)] establish compatibility protocols for
electronic data transfer hardware, software, or format, including
any necessary modifications for participation in a database
described by Section 481.076(j);
(3) [(5)] establish a procedure to control the release
of information under Sections 481.074, 481.075, and 481.076; and
(4) [(6)] establish a minimum level of prescription
activity below which a reporting activity may be modified or
deleted.
(d) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy [director] by rule
shall authorize a practitioner to determine whether it is necessary
to obtain a particular patient identification number and to provide
that number on the official prescription form or in the electronic
prescription record.
(e) In adopting a rule relating to the electronic transfer
of information under this subchapter, the Texas State Board of
Pharmacy [director] shall consider the economic impact of the rule
on practitioners and pharmacists and, to the extent permitted by
law, act to minimize any negative economic impact, including the
imposition of costs related to computer hardware or software or to
the transfer of information. The board [director] may not adopt a
rule relating to the electronic transfer of information under this
subchapter that imposes a fee in addition to the fees authorized by
Section 481.064.
(f) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy [director] may
authorize a contract between the board [department] and another
agency of this state or a private vendor as necessary to ensure the
effective operation of the official prescription program.
(g) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy may adopt rules
providing for a person authorized to access information under
Section 481.076(a)(4) to be enrolled in electronic access to the
information described by Section 481.076(a) at the time the person
obtains or renews the person's applicable professional or
occupational license or registration.
SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
only to information submitted or accessed on or after January 1,
2016.
(b) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy may enter into an
interoperability agreement described by Section 481.076(j), as
added by this Act, before January 1, 2016, but the agreement may not
go into effect until on or after January 1, 2016.
SECTION 6. (a) Not later than January 1, 2016, the
Department of Public Safety shall transfer the appropriate records
received by the department under Sections 481.074, 481.076, and
481.0761, Health and Safety Code, to the Texas State Board of
Pharmacy.
(b) The Texas State Board of Pharmacy shall adopt any rules
required by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this
Act, not later than December 1, 2016.
(c) A rule, form, policy, procedure, or decision adopted
under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, as it existed before
amendment by this Act, continues in effect as a rule, form, policy,
procedure, or decision and remains in effect until amended or
replaced.
(d) A reference in law or an administrative rule to the
public safety director of the Department of Public Safety relating
to rulemaking authority given and duties transferred to the Texas
State Board of Pharmacy by this Act is a reference to the Texas
State Board of Pharmacy.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.