88R7685 JSC-F
By: Klick H.B. No. 2767
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sharing of controlled substance prescription
monitoring information between the Texas State Board of Pharmacy
and the Health and Human Services Commission for the state Medicaid
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 481.076, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (d), and (k) and adding
Subsections (a-3) and (l) to read as follows:
(a) The board may not permit any person to have access to
information submitted to the board under Section 481.074(q) or
481.075 except:
(1) the board, the Texas Medical Board, the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulation, with respect to the
regulation of podiatrists, the State Board of Dental Examiners, the
State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, the Texas Board of
Nursing, or the Texas Optometry Board for the purpose of:
(A) investigating a specific license holder; or
(B) monitoring for potentially harmful
prescribing or dispensing patterns or practices under Section
481.0762;
(2) an authorized employee 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;
(3) the department or other 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, if the board
is provided a warrant, subpoena, or other court order compelling
the disclosure;
(4) a medical examiner conducting an investigation;
(5) provided that accessing the information is
authorized under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-191) and regulations
adopted under that Act:
(A) a pharmacist or a pharmacist-intern,
pharmacy technician, or pharmacy technician trainee, as defined by
Section 551.003, Occupations Code, acting at the direction of a
pharmacist, who is inquiring about a recent Schedule II, III, IV, or
V prescription history of a particular patient of the pharmacist;
or
(B) a practitioner who:
(i) is a physician, dentist, veterinarian,
podiatrist, optometrist, or advanced practice nurse or is a
physician assistant described by Section 481.002(39)(D) or an
employee or other agent of a practitioner acting at the direction of
a practitioner; and
(ii) is inquiring about a recent Schedule
II, III, IV, or V prescription history of a particular patient of
the practitioner;
(6) a pharmacist or practitioner who is inquiring
about the person's own dispensing or prescribing activity or a
practitioner who is inquiring about the prescribing activity of an
individual to whom the practitioner has delegated prescribing
authority;
(7) one or more states or an association of states with
which the board has an interoperability agreement, as provided by
Subsection (j);
(8) a health care facility certified by the federal
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; [or]
(9) the patient, the patient's parent or legal
guardian, if the patient is a minor, or the patient's legal
guardian, if the patient is an incapacitated person, as defined by
Section 1002.017(2), Estates Code, inquiring about the patient's
prescription record, including persons who have accessed that
record; or
(10) the Health and Human Services Commission or the
commission's designee for the purpose of meeting the standards
required by 42 U.S.C. Section 1396w-3a for a qualified prescription
drug monitoring program.
(a-3) A person authorized to receive information under
Subsection (a)(10) may only access information necessary to comply
with 42 U.S.C. Section 1396w-3a for the purpose of administering
the medical assistance program under Chapter 32, Human Resources
Code.
(d) Information submitted to the board 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, evidentiary, or monitoring
purposes in connection with the functions of an agency listed in
Subsection (a)(1);
(3) the prescribing and dispensing of controlled
substances by a person listed in Subsection (a)(5); [or]
(4) dissemination by the board 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; or
(5) the administration of the medical assistance
program under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code.
(k) A person authorized to access information under
Subsection (a)(4), [or] (5), or (10) 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) The board shall enter into and maintain a data-sharing
agreement with the Health and Human Services Commission for the
purpose of complying with 42 U.S.C. Section 1396w-3a(b). The
agreement must include a provision requiring the board and the
commission to timely share information to allow the commission
sufficient time to prepare and submit the annual report to the
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services described by
42 U.S.C. Section 1396w-3a(e).
SECTION 2. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy and the Health
and Human Services Commission shall enter into the data-sharing
agreement described by Section 481.076(l), Health and Safety Code,
as added by this Act, not later than January 1, 2024.
SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 4. 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, 2023.