Establishes a prescription monitoring program

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends Article 33 of the public health law to add a new title 5-A, creating the New Prescription Monitoring Program.

§3355 defines the bill as the "prescription monitoring act."

§3356 defines the advisory board.

§3357 establishes the prescription monitoring program.

§3358 describes composition of the advisory board to assist the New York State Department of Health in carrying out the duties of this act. The advisory board shall consist of a representative of the board of medicine, a representative of the board of pharmacy, a representative of the board of dental examiners, a representative of the state board of nursing, the attorney general or his or her designee, a representative of the Department Of Health appointed by the commissioner, a representative of the New York medical society, a representative of the New York state dental association, a representative of the New York state association of the chiefs of police, and a representative of retail pharmacy. Furthermore, the advisory board shall provide input and advice regarding the development and operation of the electronic monitoring system.

§3359 requires the reporting of prescription monitoring information and defines specific information the Department of Health shall decide how frequently this information shall be submitted by the dispenser. It also defines the granting of a waiver.

§3360 defines the access and confidentiality of the prescription monitoring program. It defines the review process, the release of information and who may access the information. It imposes immunity from civil liability to the New York State Department of Health.

§3361 defines the implementation of the education courses, who must take such courses and how the Department of Health, when appropriate, shall work with associations to provide intervention and treatment to individuals who have become addicted to substances monitored by the program.

§3362 describes the penalties for dispensers who fail to submit prescription drug monitoring information to the Department of Health, and penalties for persons who use, or knowingly disclose confidential information.

§3363 establishes the analysis and reporting of data.

§3364 sets forth rules and regulation to implement the provisions.

§3365 is the severability clause.

Section 2 provides that the Department of Health, in consultation with the prescription program monitoring board, establish regulations requiring pharmacists to access the program and to establish protocols to be followed after accessing such information.

Section 3 provides that within 180 days after the effective date of the legislation, the prescription monitoring advisory board make recommendations and submit a written report to the legislature concerning integrating prescribers into the electronic submission requirements of the prescription monitoring program, as well as any possible changes to the official New York state prescription form for controlled substances to include more information concerning a patient's controlled substance use.

Section 4 is the effective date; this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.

Justification

The abuse of prescription drugs has become a growing epidemic. More and more people are turning to oxycodone, which is used to relieve moderate to severe pain. Oxycodone is in a class of medications called opiate (narcotic) analgesics. It works by changing the way the brain and nervous system respond to pain. Unfortunately, it is being abused by certain individuals, instead of drugs such as heroin because they get the same "high." Recent reports state that the number of emergency room visits resulting from the abuse of prescription drugs has nearly doubled over the last five years. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services report that there were approximately 1.2 million visits to emergency rooms involving pharmaceutical drugs in 2009 compared with 627,000 in 2004. Further statistics report that in the Borough of Staten Island, over 110,000 prescriptions are written for oxycodone every year. According to the Borough's District Attorney, these statistics make Staten Island the second highest county in New York State to write oxycodone prescriptions.

The state department of health already has in place a limited prescription monitoring program (Article 33 of the Public Health Law and Part 80 of Title 10 regulations). This is a good first step but it is clear that it does not do enough to solve this horrific prescription drug abuse problem. This bill (and a companion bill) seeks to strengthen the current program. An obvious oversight in the current NYSDOH's monitoring program is that doctors and pharmacists are not required to access the data base before prescribing a controlled substance to their patients. In addition, only pharmacists and not doctors are required to . report. Nor are they required to report the written prescription. For these reasons, reporting and accessing the database by pharmacists and medical professionals clearly needs to be mandated. New York's laws and regulations in regard to sharing of this information clearly need

to be strengthened. Unfortunately, we have fallen behind those of other states.

This legislation will link the medical profession with the pharmacies to combat the abuse of controlled substance prescriptions. It also will enable all parties involved with an individual patient's healthcare decisions to have information necessary to make the right prescription drug choices.

Currently, 39 States have prescription drug monitoring laws of some sort.

This bill, if passed into law, would enable all of the parties involved in an individual patient's healthcare decisions to have information necessary to make the right prescription drug choices. It is also part of a two bill package to strengthen New York State's Prescription Monitoring Program.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.