100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB0892

 

Introduced 2/7/2017, by Sen. Jil Tracy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
720 ILCS 570/318

    Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services may release information received by the central repository to select representatives of the Department of Children and Family Services through the indirect online request process. Provides that access shall be established by the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee by rule.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB0892LRB100 06124 RLC 16156 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act is
5amended by changing Section 318 as follows:
 
6    (720 ILCS 570/318)
7    Sec. 318. Confidentiality of information.
8    (a) Information received by the central repository under
9Section 316 and former Section 321 is confidential.
10    (b) The Department must carry out a program to protect the
11confidentiality of the information described in subsection
12(a). The Department may disclose the information to another
13person only under subsection (c), (d), or (f) and may charge a
14fee not to exceed the actual cost of furnishing the
15information.
16    (c) The Department may disclose confidential information
17described in subsection (a) to any person who is engaged in
18receiving, processing, or storing the information.
19    (d) The Department may release confidential information
20described in subsection (a) to the following persons:
21        (1) A governing body that licenses practitioners and is
22    engaged in an investigation, an adjudication, or a
23    prosecution of a violation under any State or federal law

 

 

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1    that involves a controlled substance.
2        (2) An investigator for the Consumer Protection
3    Division of the office of the Attorney General, a
4    prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy
5    Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of the
6    Attorney General, who is engaged in any of the following
7    activities involving controlled substances:
8            (A) an investigation;
9            (B) an adjudication; or
10            (C) a prosecution of a violation under any State or
11        federal law that involves a controlled substance.
12        (3) A law enforcement officer who is:
13            (A) authorized by the Illinois State Police or the
14        office of a county sheriff or State's Attorney or
15        municipal police department of Illinois to receive
16        information of the type requested for the purpose of
17        investigations involving controlled substances; or
18            (B) approved by the Department to receive
19        information of the type requested for the purpose of
20        investigations involving controlled substances; and
21            (C) engaged in the investigation or prosecution of
22        a violation under any State or federal law that
23        involves a controlled substance.
24        (4) Select representatives of the Department of
25    Children and Family Services through the indirect online
26    request process. Access shall be established by the

 

 

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1    Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee by
2    rule.
3    (e) Before the Department releases confidential
4information under subsection (d), the applicant must
5demonstrate in writing to the Department that:
6        (1) the applicant has reason to believe that a
7    violation under any State or federal law that involves a
8    controlled substance has occurred; and
9        (2) the requested information is reasonably related to
10    the investigation, adjudication, or prosecution of the
11    violation described in subdivision (1).
12    (f) The Department may receive and release prescription
13record information under Section 316 and former Section 321 to:
14        (1) a governing body that licenses practitioners;
15        (2) an investigator for the Consumer Protection
16    Division of the office of the Attorney General, a
17    prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy
18    Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of the
19    Attorney General;
20        (3) any Illinois law enforcement officer who is:
21            (A) authorized to receive the type of information
22        released; and
23            (B) approved by the Department to receive the type
24        of information released; or
25        (4) prescription monitoring entities in other states
26    per the provisions outlined in subsection (g) and (h)

 

 

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1    below;
2confidential prescription record information collected under
3Sections 316 and 321 (now repealed) that identifies vendors or
4practitioners, or both, who are prescribing or dispensing large
5quantities of Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substances
6outside the scope of their practice, pharmacy, or business, as
7determined by the Advisory Committee created by Section 320.
8    (g) The information described in subsection (f) may not be
9released until it has been reviewed by an employee of the
10Department who is licensed as a prescriber or a dispenser and
11until that employee has certified that further investigation is
12warranted. However, failure to comply with this subsection (g)
13does not invalidate the use of any evidence that is otherwise
14admissible in a proceeding described in subsection (h).
15    (h) An investigator or a law enforcement officer receiving
16confidential information under subsection (c), (d), or (f) may
17disclose the information to a law enforcement officer or an
18attorney for the office of the Attorney General for use as
19evidence in the following:
20        (1) A proceeding under any State or federal law that
21    involves a controlled substance.
22        (2) A criminal proceeding or a proceeding in juvenile
23    court that involves a controlled substance.
24    (i) The Department may compile statistical reports from the
25information described in subsection (a). The reports must not
26include information that identifies, by name, license or

 

 

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1address, any practitioner, dispenser, ultimate user, or other
2person administering a controlled substance.
3    (j) Based upon federal, initial and maintenance funding, a
4prescriber and dispenser inquiry system shall be developed to
5assist the health care community in its goal of effective
6clinical practice and to prevent patients from diverting or
7abusing medications.
8        (1) An inquirer shall have read-only access to a
9    stand-alone database which shall contain records for the
10    previous 12 months.
11        (2) Dispensers may, upon positive and secure
12    identification, make an inquiry on a patient or customer
13    solely for a medical purpose as delineated within the
14    federal HIPAA law.
15        (3) The Department shall provide a one-to-one secure
16    link and encrypted software necessary to establish the link
17    between an inquirer and the Department. Technical
18    assistance shall also be provided.
19        (4) Written inquiries are acceptable but must include
20    the fee and the requestor's Drug Enforcement
21    Administration license number and submitted upon the
22    requestor's business stationery.
23        (5) As directed by the Prescription Monitoring Program
24    Advisory Committee and the Clinical Director for the
25    Prescription Monitoring Program, aggregate data that does
26    not indicate any prescriber, practitioner, dispenser, or

 

 

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1    patient may be used for clinical studies.
2        (6) Tracking analysis shall be established and used per
3    administrative rule.
4        (7) Nothing in this Act or Illinois law shall be
5    construed to require a prescriber or dispenser to make use
6    of this inquiry system.
7        (8) If there is an adverse outcome because of a
8    prescriber or dispenser making an inquiry, which is
9    initiated in good faith, the prescriber or dispenser shall
10    be held harmless from any civil liability.
11    (k) The Department shall establish, by rule, the process by
12which to evaluate possible erroneous association of
13prescriptions to any licensed prescriber or end user of the
14Illinois Prescription Information Library (PIL).
15    (l) The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee
16is authorized to evaluate the need for and method of
17establishing a patient specific identifier.
18    (m) Patients who identify prescriptions attributed to them
19that were not obtained by them shall be given access to their
20personal prescription history pursuant to the validation
21process as set forth by administrative rule.
22    (n) The Prescription Monitoring Program is authorized to
23develop operational push reports to entities with compatible
24electronic medical records. The process shall be covered within
25administrative rule established by the Department.
26    (o) Hospital emergency departments and freestanding

 

 

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1healthcare facilities providing healthcare to walk-in patients
2may obtain, for the purpose of improving patient care, a unique
3identifier for each shift to utilize the PIL system.
4    (p) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall
5automatically create a log-in to the inquiry system when a
6prescriber or dispenser obtains or renews his or her controlled
7substance license. The Department of Financial and
8Professional Regulation must provide the Prescription
9Monitoring Program with electronic access to the license
10information of a prescriber or dispenser to facilitate the
11creation of this profile. The Prescription Monitoring Program
12shall send the prescriber or dispenser information regarding
13the inquiry system, including instructions on how to log into
14the system, instructions on how to use the system to promote
15effective clinical practice, and opportunities for continuing
16education for the prescribing of controlled substances. The
17Prescription Monitoring Program shall also send to all enrolled
18prescribers, dispensers, and designees information regarding
19the unsolicited reports produced pursuant to Section 314.5 of
20this Act.
21    (q) A prescriber or dispenser may authorize a designee to
22consult the inquiry system established by the Department under
23this subsection on his or her behalf, provided that all the
24following conditions are met:
25        (1) the designee so authorized is employed by the same
26    hospital or health care system; is employed by the same

 

 

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1    professional practice; or is under contract with such
2    practice, hospital, or health care system;
3        (2) the prescriber or dispenser takes reasonable steps
4    to ensure that such designee is sufficiently competent in
5    the use of the inquiry system;
6        (3) the prescriber or dispenser remains responsible
7    for ensuring that access to the inquiry system by the
8    designee is limited to authorized purposes and occurs in a
9    manner that protects the confidentiality of the
10    information obtained from the inquiry system, and remains
11    responsible for any breach of confidentiality; and
12        (4) the ultimate decision as to whether or not to
13    prescribe or dispense a controlled substance remains with
14    the prescriber or dispenser.
15    The Prescription Monitoring Program shall send to
16registered designees information regarding the inquiry system,
17including instructions on how to log onto the system.
18    (r) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall maintain an
19Internet website in conjunction with its prescriber and
20dispenser inquiry system. This website shall include, at a
21minimum, the following information:
22        (1) current clinical guidelines developed by health
23    care professional organizations on the prescribing of
24    opioids or other controlled substances as determined by the
25    Advisory Committee;
26        (2) accredited continuing education programs related

 

 

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1    to prescribing of controlled substances;
2        (3) programs or information developed by health care
3    professionals that may be used to assess patients or help
4    ensure compliance with prescriptions;
5        (4) updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the
6    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other
7    public and private organizations which are relevant to
8    prescribing;
9        (5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
10        (6) other information regarding the prescription of
11    controlled substances; and
12        (7) information regarding prescription drug disposal
13    events, including take-back programs or other disposal
14    options or events.
15    The content of the Internet website shall be periodically
16reviewed by the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory
17Committee as set forth in Section 320 and updated in accordance
18with the recommendation of the advisory committee.
19    (s) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall regularly
20send electronic updates to the registered users of the Program.
21The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee shall
22review any communications sent to registered users and also
23make recommendations for communications as set forth in Section
24320. These updates shall include the following information:
25        (1) opportunities for accredited continuing education
26    programs related to prescribing of controlled substances;

 

 

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1        (2) current clinical guidelines developed by health
2    care professional organizations on the prescribing of
3    opioids or other drugs as determined by the Advisory
4    Committee;
5        (3) programs or information developed by health care
6    professionals that may be used to assess patients or help
7    ensure compliance with prescriptions;
8        (4) updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the
9    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other
10    public and private organizations which are relevant to
11    prescribing;
12        (5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
13        (6) other information regarding prescribing of
14    controlled substances;
15        (7) information regarding prescription drug disposal
16    events, including take-back programs or other disposal
17    options or events; and
18        (8) reminders that the Prescription Monitoring Program
19    is a useful clinical tool.
20(Source: P.A. 99-480, eff. 9-9-15.)