Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 840
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì573330sÎ573330                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/03/2017           .                                
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Clemens) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) through (g) of subsection (1) of
    6  section 456.44, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs
    7  (b) through (h), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is added to
    8  that subsection, and subsection (4) is added to that section, to
    9  read:
   10         456.44 Controlled substance prescribing.—
   11         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   12         (a)“Acute pain” means the normal, predicted,
   13  physiological, and time-limited response to an adverse chemical,
   14  thermal, or mechanical stimulus associated with surgery, trauma,
   15  or acute illness.
   16         (4)INITIAL PRESCRIPTION QUANTITY.—For the initial
   17  prescription of opioids for the treatment or alleviation of
   18  acute pain, the prescription must be limited to a quantity not
   19  to exceed 5 days.
   20         Section 2. Subsection (4), paragraph (g) of subsection (5),
   21  and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (7) of section 893.055,
   22  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   23         893.055 Prescription drug monitoring program.—
   24         (4) Each time a controlled substance is dispensed to an
   25  individual, the controlled substance shall be reported to the
   26  department through the system as soon thereafter as possible,
   27  but no later than the close of the next business day not more
   28  than 7 days after the day date the controlled substance is
   29  dispensed unless an extension is approved by the department for
   30  cause as determined by rule. A dispenser must meet the reporting
   31  requirements of this section by submitting via the department
   32  approved electronic system providing the required information
   33  concerning each controlled substance that it dispensed in a
   34  department-approved, secure methodology and format. Such
   35  approved formats may include, but are not limited to, submission
   36  via the Internet, on a disc, or by use of regular mail.
   37         (5) When the following acts of dispensing or administering
   38  occur, the following are exempt from reporting under this
   39  section for that specific act of dispensing or administration:
   40         (g) A rehabilitative hospital, assisted living facility, or
   41  nursing home dispensing a certain dosage of a controlled
   42  substance, as needed, to a patient while the patient is present
   43  and receiving care as ordered by the patient’s treating
   44  physician.
   45         (7)(a) A practitioner or pharmacist who dispenses a
   46  controlled substance must submit the information required by
   47  this section in an electronic or other method in an ASAP format
   48  approved by rule of the department unless otherwise provided in
   49  this section. The cost to the dispenser in submitting the
   50  information required by this section may not be material or
   51  extraordinary. Costs not considered to be material or
   52  extraordinary include, but are not limited to, regular postage,
   53  electronic media, regular electronic mail, and facsimile
   54  charges.
   55         (b) A pharmacy, prescriber, or dispenser, or the designee
   56  of a pharmacy, prescriber, or dispenser, shall have access to
   57  information in the prescription drug monitoring program’s
   58  database which relates to a patient of that pharmacy,
   59  prescriber, or dispenser in a manner established by the
   60  department as needed for the purpose of reviewing the patient’s
   61  controlled substance prescription history. An employee of the
   62  United States Department of Veterans Affairs who provides health
   63  care services pursuant to such employment and has the authority
   64  to prescribe controlled substances shall have access to the
   65  information in the program’s database in a manner established by
   66  the department. Such access is limited to the information that
   67  relates to a patient of such employee and may only be accessed
   68  for the purpose of reviewing the patient’s controlled substance
   69  prescription history. Other access to the program’s database
   70  shall be limited to the program’s manager and to the designated
   71  program and support staff, who may act only at the direction of
   72  the program manager or, in the absence of the program manager,
   73  as authorized. Access by the program manager or such designated
   74  staff is for prescription drug program management only or for
   75  management of the program’s database and its system in support
   76  of the requirements of this section and in furtherance of the
   77  prescription drug monitoring program. Confidential and exempt
   78  information in the database shall be released only as provided
   79  in paragraph (c) and s. 893.0551. The program manager,
   80  designated program and support staff who act at the direction of
   81  or in the absence of the program manager, and any individual who
   82  has similar access regarding the management of the database from
   83  the prescription drug monitoring program shall submit
   84  fingerprints to the department for background screening. The
   85  department shall follow the procedure established by the
   86  Department of Law Enforcement to request a statewide criminal
   87  history record check and to request that the Department of Law
   88  Enforcement forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of
   89  Investigation for a national criminal history record check.
   90         Section 3. The requirement in s. 893.055(4), Florida
   91  Statutes, as amended by this act, that the dispensing of a
   92  controlled substance be reported to the Department of Health no
   93  later than the next business day shall take effect January 1,
   94  2018.
   95         Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
   96  463.0055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   97         463.0055 Administration and prescription of ocular
   98  pharmaceutical agents.—
   99         (4) A certified optometrist shall be issued a prescriber
  100  number by the board. Any prescription written by a certified
  101  optometrist for an ocular pharmaceutical agent pursuant to this
  102  section shall have the prescriber number printed thereon. A
  103  certified optometrist may not administer or prescribe:
  104         (b) A controlled substance for the treatment of chronic
  105  nonmalignant pain as defined in s. 456.44 456.44(1)(e).
  106         Section 5. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
  107  act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
  108  
  109  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  110  And the title is amended as follows:
  111         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  112  and insert:
  113                        A bill to be entitled                      
  114         An act relating to controlled substance prescribing;
  115         amending s. 456.44, F.S.; defining the term “acute
  116         pain”; limiting the quantity of opioids that may be
  117         prescribed for acute pain in certain circumstances;
  118         amending s. 893.055, F.S.; revising requirements for
  119         reporting the dispensing of controlled substances;
  120         limiting an exception to reporting requirements for
  121         certain facilities that dispense controlled
  122         substances; authorizing certain employees of the
  123         United States Department of Veterans Affairs access to
  124         certain information in the prescription drug
  125         monitoring program’s database; specifying when a
  126         revised reporting requirement takes effect; amending
  127         s. 463.0055, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference;
  128         providing effective dates.