| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; creating s. 893.056, |
| 3 | F.S.; exempting from public-records requirements |
| 4 | information and records reported to the Department of |
| 5 | Health under the electronic-monitoring system for |
| 6 | prescription of controlled substances listed in Schedules |
| 7 | II-IV; authorizing certain persons and entities access to |
| 8 | personal identifying information of a patient; providing |
| 9 | guidelines for the use of such information and penalties |
| 10 | for violations; providing for future legislative review |
| 11 | and repeal; providing a finding of public necessity; |
| 12 | providing a contingent effective date. |
| 13 |
|
| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Section 1. Section 893.056, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 17 | to read: |
| 18 | 893.056 Public-records exemption for the electronic- |
| 19 | monitoring system for prescription of controlled substances |
| 20 | listed in Schedules II-IV.-- |
| 21 | (1) Personal identifying information of a patient, a |
| 22 | practitioner as defined in s. 893.02, or a pharmacist as defined |
| 23 | in s. 465.003, which is contained in records held by the |
| 24 | Department of Health under s. 893.055, the electronic-monitoring |
| 25 | system for prescription of controlled substances, is |
| 26 | confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I |
| 27 | of the State Constitution. |
| 28 | (2) The Department of Health shall disclose such |
| 29 | confidential and exempt information to: |
| 30 | (a) The Agency for Health Care Administration when it has |
| 31 | initiated a review of specific identifiers of Medicaid fraud and |
| 32 | abuse. |
| 33 | (b) A criminal justice agency as defined in s. 119.011, |
| 34 | which enforces the laws of this state or the United States |
| 35 | relating to controlled substances and which has initiated an |
| 36 | active investigation involving a specific violation of law. |
| 37 | (c) A practitioner as defined in s. 893.02, or an employee |
| 38 | of the practitioner who is acting on behalf of and at the |
| 39 | direction of the practitioner, who requests such information and |
| 40 | certifies that the information is necessary to provide medical |
| 41 | treatment to a current patient in accordance with s. 893.05, |
| 42 | subject to that patient's written consent. |
| 43 | (d) A pharmacist as defined in s. 465.003, or a pharmacy |
| 44 | intern or pharmacy technician who is acting on behalf of and at |
| 45 | the direction of the pharmacist, who requests such information |
| 46 | and certifies that the requested information will be used to |
| 47 | dispense controlled substances to a current patient in |
| 48 | accordance with s. 893.04. |
| 49 | (e) The patient who is identified in the record upon a |
| 50 | written request for the purpose of verifying that information. |
| 51 | (3) Any agency that obtains such confidential and exempt |
| 52 | information pursuant to this section must maintain the |
| 53 | confidential and exempt status of that information; however, the |
| 54 | Agency for Health Care Administration or a criminal justice |
| 55 | agency with lawful access to such information may disclose |
| 56 | confidential and exempt information received from the Department |
| 57 | of Health to a criminal justice agency as part of an active |
| 58 | investigation of a specific violation of law. |
| 59 | (4) Any person who willfully and knowingly violates this |
| 60 | section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as |
| 61 | provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. |
| 62 | (5) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 63 | Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand |
| 64 | repealed on October 2, 2011, unless reviewed and saved from |
| 65 | repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 66 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 67 | necessity that personal identifying information of a patient, a |
| 68 | practitioner as defined in s. 893.02, Florida Statutes, or a |
| 69 | pharmacist as defined in s. 465.003, Florida Statutes, contained |
| 70 | in records that are reported to the Department of Health under |
| 71 | s. 893.055, Florida Statutes, the electronic-monitoring system |
| 72 | for prescription of controlled substances, be made confidential |
| 73 | and exempt. Information concerning the prescriptions that a |
| 74 | patient has been prescribed is a private, personal matter |
| 75 | between the patient, the practitioner, and the pharmacist. |
| 76 | Nevertheless, reporting of prescriptions on a timely and |
| 77 | accurate basis by practitioners and pharmacists will ensure the |
| 78 | ability of the state to review and provide oversight of |
| 79 | prescribing and dispensing practices. Further, the reporting of |
| 80 | this information will facilitate investigations and prosecutions |
| 81 | of violations of state drug laws by patients, practitioners, or |
| 82 | pharmacists, thereby increasing compliance with those laws. If, |
| 83 | in the process, however, the information that would identify a |
| 84 | patient is not made confidential and exempt, any person could |
| 85 | inspect and copy the record and be aware of the prescriptions |
| 86 | that a patient has been prescribed. The availability of such |
| 87 | information to the public would result in the invasion of the |
| 88 | patient's privacy. If the identity of the patient could be |
| 89 | correlated with his or her prescriptions, it would be possible |
| 90 | for the public to become aware of the diseases or other medical |
| 91 | concerns that a patient is being treated for by his or her |
| 92 | physician. This knowledge could be used to embarrass or to |
| 93 | humiliate a patient or to discriminate against him or her. |
| 94 | Requiring the reporting of prescribing information, while |
| 95 | protecting a patient's personal identifying information, will |
| 96 | facilitate efforts to maintain compliance with the state's drug |
| 97 | laws and will facilitate the sharing of information between |
| 98 | health care practitioners and pharmacists, while maintaining and |
| 99 | ensuring patient privacy. Additionally, exempting personal |
| 100 | identifying information of doctors and pharmacists will ensure |
| 101 | that an individual will not be able to "doctor-shop," that is to |
| 102 | determine which doctors prescribe the highest amount of a |
| 103 | particular type of drug and to seek those doctors out in order |
| 104 | to increase the likelihood of obtaining a particular prescribed |
| 105 | substance. Further, protecting personal identifying information |
| 106 | of pharmacists ensures that an individual will not be able to |
| 107 | identify which pharmacists dispense the largest amount of a |
| 108 | particular substance and target that pharmacy for robbery or |
| 109 | burglary. Thus, the Legislature finds that personal identifying |
| 110 | information of a patient, a practitioner as defined in s. |
| 111 | 893.02, Florida Statutes, or a pharmacist as defined in s. |
| 112 | 465.003, Florida Statutes, contained in records reported under |
| 113 | s. 893.055, Florida Statutes, must be confidential and exempt |
| 114 | from disclosure. |
| 115 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, if |
| 116 | House Bill 913, or similar legislation establishing an |
| 117 | electronic system to monitor the prescribing of controlled |
| 118 | substances, is adopted in the same legislative session or an |
| 119 | extension thereof and becomes law. |