Florida Senate - 2016                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 964
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì623746<Î623746                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/01/2016           .                                
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Bean) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
    2  
    3         Between lines 20 and 21
    4  insert:
    5         (7)
    6         (c) The following entities are shall not be allowed direct
    7  access to information in the prescription drug monitoring
    8  program database but may request from the program manager and,
    9  when authorized by the program manager, the program manager’s
   10  program and support staff, information that is confidential and
   11  exempt under s. 893.0551. Before Prior to release, a the request
   12  by the following entities shall be verified as authentic and
   13  authorized with the requesting organization by the program
   14  manager, the program manager’s program and support staff, or as
   15  determined in rules by the department as being authentic and as
   16  having been authorized by the requesting entity:
   17         1. The department or its relevant health care regulatory
   18  boards responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline
   19  of practitioners, pharmacists, or other persons who are
   20  authorized to prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled
   21  substances and who are involved in a specific controlled
   22  substance investigation involving a designated person for one or
   23  more prescribed controlled substances.
   24         2. The Attorney General for Medicaid fraud cases involving
   25  prescribed controlled substances.
   26         3. A law enforcement agency during active investigations of
   27  regarding potential criminal activity, fraud, or theft regarding
   28  prescribed controlled substances.
   29         4. A patient or the legal guardian or designated health
   30  care surrogate of an incapacitated patient as described in s.
   31  893.0551 who, for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the
   32  database information, submits a written and notarized request
   33  that includes the patient’s full name, address, and date of
   34  birth, and includes the same information if the legal guardian
   35  or health care surrogate submits the request. The request shall
   36  be validated by the department to verify the identity of the
   37  patient and the legal guardian or health care surrogate, if the
   38  patient’s legal guardian or health care surrogate is the
   39  requestor. Such verification is also required for any request to
   40  change a patient’s prescription history or other information
   41  related to his or her information in the electronic database.
   42         5.An impaired practitioner consultant who is retained by
   43  the department under s. 456.076 for the purpose of reviewing the
   44  database information of an impaired practitioner program
   45  participant or a referral who has agreed to be evaluated or
   46  monitored through the program and who has separately agreed in
   47  writing to the consultant’s access to and review of such
   48  information.
   49  
   50  Information in the database for the electronic prescription drug
   51  monitoring system is not discoverable or admissible in any civil
   52  or administrative action, except in an investigation and
   53  disciplinary proceeding by the department or the appropriate
   54  regulatory board.
   55         Section 2. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (3) of
   56  section 893.0551, Florida Statutes, and subsections (6) and (7)
   57  of that section are republished, to read:
   58         893.0551 Public records exemption for the prescription drug
   59  monitoring program.—
   60         (3) The department shall disclose such confidential and
   61  exempt information to the following persons or entities upon
   62  request and after using a verification process to ensure the
   63  legitimacy of the request as provided in s. 893.055:
   64         (h)An impaired practitioner consultant who has been
   65  authorized in writing by a participant in, or by a referral to,
   66  the impaired practitioner program to access and review
   67  information as provided in s. 893.055(7)(c)5.
   68         (6) An agency or person who obtains any confidential and
   69  exempt information pursuant to this section must maintain the
   70  confidential and exempt status of that information and may not
   71  disclose such information unless authorized by law. Information
   72  shared with a state attorney pursuant to paragraph (3)(a) or
   73  paragraph (3)(c) may be released only in response to a discovery
   74  demand if such information is directly related to the criminal
   75  case for which the information was requested. Unrelated
   76  information may be released only upon an order of a court of
   77  competent jurisdiction.
   78         (7) A person who willfully and knowingly violates this
   79  section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
   80  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   81  
   82  ====== D I R E C T O R Y  C L A U S E  A M E N D M E N T ======
   83  And the directory clause is amended as follows:
   84         Delete line 12
   85  and insert:
   86  section 893.055, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (c) of
   87  subsection (7) of that section is amended, to read:
   88  
   89  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   90  And the title is amended as follows:
   91         Delete line 6
   92  and insert:
   93         to the prescription drug monitoring program;
   94         authorizing an impaired practitioner consultant to
   95         access an impaired practitioner program participant’s
   96         or referral’s record in the prescription drug
   97         monitoring program’s database; amending s. 893.0551,
   98         F.S.; requiring the Department of Health to disclose
   99         certain information from the prescription drug
  100         monitoring program to an impaired practitioner
  101         consultant under certain circumstances; providing