State SealARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

HB 2075: electronic prescribing; exceptions; deadlines

PRIME SPONSOR: Representative Cobb, LD 5

BILL STATUS: House Engrossed

 

 

Overview

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☒ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteExtends the electronic prescription requirement deadline to January 1, 2020. 

History

The Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act was added by Laws 2018, Chapter 1 of the First Special Session. The legislation in part contained prohibitions and limitations for schedule II drugs that are opioids, established regulations for pain clinics, and established the Substance Use Disorder Fund.

A.R.S. § 36-2525 outlines procedures and information that must be contained on prescription orders for prescription-only drugs.  The Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act requires electronic prescribing of a Schedule II controlled substance in counties with a population of more than 150,000 persons beginning January 1, 2019 and for counties with a population of less than 150,000 the electronic prescribing deadline is July 1, 2019.

Provisions

1.       Allows the Arizona Regulatory Board of Physician Assistants to certify physician assistants (PA) for 30-day prescription privileges for Schedules II, III, IV and V controlled substances that are opioids or benzodiazepine and 90-day prescription privileges for Schedules IV and V controlled substances that are not opioids or benzodiazepine. (Sec. 1)

2.       Limits a PA certified for prescribing privileges to the limitations contained in the Opioid Epidemic Ac, if the PA has been delegated to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances by the supervising physician. (Sec. 2)

3.       Clarifies that a prescription for a Schedule III rather than a Schedule II controlled substance is not refillable without the permission of the supervising physician. (Sec. 2)

4.       Eliminates the ability for the PA to dispense prepackaged drugs. (Sec. 2)

5.       Extends the electronic prescription order deadline for all counties until January 1, 2020. (Sec. 3)

6.       Allows a medical practitioner to write and a pharmacist to dispense a prescription order for a Schedule II controlled substance during any time-period in which an established electronic prescribing system or a pharmacy management system is not operational or available in a timely manner. (Sec. 3)

7.       States the pharmacist must maintain a record of when the electronic prescribing system is not operational or available in a timely manner. (Sec. 3)

8.       Specifies that a pharmacist may dispense a written prescription order for a Schedule II controlled substance that is an opioid when the order indicates that the medical practitioner provided care for the patient in a Veterans Administration Facility, a health facility on a military base, an Indian health services hospital or other Indian health services facility, or a tribal-owned clinic. (Sec. 3)  

9.       Eliminates the language allowing the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy (Board) to grant a waiver to the electronic prescribing requirement. (Sec. 3)

10.   Specifies that in consultation with the Computerized Central Database Tracking System Task Force (Task Force) the Board may prescribe by rule additional exceptions to the electronic prescribing requirements for both pharmacists and medical practitioners. (Sec. 3)

11.   Exempts Veterinarians from the electronic prescribing requirements until the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board determines that electronic prescribing software is widely available for veterinarians. (Sec. 3)

12.    Expands the duties of the Task Force to identify educational, outreach and support services to advance medical practitioners' adoption of electronic prescribing of Schedule II controlled substances and pharmacy implementation of outlined requirements and to consult with regarding recommendations for exceptions to the electronic prescribing requirements. (Sec. 4)

13.   Adds a representative of a health information organization to the Task Force.  (Sec. 4)

14.   Contains a retroactivity clause to January 1, 2019 for A.R.S. § 36-2525. (Sec 5)

15.   Contains an emergency clause. (Sec. 6)

 

 

 

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Fifty-fourth Legislature                           HB 2075

First Regular Session                Version 3: House Engrossed

 

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