SB3024 EngrossedLRB102 22161 RLC 31290 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    (a-1) To ensure the federal Health Insurance Portability
11and Accountability Act and confidentiality of substance use
12disorder patient records rules that mandate the privacy of an
13individual's prescription data reported to the Prescription
14Monitoring Program received from a retail dispenser under this
15Act, and in order to execute the duties and responsibilities
16under Section 316 of this Act and rules for disclosure under
17this Section, the Clinical Director of the Prescription
18Monitoring Program or his or her designee shall maintain
19direct access to all Prescription Monitoring Program data. Any
20request for Prescription Monitoring Program data from any
21other department or agency must be approved in writing by the
22Clinical Director of the Prescription Monitoring Program or
23his or her designee unless otherwise permitted by law.

 

 

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1Prescription Monitoring Program data shall only be disclosed
2as permitted by law.
3    (a-2) As an active step to address the current opioid
4crisis in this State and to prevent and reduce addiction
5resulting from a sports injury or an accident, the
6Prescription Monitoring Program and the Department of Public
7Health shall coordinate a continuous review of the
8Prescription Monitoring Program and the Department of Public
9Health data to determine if a patient may be at risk of opioid
10addiction. Each patient discharged from any medical facility
11with an International Classification of Disease, 10th edition
12code related to a sport or accident injury shall be subject to
13the data review. If the discharged patient is dispensed a
14controlled substance, the Prescription Monitoring Program
15shall alert the patient's prescriber as to the addiction risk
16and urge each to follow the Centers for Disease Control and
17Prevention guidelines or his or her respective profession's
18treatment guidelines related to the patient's injury. This
19subsection (a-2), other than this sentence, is inoperative on
20or after January 1, 2024.
21    (b) The Department must carry out a program to protect the
22confidentiality of the information described in subsection
23(a). The Department may disclose the information to another
24person only under subsection (c), (d), or (f) and may charge a
25fee not to exceed the actual cost of furnishing the
26information.

 

 

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1    (c) The Department may disclose confidential information
2described in subsection (a) to any person who is engaged in
3receiving, processing, or storing the information.
4    (d) The Department may release confidential information
5described in subsection (a) to the following persons:
6        (1) A governing body that licenses practitioners and
7    is engaged in an investigation, an adjudication, or a
8    prosecution of a violation under any State or federal law
9    that involves a controlled substance.
10        (2) An investigator for the Consumer Protection
11    Division of the office of the Attorney General, a
12    prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy
13    Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of
14    the Attorney General, who is engaged in any of the
15    following activities involving controlled substances:
16            (A) an investigation;
17            (B) an adjudication; or
18            (C) a prosecution of a violation under any State
19        or federal law that involves a controlled substance.
20        (3) A law enforcement officer who is:
21            (A) authorized by the Illinois State Police or the
22        office of a county sheriff or State's Attorney or
23        municipal police department of Illinois to receive
24        information of the type requested for the purpose of
25        investigations involving controlled substances; or
26            (B) approved by the Department to receive

 

 

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1        information of the type requested for the purpose of
2        investigations involving controlled substances; and
3            (C) engaged in the investigation or prosecution of
4        a violation under any State or federal law that
5        involves a controlled substance.
6        (4) Select representatives of the Department of
7    Children and Family Services through the indirect online
8    request process. Access shall be established by an
9    intergovernmental agreement between the Department of
10    Children and Family Services and the Department of Human
11    Services.
12    (e) Before the Department releases confidential
13information under subsection (d), the applicant must
14demonstrate in writing to the Department that:
15        (1) the applicant has reason to believe that a
16    violation under any State or federal law that involves a
17    controlled substance has occurred; and
18        (2) the requested information is reasonably related to
19    the investigation, adjudication, or prosecution of the
20    violation described in subdivision (1).
21    (f) The Department may receive and release prescription
22record information under Section 316 and former Section 321
23to:
24        (1) a governing body that licenses practitioners;
25        (2) an investigator for the Consumer Protection
26    Division of the office of the Attorney General, a

 

 

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1    prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy
2    Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of
3    the Attorney General;
4        (3) any Illinois law enforcement officer who is:
5            (A) authorized to receive the type of information
6        released; and
7            (B) approved by the Department to receive the type
8        of information released; or
9        (4) prescription monitoring entities in other states
10    per the provisions outlined in subsection (g) and (h)
11    below;
12confidential prescription record information collected under
13Sections 316 and 321 (now repealed) that identifies vendors or
14practitioners, or both, who are prescribing or dispensing
15large quantities of Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled
16substances outside the scope of their practice, pharmacy, or
17business, as determined by the Advisory Committee created by
18Section 320.
19    (f-5) In accordance with a confidentiality agreement
20entered into with the Department, a medical director, or a
21public health administrator and their delegated analysts, of a
22county or municipal health department or the Department of
23Public Health shall have access to data from the system for any
24of the following purposes:
25            (1) developing education programs or public health
26        interventions relating to prescribing trends and

 

 

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1        controlled substance use; or
2            (2) conducting analyses and publish reports on
3        prescribing trends in their respective jurisdictions.
4    At a minimum, the confidentiality agreement entered into
5with the Department shall:
6        (i) prohibit analysis and reports produced under
7    subparagraph (2) from including information that
8    identifies, by name, license, or address, any
9    practitioner, dispenser, ultimate user, or other person
10    administering a controlled substance; and
11        (ii) specify the appropriate technical and physical
12    safeguards that the county or municipal health department
13    must implement to ensure the privacy and security of data
14    obtained from the system. The data from the system shall
15    not be admissible as evidence, nor discoverable in any
16    action of any kind in any court or before any tribunal,
17    board, agency, or person. The disclosure of any such
18    information or data, whether proper or improper, shall not
19    waive or have any effect upon its confidentiality,
20    non-discoverability, or non-admissibility.
21    (g) The information described in subsection (f) may not be
22released until it has been reviewed by an employee of the
23Department who is licensed as a prescriber or a dispenser and
24until that employee has certified that further investigation
25is warranted. However, failure to comply with this subsection
26(g) does not invalidate the use of any evidence that is

 

 

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1otherwise admissible in a proceeding described in subsection
2(h).
3    (h) An investigator or a law enforcement officer receiving
4confidential information under subsection (c), (d), or (f) may
5disclose the information to a law enforcement officer or an
6attorney for the office of the Attorney General for use as
7evidence in the following:
8        (1) A proceeding under any State or federal law that
9    involves a controlled substance.
10        (2) A criminal proceeding or a proceeding in juvenile
11    court that involves a controlled substance.
12    (i) The Department may compile statistical reports from
13the information described in subsection (a). The reports must
14not include information that identifies, by name, license or
15address, any practitioner, dispenser, ultimate user, or other
16person administering a controlled substance.
17    (j) Based upon federal, initial and maintenance funding, a
18prescriber and dispenser inquiry system shall be developed to
19assist the health care community in its goal of effective
20clinical practice and to prevent patients from diverting or
21abusing medications.
22        (1) An inquirer shall have read-only access to a
23    stand-alone database which shall contain records for the
24    previous 12 months.
25        (2) Dispensers may, upon positive and secure
26    identification, make an inquiry on a patient or customer

 

 

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1    solely for a medical purpose as delineated within the
2    federal HIPAA law.
3        (3) The Department shall provide a one-to-one secure
4    link and encrypted software necessary to establish the
5    link between an inquirer and the Department. Technical
6    assistance shall also be provided.
7        (4) Written inquiries are acceptable but must include
8    the fee and the requester's requestor's Drug Enforcement
9    Administration license number and submitted upon the
10    requester's requestor's business stationery.
11        (5) As directed by the Prescription Monitoring Program
12    Advisory Committee and the Clinical Director for the
13    Prescription Monitoring Program, aggregate data that does
14    not indicate any prescriber, practitioner, dispenser, or
15    patient may be used for clinical studies.
16        (6) Tracking analysis shall be established and used
17    per administrative rule.
18        (7) Nothing in this Act or Illinois law shall be
19    construed to require a prescriber or dispenser to make use
20    of this inquiry system.
21        (8) If there is an adverse outcome because of a
22    prescriber or dispenser making an inquiry, which is
23    initiated in good faith, the prescriber or dispenser shall
24    be held harmless from any civil liability.
25    (k) The Department shall establish, by rule, the process
26by which to evaluate possible erroneous association of

 

 

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1prescriptions to any licensed prescriber or end user of the
2Illinois Prescription Information Library (PIL).
3    (l) The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee
4is authorized to evaluate the need for and method of
5establishing a patient specific identifier.
6    (m) Patients who identify prescriptions attributed to them
7that were not obtained by them shall be given access to their
8personal prescription history pursuant to the validation
9process as set forth by administrative rule.
10    (n) The Prescription Monitoring Program is authorized to
11develop operational push reports to entities with compatible
12electronic medical records. The process shall be covered
13within administrative rule established by the Department.
14    (o) Hospital emergency departments and freestanding
15healthcare facilities providing healthcare to walk-in patients
16may obtain, for the purpose of improving patient care, a
17unique identifier for each shift to utilize the PIL system.
18    (p) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall
19automatically create a log-in to the inquiry system when a
20prescriber or dispenser obtains or renews his or her
21controlled substance license. The Department of Financial and
22Professional Regulation must provide the Prescription
23Monitoring Program with electronic access to the license
24information of a prescriber or dispenser to facilitate the
25creation of this profile. The Prescription Monitoring Program
26shall send the prescriber or dispenser information regarding

 

 

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1the inquiry system, including instructions on how to log into
2the system, instructions on how to use the system to promote
3effective clinical practice, and opportunities for continuing
4education for the prescribing of controlled substances. The
5Prescription Monitoring Program shall also send to all
6enrolled prescribers, dispensers, and designees information
7regarding the unsolicited reports produced pursuant to Section
8314.5 of this Act.
9    (q) A prescriber or dispenser may authorize a designee to
10consult the inquiry system established by the Department under
11this subsection on his or her behalf, provided that all the
12following conditions are met:
13        (1) the designee so authorized is employed by the same
14    hospital or health care system; is employed by the same
15    professional practice; or is under contract with such
16    practice, hospital, or health care system;
17        (2) the prescriber or dispenser takes reasonable steps
18    to ensure that such designee is sufficiently competent in
19    the use of the inquiry system;
20        (3) the prescriber or dispenser remains responsible
21    for ensuring that access to the inquiry system by the
22    designee is limited to authorized purposes and occurs in a
23    manner that protects the confidentiality of the
24    information obtained from the inquiry system, and remains
25    responsible for any breach of confidentiality; and
26        (4) the ultimate decision as to whether or not to

 

 

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1    prescribe or dispense a controlled substance remains with
2    the prescriber or dispenser.
3    The Prescription Monitoring Program shall send to
4registered designees information regarding the inquiry system,
5including instructions on how to log onto the system.
6    (r) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall maintain an
7Internet website in conjunction with its prescriber and
8dispenser inquiry system. This website shall include, at a
9minimum, the following information:
10        (1) current clinical guidelines developed by health
11    care professional organizations on the prescribing of
12    opioids or other controlled substances as determined by
13    the Advisory Committee;
14        (2) accredited continuing education programs related
15    to prescribing of controlled substances;
16        (3) programs or information developed by health care
17    professionals that may be used to assess patients or help
18    ensure compliance with prescriptions;
19        (4) updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the
20    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other
21    public and private organizations which are relevant to
22    prescribing;
23        (5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
24        (6) other information regarding the prescription of
25    controlled substances; and
26        (7) information regarding prescription drug disposal

 

 

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

 

 

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1        (5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
2        (6) other information regarding prescribing of
3    controlled substances;
4        (7) information regarding prescription drug disposal
5    events, including take-back programs or other disposal
6    options or events; and
7        (8) reminders that the Prescription Monitoring Program
8    is a useful clinical tool.
9    (t) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
10neither the Prescription Monitoring Program nor any other
11person shall disclose any information in violation of the
12restrictions and requirements of paragraph (3.5) of subsection
13(a) of Section 316 as implemented under Public Act 102-527.
14(Source: P.A. 99-480, eff. 9-9-15; 100-125, eff. 1-1-18;
15100-1093, eff. 8-26-18.)