Public Act 103-0732
 
HB4874 EnrolledLRB103 37508 RLC 69489 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act is
amended by changing Section 311.6 as follows:
 
    (720 ILCS 570/311.6)
    Sec. 311.6. Opioid prescriptions.
    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
prescription for a substance classified in Schedule II, III,
IV, or V must be sent electronically, in accordance with
Section 316. Prescriptions sent in accordance with this
subsection (a) must be accepted by the dispenser in electronic
format.
    (b) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 103rd General Assembly until December 31, 2028,
notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or any
other provision of law, a prescriber shall not be required to
issue prescriptions electronically if he or she certifies to
the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation that
he or she will not issue more than 150 prescriptions during a
12-month period. Prescriptions in both oral and written form
for controlled substances shall be included in determining
whether the prescriber will reach the limit of 150
prescriptions. Beginning January 1, 2029, notwithstanding any
other provision of this Section or any other provision of law,
a prescriber shall not be required to issue prescriptions
electronically if he or she certifies to the Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation that he or she will not
issue more than 50 prescriptions during a 12-month period.
Prescriptions in both oral and written form for controlled
substances shall be included in determining whether the
prescriber will reach the limit of 50 prescriptions.
    (b-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section
or any other provision of law, a prescriber shall not be
required to issue prescriptions electronically under the
following circumstances:
        (1) prior to January 1, 2026, the prescriber
    demonstrates financial difficulties in buying or managing
    an electronic prescription option, whether it is an
    electronic health record or some other electronic
    prescribing product;
        (2) on and after January 1, 2026, the prescriber
    provides proof of a waiver from the Centers for Medicare
    and Medicaid Services for the Electronic Prescribing for
    Controlled Substances Program due to demonstrated economic
    hardship for the previous compliance year;
        (3) there is a temporary technological or electrical
    failure that prevents an electronic prescription from
    being issued;
        (4) the prescription is for a drug that the
    practitioner reasonably determines would be impractical
    for the patient to obtain in a timely manner if prescribed
    by an electronic data transmission prescription and the
    delay would adversely impact the patient's medical
    condition;
        (5) the prescription is for an individual who:
            (A) resides in a nursing or assisted living
        facility;
            (B) is receiving hospice or palliative care;
            (C) is receiving care at an outpatient renal
        dialysis facility and the prescription is related to
        the care provided;
            (D) is receiving care through the United States
        Department of Veterans Affairs; or
            (E) is incarcerated in a state, detained, or
        confined in a correctional facility;
        (6) the prescription prescribes a drug under a
    research protocol;
        (7) the prescription is a non-patient specific
    prescription dispensed under a standing order, approved
    protocol for drug therapy, collaborative drug management,
    or comprehensive medication management, or in response to
    a public health emergency or other circumstance in which
    the practitioner may issue a non-patient specific
    prescription;
        (8) the prescription is issued when the prescriber and
    dispenser are the same entity;
        (9) the prescription is issued for a compound
    prescription containing 2 or more compounds; or
        (10) the prescription is issued by a licensed
    veterinarian within 2 years after the effective date of
    this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
    (c) The Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation may adopt rules for the administration of this
Section to the requirements under this Section that the
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may deem
appropriate.
    (d) Any prescriber who makes a good faith effort to
prescribe electronically, but for reasons not within the
prescriber's control is unable to prescribe electronically,
may be exempt from any disciplinary action.
    (e) Any pharmacist who dispenses in good faith based upon
a valid prescription that is not prescribed electronically may
be exempt from any disciplinary action. A pharmacist is not
required to ensure or responsible for ensuring the
prescriber's compliance under subsection (b), nor may any
other entity or organization require a pharmacist to ensure
the prescriber's compliance with that subsection. A pharmacist
may not refuse to fill a valid prescription solely because it
is not prescribed electronically.
    (f) It shall be a violation of this Section for any
prescriber or dispenser to adopt a policy contrary to this
Section.
    (g) A compliance action with respect to this Section
initiated by the Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation prior to December 31, 2030 is limited to a
non-disciplinary warning letter or citation, unless the
prescriber or dispenser fails to abide by the initial
non-disciplinary warning letter or citation, has acted in bad
faith, or a pattern of practice in violation of this Section
occurs.
(Source: P.A. 102-490, eff. 1-1-24 (See Section 55 of P.A.
102-1109 for effective date of P.A. 102-490); 103-425, eff.
1-1-24; 103-563, eff. 11-17-23.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/2/2024