AN ACT CONCERNING THE ELECTRONIC PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAM AND NON-OPIOID SCHEDULE V CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivision (9) of subsection (j) of section 21a-254 of the 2016 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2016):

(9) Prior to prescribing greater than a seventy-two-hour supply of any controlled substance, except a non-opioid schedule V controlled substance, to any patient, the prescribing practitioner or such practitioner's authorized agent who is also a licensed health care professional shall review the patient's records in the electronic prescription drug monitoring program established pursuant to this subsection. Whenever a prescribing practitioner prescribes controlled substances, except non-opioid schedule V controlled substances, for the continuous or prolonged treatment of any patient, such prescriber, or such prescriber's authorized agent who is also a licensed health care professional, shall review, not less than once every ninety days, the patient's records in such prescription drug monitoring program. If such electronic prescription drug monitoring program is not operational, such prescriber may prescribe greater than a seventy-two-hour supply of a controlled substance to a patient during the time of such program's inoperability, provided such prescriber or such authorized agent reviews the records of such patient in such program not more than twenty-four hours after regaining access to such program.

Statement of Purpose:

To ensure patients timely access to non-opioid schedule V controlled substances, including, but not limited to, epilepsy medications.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]