Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MARLENE CARIDE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires pharmacies to report dispensation of Schedule II drugs to prescription monitoring program at least once every five days.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the prescription monitoring program and amending P.L.2007, c.244.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 25 of P.L.2007, c.244 (C.45:1-45) is amended to read as follows:
25. Prescription Monitoring Program; requirements.
a. There is established the Prescription Monitoring Program in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The program shall consist of an electronic system for monitoring controlled dangerous substances that are dispensed in or into the State by a pharmacist in an outpatient setting.
b. Each pharmacy permit holder shall submit, or cause to be submitted, to the division, by electronic means in a format and at such intervals as are specified by the director, information about each prescription for a controlled dangerous substance dispensed by the pharmacy that includes:
(1) The surname, first name, and date of birth of the patient for whom the medication is intended;
(2) The street address and telephone number of the patient;
(3) The date that the medication is dispensed;
(4) The number or designation identifying the prescription and the National Drug Code of the drug dispensed;
(5) The pharmacy permit number of the dispensing pharmacy;
(6) The prescribing practitioner's name and Drug Enforcement Administration registration number;
(7) The name, strength, and quantity of the drug dispensed, the number of refills ordered, and whether the drug was dispensed as a refill or a new prescription;
(8) The date that the prescription was issued by the practitioner;
(9) The source of payment for the drug dispensed; and
(10) Such other information, not inconsistent with federal law, regulation, or funding eligibility requirements, as the director determines necessary.
The pharmacy permit holder shall submit the information to the division with respect to the prescriptions for Schedule II controlled dangerous substances dispensed during the reporting period not less frequently than every five days and shall submit the information to the division with respect to [the] all other prescriptions dispensed during the reporting period not less frequently than every 30 days, or according to a schedule to be determined by the director if federal law, regulation or funding eligibility otherwise requires.
c. The division may grant a waiver of electronic submission to any pharmacy permit holder for good cause, including financial hardship, as determined by the director. The waiver shall state the format in which the pharmacy permit holder shall submit the required information.
d. The requirements of this act shall not apply to: the direct administration of a controlled dangerous substance to the body of an ultimate user; or the administration or dispensing of a controlled dangerous substance that is otherwise exempted as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to the "National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005," Pub.L.109-60.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.244, s.25)
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would revise the requirement for pharmacy permit holders to report to the Division of Consumer affairs certain information concerning dispensation of prescription drugs as part of the prescription monitoring program. Specifically, the bill would require pharmacy permit holders to submit information concerning prescriptions for Schedule II controlled dangerous substances at least once every five days, instead of once every 30 days as required under current law.
The bill would not revise the 30-day reporting requirement for prescription drugs that are not Schedule II controlled dangerous substances, and would not revise the information that must be submitted to the prescription monitoring program. This information includes: the patient's name, birth date, and address; the dates the prescription was issued and filled; information identifying the drug dispensed, the pharmacy, and the prescriber; the name, strength, and quantity of the drug dispensed along with the number of refills ordered and whether the drug was dispensed as a refill or as a new prescription; the source of payment; and any other information the director determines necessary.