Public Act 100-0125
 
HB2708 EnrolledLRB100 09951 RLC 20122 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 318 as follows:
 



    (720 ILCS 570/318)


    Sec. 318. Confidentiality of information. 

    (a) Information received by the central repository under 
Section 316 and former Section 321
is confidential.

    (b) The Department must carry out a program to protect the

confidentiality of the information described in subsection 
(a). The Department
may
disclose the information to another 
person only under
subsection (c), (d), or (f) and may charge a 
fee not to exceed the actual cost
of
furnishing the

information.

    (c) The Department may disclose confidential information 
described
in subsection (a) to any person who is engaged in 
receiving, processing, or
storing the information.

    (d) The Department may release confidential information 
described
in subsection (a) to the following persons:

        (1) A governing body
that licenses practitioners and is 
    engaged in an investigation, an
adjudication,
or a 
    prosecution of a violation under any State or federal law 
    that involves a
controlled substance.

        (2) An investigator for the Consumer Protection 
    Division of the office of
the Attorney General, a 
    prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy

    Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of the 
    Attorney General,
who is engaged in any of the following 
    activities involving controlled
substances:

            (A) an investigation;

            (B) an adjudication; or

            (C) a prosecution
of a violation under any State or 
        federal law that involves a controlled
substance.

        (3) A law enforcement officer who is:

            (A) authorized by the Illinois State Police  or the 
        office of a county sheriff or State's Attorney or

        municipal police department of Illinois to receive

        information
of the type requested for the purpose of 
        investigations involving controlled
substances; or

            (B) approved by the Department to receive 
        information of the
type requested for the purpose of 
        investigations involving controlled
substances; and

            (C) engaged in the investigation or prosecution of 
        a violation
under
any State or federal law that 
        involves a controlled substance.

        (4)  Select representatives of the Department of 
    Children and Family Services through the indirect online 
    request process. Access shall be established by an 
    intergovernmental agreement between the Department of 
    Children and Family Services and the Department of Human 
    Services. 
    (e) Before the Department releases confidential 
information under
subsection (d), the applicant must 
demonstrate in writing to the Department that:

        (1) the applicant has reason to believe that a 
    violation under any
State or
federal law that involves a 
    controlled substance has occurred; and

        (2) the requested information is reasonably related to 
    the investigation,
adjudication, or prosecution of the 
    violation described in subdivision (1).

    (f) The Department may receive and release prescription 
record information under Section 316 and former Section 321 to:

        (1) a governing
body that licenses practitioners;

        (2) an investigator for the Consumer Protection 
    Division of the office of
the Attorney General, a 
    prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy

    Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of the 
    Attorney General;


        (3) any Illinois law enforcement officer who is:

            (A) authorized to receive the type of
information 
        released; and

            (B) approved by the Department to receive the type 
        of
information released; or


        (4) prescription monitoring entities in other states 
    per the provisions outlined in subsection (g) and (h) 
    below;

confidential prescription record information collected under 
Sections 316 and 321 (now repealed) that identifies vendors or

practitioners, or both, who are prescribing or dispensing large 
quantities of
Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled
substances 
outside the scope of their practice, pharmacy, or business, as 
determined by the Advisory Committee created by Section 320.

    (g) The information described in subsection (f) may not be 
released until it
has been reviewed by an employee of the 
Department who is licensed as a
prescriber or a dispenser
and 
until that employee has certified
that further investigation is 
warranted. However, failure to comply with this
subsection (g) 
does not invalidate the use of any evidence that is otherwise

admissible in a proceeding described in subsection (h).

    (h) An investigator or a law enforcement officer receiving 
confidential
information under subsection (c), (d), or (f) may 
disclose the information to a
law enforcement officer or an 
attorney for the office of the Attorney General
for use as 
evidence in the following:

        (1) A proceeding under any State or federal law that 
    involves a
 controlled substance.

        (2) A criminal proceeding or a proceeding in juvenile 
    court that involves
a controlled substance.

    (i) The Department may compile statistical reports from the

information described in subsection (a). The reports must not 
include
information that identifies, by name, license or 
address, any practitioner, dispenser, ultimate user, or other 
person
administering a controlled substance.

    (j)  Based upon federal, initial and maintenance funding, a 
prescriber and dispenser inquiry system shall be developed to 
assist the health care community in its goal of effective 
clinical practice and to prevent patients from diverting or 
abusing medications.
 
        (1)  An inquirer shall have read-only access to a 
    stand-alone database which shall contain records for the 
    previous 12 months.
        (2)  Dispensers may, upon positive and secure 
    identification, make an inquiry on a patient or customer 
    solely for a medical purpose as delineated within the 
    federal HIPAA law.
        (3)  The Department shall provide a one-to-one secure 
    link and encrypted software necessary to establish the link 
    between an inquirer and the Department.  Technical 
    assistance shall also be provided.
        (4)  Written inquiries are acceptable but must include 
    the fee and the requestor's Drug Enforcement 
    Administration license number and submitted upon the 
    requestor's business stationery.
        (5) As directed by the Prescription Monitoring Program 
    Advisory Committee and the Clinical Director for the  
    Prescription Monitoring Program, aggregate data that does 
    not indicate any prescriber, practitioner, dispenser, or 
    patient may be used for clinical studies.
        (6)  Tracking analysis shall be established and used per 
    administrative rule.
        (7)  Nothing in this Act or Illinois law shall be 
    construed to require a prescriber or dispenser to make use 
    of this inquiry system.

        (8)  If there is an adverse outcome because of a 
    prescriber or dispenser making an inquiry, which is 
    initiated in good faith, the prescriber or dispenser shall 
    be held harmless from any civil liability.

    (k) The Department shall establish, by rule, the process by 
which to evaluate possible erroneous association of 
prescriptions to any licensed prescriber or end user of the 
Illinois Prescription Information Library (PIL).
    (l) The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee 
is authorized to evaluate the need for and method of 
establishing a patient specific identifier.
    (m) Patients who identify prescriptions attributed to them 
that were not obtained by them shall be given access to their 
personal prescription history pursuant to the validation 
process as set forth by administrative rule.
    (n) The Prescription Monitoring Program is authorized to 
develop operational push reports to entities with compatible 
electronic medical records. The process shall be covered within 
administrative rule established by the Department.
    (o) Hospital emergency departments and freestanding 
healthcare facilities providing healthcare to walk-in patients 
may obtain, for the purpose of improving patient care, a unique 
identifier for each shift to utilize the PIL system. 
    (p)  The Prescription Monitoring Program shall 
automatically create a log-in to the inquiry system when a 
prescriber or dispenser obtains or renews his or her controlled 
substance license.  The Department of Financial and 
Professional Regulation must provide the Prescription 
Monitoring Program with electronic access to the license 
information of a prescriber or dispenser to facilitate the 
creation of this profile.  The Prescription Monitoring Program 
shall send the prescriber or dispenser information regarding 
the inquiry system, including instructions on how to log into 
the system, instructions on how to use the system to promote 
effective clinical practice, and opportunities for continuing 
education for the prescribing of controlled substances. The 
Prescription Monitoring Program shall also send to all enrolled 
prescribers, dispensers, and designees information regarding 
the unsolicited reports produced pursuant to Section 314.5 of 
this Act. 
    (q) A prescriber or dispenser may authorize a designee to 
consult the inquiry system established by the Department under 
this subsection on his or her behalf, provided that all the 
following conditions are met: 
        (1) the designee so authorized is employed by the same 
    hospital or health care system; is employed by the same 
    professional practice; or is under contract with such 
    practice, hospital, or health care system; 
        (2) the prescriber or dispenser takes reasonable steps 
    to ensure that such designee is sufficiently competent in 
    the use of the inquiry system; 
        (3) the prescriber or dispenser remains responsible 
    for ensuring that access to the inquiry system by the 
    designee is limited to authorized purposes and occurs in a 
    manner that protects the confidentiality of the 
    information obtained from the inquiry system, and remains 
    responsible for any breach of confidentiality; and 
        (4) the ultimate decision as to whether or not to 
    prescribe or dispense a controlled substance remains with 
    the prescriber or dispenser.
    The Prescription Monitoring Program shall send to 
registered designees information regarding the inquiry system, 
including instructions on how to log onto the system. 
    (r)  The Prescription Monitoring Program shall maintain an 
Internet website in conjunction with its prescriber and 
dispenser inquiry system.  This website shall include, at a 
minimum, the following information: 
        (1) current clinical guidelines developed by health 
    care professional organizations on the prescribing of 
    opioids or other controlled substances as determined by the 
    Advisory Committee;
        (2) accredited continuing education programs related 
    to prescribing of controlled substances; 
        (3) programs or information developed by health care 
    professionals that may be used to assess patients or help 
    ensure compliance with prescriptions;
        (4)  updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the 
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other 
    public and private organizations which are relevant to 
    prescribing;
        (5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
        (6)  other information regarding the prescription of 
    controlled substances; and
        (7) information regarding prescription drug disposal 
    events, including take-back programs or other disposal 
    options or events. 
    The content of the Internet website shall be periodically 
reviewed by the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory 
Committee as set forth in Section 320 and updated in accordance 
with the recommendation of the advisory committee. 
    (s)  The Prescription Monitoring Program shall regularly 
send electronic updates to the registered users of the Program.  
The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee shall 
review any communications sent to registered users and also 
make recommendations for communications as set forth in Section 
320.  These updates shall include the following information: 
        (1)  opportunities for accredited continuing education 
    programs related to prescribing of controlled substances;
        (2)  current clinical guidelines developed by health 
    care professional organizations on the prescribing of 
    opioids or other drugs as determined by the Advisory 
    Committee;
        (3)  programs or information developed by health care 
    professionals that may be used to assess patients or help 
    ensure compliance with prescriptions;
        (4)  updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the 
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other 
    public and private organizations which are relevant to 
    prescribing;
        (5)  relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
        (6)  other information regarding prescribing of 
    controlled substances;
        (7)  information regarding prescription drug disposal 
    events, including take-back programs or other disposal 
    options or events; and
        (8) reminders that the Prescription Monitoring Program 
    is a useful clinical tool. 
(Source: P.A. 99-480, eff. 9-9-15.)