HB4640 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 22205 CPF 31335 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4640

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Rep. Deb Conroy

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
20 ILCS 2305/2	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22
410 ILCS 535/24	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-24
720 ILCS 570/318

Creates the Access to Public Health Data Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, at the request of a local health department in Illinois, make any and all public health data related to residents of that local health department's jurisdiction available to that local health department for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement the Act. Contains other provisions. Amends the Department of Public Health Act. Provides that emergency access to medical or health information, records, or data shall include access to electronic health records, provided that the local health authority shall be unable to alter the electronic health records. Provides that a person, facility, institution, or agency providing information under the provisions may withhold a patient's mental or behavioral health history. Amends the Vital Records Act. Provides that no rule adopted by the Department of Public Health shall be construed as restricting access to vital records by any municipality, county, multicounty, public health district, or regional health officer recognized by the Department for the purposes described in specified provisions. Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health may release specified confidential information to a certified local health department engaged in the performance of epidemiological studies, the application of data science methods, or other analytic models that protect and promote public health. Makes other changes.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access to Public Health Data Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, "public health data" includes, but is not limited to, birth and death certificate data, hospital discharge data, adverse pregnancy outcomes reporting system (APORS) data, cancer registry data, pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system (PRAMS) data, syndromic surveillance data, and prescription monitoring program (PMP) data.

Section 10. Access to public health data; local health departments.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of State law to the contrary, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, at the request of a local health department in this State, make any and all public health data related to residents of that local health department's jurisdiction available to that local health department for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. The commissioner, executive director, chief operating officer, chief medical officer, or equivalent executive leader of a local health department has express authority to request and receive such data.

(b) The Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the requesting local health department shall apply appropriate safeguards to ensure the privacy and security of the data.

Section 15. Date use agreements. The Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the requesting local health department may enter into data use agreements to ensure appropriate, effective, and efficient use of data requested by the local health department, though no data use agreement shall restrict local health department access to any public health data available to the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, or the Department of Children and Family Services, nor shall it require indemnification as a prerequisite to access.

Section 20. Standard request data forms. Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall develop a standard data request form for use by local health departments, the terms of which shall be limited to data content, format, method of transfer, analytic and statistical methods, scope of use, and requirements for safeguarding the data.

Section 25. Latest available data. The Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services must provide the latest available data for each local health department request within 90 business days after receiving the data request form.

Section 30. Rules. The Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement this Act.

Section 35. The Department of Public Health Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2305/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22)

Sec. 2. Powers.

(a) The State Department of Public Health has general supervision of the interests of the health and lives of the people of the State. It has supreme authority in matters of quarantine and isolation, and may declare and enforce quarantine and isolation when none exists, and may modify or relax quarantine and isolation when it has been established. The Department may adopt, promulgate, repeal and amend rules and regulations and make such sanitary investigations and inspections as it may from time to time deem necessary for the preservation and improvement of the public health, consistent with law regulating the following:

(1) Transportation of the remains of deceased persons.

(2) Sanitary practices relating to drinking water made accessible to the public for human consumption or for lavatory or culinary purposes.

(3) Sanitary practices relating to rest room facilities made accessible to the public or to persons handling food served to the public.

(4) Sanitary practices relating to disposal of human wastes in or from all buildings and places where people live, work or assemble.

The provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act are hereby expressly adopted and shall apply to all administrative rules and procedures of the Department of Public Health under this Act, except that Section 5-35 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act relating to procedures for rule-making does not apply to the adoption of any rule required by federal law in connection with which the Department is precluded by law from exercising any discretion.

All local boards of health, health authorities and officers, police officers, sheriffs and all other officers and employees of the state or any locality shall enforce the rules and regulations so adopted and orders issued by the Department pursuant to this Section.

The Department of Public Health shall conduct a public information campaign to inform Hispanic women of the high incidence of breast cancer and the importance of mammograms and where to obtain a mammogram. This requirement may be satisfied by translation into Spanish and distribution of the breast cancer summaries required by Section 2310-345 of the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law (20 ILCS 2310/2310-345). The information provided by the Department of Public Health shall include (i) a statement that mammography is the most accurate method for making an early detection of breast cancer, however, no diagnostic tool is 100% effective and (ii) instructions for performing breast self-examination and a statement that it is important to perform a breast self-examination monthly.

The Department of Public Health shall investigate the causes of dangerously contagious or infectious diseases, especially when existing in epidemic form, and take means to restrict and suppress the same, and whenever such disease becomes, or threatens to become epidemic, in any locality and the local board of health or local authorities neglect or refuse to enforce efficient measures for its restriction or suppression or to act with sufficient promptness or efficiency, or whenever the local board of health or local authorities neglect or refuse to promptly enforce efficient measures for the restriction or suppression of dangerously contagious or infectious diseases, the Department of Public Health may enforce such measures as it deems necessary to protect the public health, and all necessary expenses so incurred shall be paid by the locality for which services are rendered.

(b) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c), the Department may order a person or group of persons to be quarantined or isolated or may order a place to be closed and made off limits to the public to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, including non-compliant tuberculosis patients, until such time as the condition can be corrected or the danger to the public health eliminated or reduced in such a manner that no substantial danger to the public's health any longer exists. Orders for isolation of a person or quarantine of a place to prevent the probable spread of a sexually transmissible disease shall be governed by the provisions of Section 7 of the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act and not this Section.

(c) Except as provided in this Section, no person or a group of persons may be ordered to be quarantined or isolated and no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public except with the consent of the person or owner of the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The Department may, however, order a person or a group of persons to be quarantined or isolated or may order a place to be closed and made off limits to the public on an immediate basis without prior consent or court order if, in the reasonable judgment of the Department, immediate action is required to protect the public from a dangerously contagious or infectious disease. In the event of an immediate order issued without prior consent or court order, the Department shall, as soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the order, obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a petition requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or quarantine or closure. When exigent circumstances exist that cause the court system to be unavailable or that make it impossible to obtain consent or file a petition within 48 hours after issuance of an immediate order, the Department must obtain consent or file a petition requesting a court order as soon as reasonably possible. To obtain a court order, the Department, by clear and convincing evidence, must prove that the public's health and welfare are significantly endangered by a person or group of persons that has, that is suspected of having, that has been exposed to, or that is reasonably believed to have been exposed to a dangerously contagious or infectious disease including non-compliant tuberculosis patients or by a place where there is a significant amount of activity likely to spread a dangerously contagious or infectious disease. The Department must also prove that all other reasonable means of correcting the problem have been exhausted and no less restrictive alternative exists. For purposes of this subsection, in determining whether no less restrictive alternative exists, the court shall consider evidence showing that, under the circumstances presented by the case in which an order is sought, quarantine or isolation is the measure provided for in a rule of the Department or in guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Persons who are or are about to be ordered to be isolated or quarantined and owners of places that are or are about to be closed and made off limits to the public shall have the right to counsel. If a person or owner is indigent, the court shall appoint counsel for that person or owner. Persons who are ordered to be isolated or quarantined or who are owners of places that are ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public, shall be given a written notice of such order. The written notice shall additionally include the following: (1) notice of the right to counsel; (2) notice that if the person or owner is indigent, the court will appoint counsel for that person or owner; (3) notice of the reason for the order for isolation, quarantine, or closure; (4) notice of whether the order is an immediate order, and if so, the time frame for the Department to seek consent or to file a petition requesting a court order as set out in this subsection; and (5) notice of the anticipated duration of the isolation, quarantine, or closure.

(d) The Department may order physical examinations and tests and collect laboratory specimens as necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of individuals in order to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease. Physical examinations, tests, or collection of laboratory specimens must not be such as are reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the affected individual. To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the Department may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, isolate or quarantine any person whose refusal of physical examination or testing or collection of laboratory specimens results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's health. An individual may refuse to consent to a physical examination, test, or collection of laboratory specimens. An individual shall be given a written notice that shall include notice of the following: (i) that the individual may refuse to consent to physical examination, test, or collection of laboratory specimens; (ii) that if the individual consents to physical examination, tests, or collection of laboratory specimens, the results of that examination, test, or collection of laboratory specimens may subject the individual to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; (iii) that if the individual refuses to consent to physical examination, tests, or collection of laboratory specimens and that refusal results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's health, the individual may be subject to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; and (iv) that if the individual refuses to consent to physical examinations, tests, or collection of laboratory specimens and becomes subject to isolation and quarantine as provided in this subsection (d), he or she shall have the right to counsel pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section. To the extent feasible without endangering the public's health, the Department shall respect and accommodate the religious beliefs of individuals in implementing this subsection.

(e) The Department may order the administration of vaccines, medications, or other treatments to persons as necessary in order to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease. A vaccine, medication, or other treatment to be administered must not be such as is reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the affected individual. To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the Department may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, isolate or quarantine persons who are unable or unwilling to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments pursuant to this Section. An individual may refuse to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments. An individual shall be given a written notice that shall include notice of the following: (i) that the individual may refuse to consent to vaccines, medications, or other treatments; (ii) that if the individual refuses to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments, the individual may be subject to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; and (iii) that if the individual refuses to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments and becomes subject to isolation or quarantine as provided in this subsection (e), he or she shall have the right to counsel pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section. To the extent feasible without endangering the public's health, the Department shall respect and accommodate the religious beliefs of individuals in implementing this subsection.

(f) The Department may order observation and monitoring of persons to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease. To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the Department may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, isolate or quarantine persons whose refusal to undergo observation and monitoring results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's health. An individual may refuse to undergo observation and monitoring. An individual shall be given written notice that shall include notice of the following: (i) that the individual may refuse to undergo observation and monitoring; (ii) that if the individual consents to observation and monitoring, the results of that observation and monitoring may subject the individual to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; (iii) that if the individual refuses to undergo observation and monitoring and that refusal results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's health, the individual may be subject to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; and (iv) that if the individual refuses to undergo observation and monitoring and becomes subject to isolation or quarantine as provided in this subsection (f), he or she shall have the right to counsel pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section.

(g) To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease among humans, the Department may examine, test, disinfect, seize, or destroy animals or other related property believed to be sources of infection. An owner of such animal or other related property shall be given written notice regarding such examination, testing, disinfection, seizure, or destruction. When the Department determines that any animal or related property is infected with or has been exposed to a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, it may agree with the owner upon the value of the animal or of any related property that it may be found necessary to destroy, and in case such an agreement cannot be made, the animals or related property shall be appraised by 3 competent and disinterested appraisers, one to be selected by the Department, one by the claimant, and one by the 2 appraisers thus selected. The appraisers shall subscribe to an oath made in writing to fairly value the animals or related property in accordance with the requirements of this Act. The oath, together with the valuation fixed by the appraisers, shall be filed with the Department and preserved by it. Upon the appraisal being made, the owner or the Department shall immediately destroy the animals by "humane euthanasia" as that term is defined in Section 2.09 of the Humane Care for Animals Act. Dogs and cats, however, shall be euthanized pursuant to the provisions of the Humane Euthanasia in Animal Shelters Act. The owner or the Department shall additionally, dispose of the carcasses, and disinfect, change, or destroy the premises occupied by the animals, in accordance with rules prescribed by the Department governing such destruction and disinfection. Upon his or her failure so to do or to cooperate with the Department, the Department shall cause the animals or related property to be destroyed and disposed of in the same manner, and thereupon the owner shall forfeit all right to receive any compensation for the destruction of the animals or related property. All final administrative decisions of the Department hereunder shall be subject to judicial review pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(h) To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the Department, local boards of health, and local public health authorities shall have emergency access to medical or health information or records or data upon the condition that the Department, local boards of health, and local public health authorities shall protect the privacy and confidentiality of any medical or health information or records or data obtained pursuant to this Section in accordance with federal and State law. Emergency access to medical or health information, records, or data shall include access to electronic health records, provided that the local public health authority shall be unable to alter the electronic health records. A person, facility, institution, or agency providing information under this subsection may withhold a patient's mental or behavioral health history. Additionally, any such medical or health information or records or data shall be exempt from inspection and copying under the Freedom of Information Act. Other than a hearing for the purpose of this Act, any information, records, reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data in the possession of the Department, local boards of health, or local public health authorities shall not be admissible as evidence, nor discoverable in any action of any kind in any court or before any tribunal, board, agency, or person. The access to or disclosure of any of this information or data by the Department, a local board of health, or a local public authority shall not waive or have any effect upon its non-discoverability or non-admissibility. Any person, facility, institution, or agency that provides emergency access to health information and data under this subsection shall have immunity from any civil or criminal liability, or any other type of liability that might otherwise result by reason of these actions except in the event of willful and wanton misconduct. The privileged quality of communication between any professional person or any facility shall not constitute grounds for failure to provide emergency access. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the sharing of information as authorized in Section 2.1 of this Act. The disclosure of any of this information, records, reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data obtained in any activity under this Act, except that necessary for the purposes of this Act, is unlawful, and any person convicted of violating this provision is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(i) (A) The Department, in order to prevent and control disease, injury, or disability among citizens of the State of Illinois, may develop and implement, in consultation with local public health authorities, a Statewide system for syndromic data collection through the access to interoperable networks, information exchanges, and databases. The Department may also develop a system for the reporting of comprehensive, integrated data to identify and address unusual occurrences of disease symptoms and other medical complexes affecting the public's health.

(B) The Department may enter into contracts or agreements with individuals, corporations, hospitals, universities, not-for-profit corporations, governmental entities, or other organizations, whereby those individuals or entities agree to provide assistance in the compilation of the syndromic data collection and reporting system.

(C) The Department shall not release any syndromic data or information obtained pursuant to this subsection to any individuals or entities for purposes other than the protection of the public health. All access to data by the Department, reports made to the Department, the identity of or facts that would tend to lead to the identity of the individual who is the subject of the report, and the identity of or facts that would tend to lead to the identity of the author of the report shall be strictly confidential, are not subject to inspection or dissemination, and shall be used only for public health purposes by the Department, local public health authorities, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Entities or individuals submitting reports or providing access to the Department shall not be held liable for the release of information or confidential data to the Department in accordance with this subsection.

(D) Nothing in this subsection prohibits the sharing of information as authorized in Section 2.1 of this Act.

(j) This Section shall be considered supplemental to the existing authority and powers of the Department and shall not be construed to restrain or restrict the Department in protecting the public health under any other provisions of the law.

(k) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false information or report concerning the existence of any dangerously contagious or infectious disease in connection with the Department's power of quarantine, isolation and closure or refuses to comply with a quarantine, isolation or closure order is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(l) The Department of Public Health may establish and maintain a chemical and bacteriologic laboratory for the examination of water and wastes, and for the diagnosis of diphtheria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, malarial fever and such other diseases as it deems necessary for the protection of the public health.

As used in this Act, "locality" means any governmental agency which exercises power pertaining to public health in an area less than the State.

The terms "sanitary investigations and inspections" and "sanitary practices" as used in this Act shall not include or apply to "Public Water Supplies" or "Sewage Works" as defined in the Environmental Protection Act. The Department may adopt rules that are reasonable and necessary to implement and effectuate this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.

(m) The public health measures set forth in subsections (a) through (h) of this Section may be used by the Department to respond to chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events. The individual provisions of subsections (a) through (h) of this Section apply to any order issued by the Department under this Section. The provisions of subsection (k) apply to chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events. Prior to the Department issuing an order for public health measures set forth in this Act for chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events as authorized in subsection (m), the Department and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall consult in accordance with the Illinois emergency response framework. When responding to chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events, the Department shall determine the health related risks and appropriate public health response measures and provide recommendations for response to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Nothing in this Section shall supersede the current National Incident Management System and the Illinois Emergency Operation Plan or response plans and procedures established pursuant to IEMA statutes.

(Source: P.A. 96-698, eff. 8-25-09.)

Section 40. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing Section 24 as follows:

(410 ILCS 535/24) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-24)

Sec. 24. (1) To protect the integrity of vital records, to insure their proper use, and to insure the efficient and proper administration of the vital records system, access to vital records, and indexes thereof, including vital records in the custody of local registrars and county clerks originating prior to January 1, 1916, is limited to the custodian and his employees, and then only for administrative purposes, except that the indexes of those records in the custody of local registrars and county clerks, originating prior to January 1, 1916, shall be made available to persons for the purpose of genealogical research. Original, photographic or microphotographic reproductions of original records of births 100 years old and older and deaths 50 years old and older, and marriage records 75 years old and older on file in the State Office of Vital Records and in the custody of the county clerks may be made available for inspection in the Illinois State Archives reference area, Illinois Regional Archives Depositories, and other libraries approved by the Illinois State Registrar and the Director of the Illinois State Archives, provided that the photographic or microphotographic copies are made at no cost to the county or to the State of Illinois. It is unlawful for any custodian to permit inspection of, or to disclose information contained in, vital records, or to copy or permit to be copied, all or part of any such record except as authorized by this Act or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(2) The State Registrar of Vital Records, or his agent, and any municipal, county, multi-county, public health district, or regional health officer recognized by the Department may examine vital records for the purpose only of carrying out the public health programs and responsibilities under his jurisdiction.

(3) The State Registrar of Vital Records, may disclose, or authorize the disclosure of, data contained in the vital records when deemed essential for bona fide research purposes which are not for private gain.

This amendatory Act of 1973 does not apply to any home rule unit.

(4) The State Registrar shall exchange with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services information that may be necessary for the establishment of paternity and the establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support orders entered pursuant to the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the Non-Support of Spouse and Children Act, the Non-Support Punishment Act, the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Act to the contrary, the State Registrar shall not be liable to any person for any disclosure of information to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly Illinois Department of Public Aid) under this subsection or for any other action taken in good faith to comply with the requirements of this subsection.

(5) No rule adopted by the Department shall be construed, either explicitly or implicitly, as restricting access to vital records by any municipality, county, multicounty, public health district, or regional health officer recognized by the Department for the purposes described in subsections (2) and (3).

(Source: P.A. 99-85, eff. 1-1-16.)

Section 45. 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.

(a-1) To ensure the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy of an individual's prescription data reported to the Prescription Monitoring Program received from a retail dispenser under this Act, and in order to execute the duties and responsibilities under Section 316 of this Act and rules for disclosure under this Section, the Clinical Director of the Prescription Monitoring Program or his or her designee shall maintain direct access to all Prescription Monitoring Program data. Any request for Prescription Monitoring Program data from any other department or agency must be approved in writing by the Clinical Director of the Prescription Monitoring Program or his or her designee unless otherwise permitted by law. Prescription Monitoring Program data shall only be disclosed as permitted by law.

(a-2) As an active step to address the current opioid crisis in this State and to prevent and reduce addiction resulting from a sports injury or an accident, the Prescription Monitoring Program and the Department of Public Health shall coordinate a continuous review of the Prescription Monitoring Program and the Department of Public Health data to determine if a patient may be at risk of opioid addiction. Each patient discharged from any medical facility with an International Classification of Disease, 10th edition code related to a sport or accident injury shall be subject to the data review. If the discharged patient is dispensed a controlled substance, the Prescription Monitoring Program shall alert the patient's prescriber as to the addiction risk and urge each to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines or his or her respective profession's treatment guidelines related to the patient's injury. This subsection (a-2), other than this sentence, is inoperative on or after January 1, 2024.

(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.

(5) A certified local health department engaged in the performance of epidemiological studies, the application of data science methods, or other analytic models that protect and promote public health.

(e) Except in the case of release under paragraph (5) of subsection (d) of confidential information to a certified local health department for the purpose of the performance of epidemiological studies, the application of data science methods, or other analytic models that protect and promote public health, before 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; 100-125, eff. 1-1-18; 100-1093, eff. 8-26-18.)