(a) The controlled substance prescription database is established in the Board of Pharmacy. The purpose of the database is to contain data as described in this section regarding every prescription for a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance under federal law dispensed in the state to a person other than under the circumstances described in (t) of this section.
(b) The pharmacist-in-charge of each licensed or registered pharmacy, regarding each schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance under federal law dispensed by a pharmacist under the supervision of the pharmacist-in-charge, and each practitioner who directly dispenses a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance under federal law other than those dispensed or administered under the circumstances described in (t) of this section, shall submit to the board, by a procedure and in a format established by the board, the following information for inclusion in the database on at least a daily basis:
(1) the name of the prescribing practitioner and the practitioner's federal Drug Enforcement Administration registration number or other appropriate identifier;
(2) the date of the prescription;
(3) the date the prescription was filled and the method of payment; this paragraph does not authorize the board to include individual credit card or other account numbers in the database;
(4) the name, address, and date of birth of the person for whom the prescription was written;
(5) the name and national drug code of the controlled substance;
(6) the quantity and strength of the controlled substance dispensed;
(7) the name of the drug outlet dispensing the controlled substance; and
(8) the name of the pharmacist or practitioner dispensing the controlled substance and other appropriate identifying information.
(c) The board shall maintain the database in an electronic file or by other means established by the board to facilitate use of the database for identification of
(1) prescribing practices and patterns of prescribing and dispensing controlled substances;
(2) practitioners who prescribe controlled substances in an unprofessional or unlawful manner;
(3) individuals who receive prescriptions for controlled substances from licensed practitioners and who subsequently obtain dispensed controlled substances from a drug outlet in quantities or with a frequency inconsistent with generally recognized standards of dosage for that controlled substance; and
(4) individuals who present forged or otherwise false or altered prescriptions for controlled substances to a pharmacy.
(d) The database and the information contained within the database are confidential, are not public records, are not subject to public disclosure, and may not be shared with the federal government. The board shall undertake to ensure the security and confidentiality of the database and the information contained within the database. The board may allow access to the database only to the following persons, and in accordance with the limitations provided and regulations of the board:
(1) personnel of the board regarding inquiries concerning licensees or registrants of the board or personnel of another board or agency concerning a practitioner under a search warrant, subpoena, or order issued by an administrative law judge or a court;
(2) authorized board personnel or contractors as required for operational and review purposes;
(3) a licensed practitioner having authority to prescribe controlled substances or an agent or employee of the practitioner whom the practitioner has authorized to access the database on the practitioner's behalf, to the extent the information relates specifically to a current patient of the practitioner to whom the practitioner is prescribing or considering prescribing a controlled substance; the agent or employee must be licensed or registered under AS 08;
(4) a licensed or registered pharmacist having authority to dispense controlled substances or an agent or employee of the pharmacist whom the pharmacist has authorized to access the database on the pharmacist's behalf, to the extent the information relates specifically to a current patient to whom the pharmacist is dispensing or considering dispensing a controlled substance; the agent or employee must be licensed or registered under AS 08;
(5) federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities may receive printouts of information contained in the database under a search warrant or order issued by a court establishing probable cause for the access and use of the information;
(6) an individual who is the recipient of a controlled substance prescription entered into the database may receive information contained in the database concerning the individual on providing evidence satisfactory to the board that the individual requesting the information is in fact the person about whom the data entry was made and on payment of a fee set by the board under AS 37.10.050 that does not exceed $10;
(7) a licensed pharmacist employed by the Department of Health who is responsible for administering prescription drug coverage for the medical assistance program under AS 47.07, to the extent that the information relates specifically to prescription drug coverage under the program;
(8) a licensed pharmacist, licensed practitioner, or authorized employee of the Department of Health responsible for utilization review of prescription drugs for the medical assistance program under AS 47.07, to the extent that the information relates specifically to utilization review of prescription drugs provided to recipients of medical assistance;
(9) the state medical examiner, to the extent that the information relates specifically to investigating the cause and manner of a person's death;
(10) an authorized employee of the Department of Health may receive information from the database that does not disclose the identity of a patient, prescriber, dispenser, or dispenser location, for the purpose of identifying and monitoring public health issues in the state; however, the information provided under this paragraph may include the region of the state in which a patient, prescriber, and dispenser are located and the specialty of the prescriber; and
(11) a practitioner, pharmacist, or clinical staff employed by an Alaska tribal health organization, including commissioned corps officers of the United States Public Health Service employed under a memorandum of agreement; in this paragraph, “Alaska tribal health organization” has the meaning given to “tribal health program” in 25 U.S.C. 1603.
(e) The failure of a pharmacist-in-charge or a pharmacist to register or submit information to the database as required under this section is grounds for the board to take disciplinary action against the license or registration of the pharmacy or pharmacist. The failure of a practitioner to register or review the database as required under this section is grounds for the practitioner's licensing board to take disciplinary action against the practitioner.
(f) The board may enter into agreements with (1) dispensers in this state that are not regulated by the state to submit information to and access information in the database, and (2) practitioners in this state to access information in the database, subject to this section and the regulations of the board. The board shall prohibit a dispenser that is not regulated by the state from accessing the database if the dispenser has accessed information in the database contrary to the limitations of this section, discloses information in the database contrary to the limitations of this section, or allows unauthorized persons access to the database.
(g) The board shall promptly notify the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives if, at any time after September 7, 2008, the federal government fails to pay all or part of the costs of the controlled substance prescription database.
(h) An individual who has submitted information to the database in accordance with this section may not be held civilly liable for having submitted the information. Dispensers or practitioners may not be held civilly liable for damages for accessing or failing to access the information in the database.
(i) A person who has reason to believe that prescription information from the database has been illegally or improperly accessed shall notify an appropriate law enforcement agency.
(j) The board shall notify any person whose prescription information from the database is illegally or improperly accessed.
(k) In the regulations adopted under this section, the board shall provide
(1) that prescription information in the database shall be purged from the database after two years have elapsed from the date the prescription was dispensed;
(2) a method for an individual to challenge information in the database about the individual that the person believes is incorrect or was incorrectly entered by a dispenser;
(3) a procedure and time frame for registration with the database;
(4) that a practitioner review the information in the database to check a patient's prescription records before dispensing, prescribing, or administering a schedule II or III controlled substance under federal law to the patient; the regulations must provide that a practitioner is not required to review the information in the database before dispensing, prescribing, or administering
(A) a controlled substance to a person who is receiving treatment
(i) in an inpatient setting;
(ii) at the scene of an emergency or in an ambulance; in this sub-subparagraph, "ambulance" has the meaning given in AS 18.08.200;
(iii) in an emergency room;
(iv) immediately before, during, or within the first 48 hours after surgery or a medical procedure;
(v) in a hospice or nursing home that has an in-house pharmacy; or
(B) a nonrefillable prescription of a controlled substance in a quantity intended to last for not more than three days.
(l) A person
(1) with authority to access the database under (d) of this section who knowingly
(A) accesses information in the database beyond the scope of the person's authority commits a class A misdemeanor;
(B) accesses information in the database and recklessly discloses that information to a person not entitled to access or to receive the information commits a class C felony;
(C) allows another person who is not authorized to access the database to access the database commits a class C felony;
(2) without authority to access the database under (d) of this section who knowingly accesses the database or knowingly receives information that the person is not authorized to receive under (d) of this section from another person commits a class C felony.
(m) To assist in fulfilling the program responsibilities, performance measures shall be reported to the legislature annually. Performance measures
(1) may include outcomes detailed in the federal prescription drug monitoring program grant regarding efforts to
(A) reduce the rate of inappropriate use of prescription drugs by reporting education efforts conducted by the Board of Pharmacy;
(B) reduce the quantity of pharmaceutical controlled substances obtained by individuals attempting to engage in fraud and deceit;
(C) increase coordination among prescription drug monitoring program partners;
(D) involve stakeholders in the planning process;
(2) shall include information related to the
(A) security of the database; and
(B) reductions, if any, in the inappropriate use or prescription of controlled substances resulting from the use of the database.
(n) A pharmacist who dispenses or a practitioner who prescribes, administers, or directly dispenses a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance under federal law shall register with the database by a procedure and in a format established by the board.
(o) The board shall promptly notify the State Medical Board, the Board of Nursing, the Board of Dental Examiners, the Board of Examiners in Optometry, and the Board of Veterinary Examiners when a practitioner registers with the database under (n) of this section.
(p) The board is authorized to provide unsolicited notification to a pharmacist, practitioner's licensing board, or practitioner if a patient has received one or more prescriptions for controlled substances in quantities or with a frequency inconsistent with generally recognized standards of safe practice. An unsolicited notification to a practitioner's licensing board under this section
(1) must be provided to the practitioner;
(2) is confidential;
(3) may not disclose information that is confidential under this section;
(4) may be in a summary form sufficient to provide notice of the basis for the unsolicited notification.
(q) The board shall update the database on at least a daily basis with the information submitted to the board under (b) of this section.
(r) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall
(1) assist the board and provide necessary staff and equipment to implement this section; and
(2) establish fees for registration with the database by a pharmacist or practitioner required to register under (n) of this section so that the total amount of fees collected by the department equals the total operational costs of the database minus all federal funds acquired for the operational costs of the database; in setting the fee levels, the department shall
(A) set the fees for registration with the database so that the fees are the same for all practitioners and pharmacists required to register; and
(B) consult with the board to establish the fees under this paragraph.
(s) Notwithstanding (p) of this section, the board may issue to a practitioner periodic unsolicited reports that detail and compare the practitioner's opioid prescribing practice with other practitioners of the same occupation and similar specialty. A report issued under this subsection is confidential and the board shall issue the report only to a practitioner. The board may adopt regulations to implement this subsection. The regulations may address the types of controlled substances to be included in an unsolicited report, the quantities dispensed, the medication strength, and other factors determined by the board.
(t) A practitioner or a pharmacist is not required to comply with the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section if a controlled substance is
(1) administered to a patient at
(A) a health care facility; or
(B) a correctional facility;
(2) dispensed to a patient for an outpatient supply of 24 hours or less at a hospital
(A) inpatient pharmacy; or
(B) emergency department.
(u) In this section,
(1) “board” means the Board of Pharmacy;
(2) “database” means the controlled substance prescription database established in this section;
(3) “knowingly” has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900;
(4) “opioid” includes the opium and opiate substances and opium and opiate derivatives listed in AS 11.71.140 and 11.71.160;
(5) “pharmacist-in-charge” has the meaning given in AS 08.80.480.