Arkansas Code
Subchapter 6 - Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Act
§ 20-7-607. Providing prescription monitoring information

(a)
(1)
(A)
(i) The Department of Health shall review the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program information, including without limitation a review to identify information that appears to indicate whether a person is obtaining prescriptions in a manner that may represent misuse or abuse of controlled substances based on prescribing criteria determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health upon consultation with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Committee.
(ii) The prescribing criteria shall be posted on the website of the department and be available in print upon request.

(B) If the information appears to indicate misuse or abuse may have occurred, the department shall notify the practitioners and dispensers who have prescribed or dispensed in the following manner:
(i) The department shall provide quarterly reports to the individual practitioners and dispensers; and
(ii) If after twelve (12) months of providing quarterly reports to the practitioners and dispensers, the information appears to indicate misuse or abuse may be continuing, the department shall send a report to the licensing boards of the practitioner or dispenser who prescribed or dispensed the prescription.

(C) If information of misuse or abuse is identified, the department shall notify the practitioners and dispensers who prescribed or dispensed the prescriptions and the United States Diversion Control Division of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
(D) On or before January 1, 2019, the department shall contract with a vendor to make the program interactive and to provide same-day reporting in real time, if funding and technology are available.

(2)
(A) The department may review the program information, including without limitation a review to identify information that appears to indicate whether a prescriber or dispenser may be prescribing or dispensing prescriptions in a manner that may represent misuse or abuse of controlled substances.
(B) If information of misuse or abuse is identified, the department may notify the professional licensing board of the prescriber or dispenser only after the relevant professional licensing board has provided the department with the parameters for triggering a notification from the department to the professional licensing board.

(b) The department shall provide information in the program upon request and at no cost only to the following persons:
(1)
(A) A person authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled substances for the purpose of providing medical or pharmaceutical care for his or her patients or for reviewing information regarding prescriptions that are recorded as having been issued or dispensed by the requester.
(B) An agent or employee of the prescriber or dispenser to whom the prescriber or dispenser has delegated the task of assessing the data described in this subsection, but only if the agent or employee has been granted access by a delegate account;

(2) A patient who requests his or her own prescription monitoring information;
(3) A parent or legal guardian of a minor child who requests the minor child's program information;
(4)
(A) A designated representative of a professional licensing board of the professions of the healing arts representing healthcare disciplines whose licensees are prescribers pursuant to an investigation of a specific individual, entity, or business licensed or permitted by the licensing board.
(B) Except as permitted by subdivision (a)(2) of this section, the department shall provide information under subdivision (b)(4)(A) of this section only if the requesting licensing board states in writing that the information is necessary for an investigation;

(5) The State Medical Examiner as authorized by law to investigate causes of deaths for cases under investigation pursuant to his or her official duties and responsibilities;
(6) Local, state, and federal law enforcement or prosecutorial officials engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of the laws governing controlled substances required to be submitted under this subchapter pursuant to the agency's official duties and responsibilities; and
(7) Personnel of the department for purposes of administration and enforcement of this subchapter.

(c) Information collected under this subchapter shall be maintained for three (3) years.
(d) The department may provide patient, prescriber, or dispenser information to public or private entities for statistical, research, or educational purposes after encrypting or removing any patient's name, street name and number, patient identification number, month and day of birth, and prescriber or dispenser information that could be used to identify individual patients or persons who received prescriptions.
(e) The department may provide information in the program to insurance carriers for the purpose of verifying prescriber or dispenser registration for individuals that are part of the health plan's network of providers.