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2018 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Health Professions

Dunnavant (Chairman), Suetterlein, Carrico, Barker, Lucas, Peake

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Thomas Stevens
Date of Meeting: January 23, 2018
Time and Place: 8:30 a.m., Subcommittee Room 2, 5th Floor, Pocahontas Building

S.B. 25 Drug Control Act; dispensing drugs without a prescription.

Patron: Spruill

Dispensing drugs without a prescription. Authorizes a pharmacist to dispense up to a five-day supply of a Schedule VI drug to an individual who has been displaced from his residence by a natural or man-made disaster; has had his supply of the drug lost, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unusable as a consequence of the disaster; and is unable to tell the pharmacist the identity of the prescriber or his regular pharmacist or pharmacy. The bill also requires the individual to present evidence sufficient to establish, among other things, that the individual had been in lawful possession of the drug pursuant to a prescription provided to another pharmacist and that his health would be in danger without the benefits of the drug. Before prescribing the drug, the pharmacist is required to determine with a reasonable degree of certainty that the requested drug and dosage level are consistent with the drug and its dosage level that had been prescribed to the individual at the time of his displacement from his residence. During the period for which the drug has been dispensed, the pharmacist is required to diligently attempt to ascertain the identity of the prescriber and the identity of the pharmacist or pharmacy in possession of the prescriber's prescription. Upon obtaining such information, the pharmacist is required to take such additional reasonable action as will permit the individual to obtain a new or renewal prescription and resume obtaining the drug pursuant to his prescription.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3410 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 54.1-3411.3, relating to the Drug Control Act; dispensing drugs without a prescription to certain impaired individuals following a disaster.

18100522D

S.B. 223 Prescription drugs; price gouging prohibited.

Patron: Edwards

Prescription drug price gouging prohibited. Prohibits unconscionable price increases in the price of essential off-patent or generic drugs, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to designate drugs as essential drugs, and establishes an enforcement mechanism.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 32.1-330.5 and by adding in Title 32.1 a chapter numbered 20, consisting of sections numbered 32.1-373 through 32.1-376, relating to prescription drug price gouging; prohibited.

18101608D

S.B. 226 Prescription Monitoring Program; veterinarians.

Patron: Stanley

Prescription Monitoring Program; veterinarians. Requires veterinarians who dispense controlled substances to report certain information about the animal and the owner of the animal to the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). The bill requires veterinarians to register with the PMP and, when issuing a prescription to an animal for opiates that will last more than seven days, to request certain information from the Director of the Department of Health Professions regarding both the animal and the owner of the animal.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-2519, 54.1-2521, 54.1-2522, and 54.1-2522.1, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Prescription Monitoring Program; veterinarians.

18101121D

S.B. 293 Controlled substances and devices, certain; dispensing.

Patron: McClellan

Dispensing of certain controlled substances and devices. Authorizes a prescriber to dispense controlled substances and devices without obtaining a license from the Board of Pharmacy, provided that such controlled substances and devices have been prescribed for the purposes of reproductive health and are dispensed in good faith within the course of his professional practice. The bill provides that facilities from which prescribers dispense only such controlled substances and devices are not required to obtain a permit from the Board. The bill requires the Board to establish a list of controlled substances and devices that may be so dispensed that includes controlled substances and devices used for contraception, maternal health, hormone replacement therapy, and sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 33 of Title 54.1 a section numbered 54.1-3304.2, relating to dispensing of certain drugs and devices.

18103370D

S.B. 464 Licensed providers of treatment for persons with opioid addiction; Prescription Monitoring Program.

Patron: Reeves

Licensed providers of treatment for persons with opioid addiction; Prescription Monitoring Program. Requires licensed providers of treatment for persons with opioid addiction through the use of methadone or other opioid replacements to comply with the reporting requirements of the Prescription Monitoring Program.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 37.2-406 and 54.1-2522 of the Code of Virginia, relating to licensed providers of treatment for persons with opioid addiction; Prescription Monitoring Program.

18100104D

S.B. 544 Prescription drug donation program.

Patron: Obenshain

Prescription drug donation program. Requires that the existing prescription drug donation program regulated by the Board of Pharmacy accept eligible unused drugs from individuals, manufacturers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, intermediate care facilities established for individuals with intellectual disability (ICF/IID), licensed hospitals, or any facility operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The bill also provides that pharmacies may re-dispense such drugs to the indigent. Under the current program, only hospitals and indigent care clinics may re-dispense such drugs to the indigent. The bill also provides liability protection for those who donate, accept, and dispense such unused drugs.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3411.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the prescription drug donation program.

18103199D

S.B. 632 Controlled substances; limits on prescriptions containing opioids.

Patron: Dunnavant


Limits on prescription of controlled substances containing opioids. Eliminates the surgical or invasive procedure treatment exception to the requirement that a prescriber request certain information from the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) when initiating a new course of treatment that includes prescribing opioids for a human patient to last more than seven days. Under current law, a prescriber is not required to request certain information from the PMP for opioid prescriptions of up to 14 days to a patient as part of treatment for a surgical or invasive procedure. The provisions of the bill will expire on July 1, 2022.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2522.1, as it is currently effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to prescribing of opioids; limit; surgical or invasive procedure.

18101945D

S.B. 635 Prescribers; notice of administration of naloxone.

Patron: Dunnavant

Prescribers; notice of administration of naloxone. Requires every hospital that operates an emergency department to develop and implement a protocol for (i) identifying every prescriber who has prescribed opioids to a patient to whom naloxone is administered for the purpose of reversing an opioid overdose in the emergency department or by emergency medical services personnel or a law-enforcement officer prior to admission to the emergency department and (ii) notifying each such prescriber that the patient has been treated with naloxone for the purpose of reversing an opioid overdose. Such notification shall be made in each case in which naloxone is administered for the purpose of reversing an opioid overdose by a health care provider in a hospital emergency department, emergency medical services personnel, or a law-enforcement officer to a patient to whom opioids have been prescribed by a prescriber.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-127 of the Code of Virginia, relating to prescribers; notice of administration of naloxone.

18102855D

S.B. 726 CBD oil and THC-A oil; certification for use, dispensing.

Patron: Dunnavant

CBD oil and THC-A oil; certification for use; dispensing. Provides that a practitioner may issue a written certification for the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease determined by the practitioner to benefit from such use. Under current law, a practitioner may only issue such certification for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of intractable epilepsy. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-250.1, 54.1-3408.3, 54.1-3442.5, and 54.1-3442.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certification for use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil.

18102119D

S.B. 728 Prescription Monitoring Program; prescriber and dispenser patterns.

Patron: Dunnavant

Prescription Monitoring Program; prescriber and dispenser patterns. Requires the Director of the Department of Health Professions to annually review controlled substance prescribing and dispensing patterns. The bill requires the Director to conduct such review in consultation with an advisory panel consisting of representatives from the relevant health regulatory boards, the Department of Health, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The bill requires the Director to make any necessary changes to the criteria for unusual patterns of prescribing and dispensing and report any findings and recommendations for best practices to the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1 of each year.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2523.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Prescription Monitoring Program; prescriber and dispenser patterns; annual review; report.

18101925D

S.B. 735 Prescription Monitoring Program; disclosure of information; Department of Medical Assistance.

Patron: Dunnavant

Prescription Monitoring Program; disclosure of information; Department of Medical Assistance Services. Allows the Director of the Department of Health Professions to disclose information about a specific recipient of covered substances who is a recipient of medical assistance services to a physician or pharmacist licensed in the Commonwealth or his designee who holds a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing or a license issued by a health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions and is employed by the Department of Medical Assistance Services, for the purpose of determining eligibility for and managing the care of the recipient in a Patient Utilization Management Safety or similar program.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2523 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Prescription Monitoring Program; disclosure of information; Department of Medical Assistance Services.

18104483D

S.B. 795 CBD oil and THC-A oil; certification for use; dispensing.

Patron: Dunnavant

CBD oil and THC-A oil; certification for use; dispensing. Provides that a practitioner may issue a written certification for the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease determined by the practitioner to benefit from such use. Under current law, a practitioner may only issue such certification for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of intractable epilepsy. The bill also reduces the minimum amount of cannabidiol or tetrahydrocannabinol acid per milliliter for a dilution of the Cannabis plant to fall under the definition of CBD oil or THC-A oil, respectively.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-250.1, 54.1-3408.3, 54.1-3442.5, and 54.1-3442.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certification for use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil.

18103225D