Ohio Code 4729.80 – Information provided from drug database – record of requests – confidentiality
(A) If the state board of pharmacy establishes and maintains a drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code, the board is authorized or required to provide information from the database only as follows:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4729.80
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
- Drug: means :
(1) Any article recognized in the United States pharmacopoeia and national formulary, or any supplement to them, intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or animals;
(2) Any other article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or animals;
(3) Any article, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals;
(4) Any article intended for use as a component of any article specified in division (E)(1), (2), or (3) of this section; but does not include devices or their components, parts, or accessories. See Ohio Code 4729.01
- Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
- Person: includes any individual, partnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation, the state, any political subdivision of the state, and any district, department, or agency of the state or its political subdivisions. See Ohio Code 4729.01
- Practice of pharmacy: means providing pharmacist care requiring specialized knowledge, judgment, and skill derived from the principles of biological, chemical, behavioral, social, pharmaceutical, and clinical sciences. See Ohio Code 4729.01
- prescriber: means an individual who is authorized by law to prescribe drugs or dangerous drugs or drug therapy related devices in the course of the individual's professional practice, including only the following:
(1) A dentist licensed under Chapter 4715 of the Revised Code;
(2) A clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife, or certified nurse practitioner who holds a current, valid license issued under Chapter 4723 of the Revised Code to practice nursing as an advanced practice registered nurse;
(3) A certified registered nurse anesthetist who holds a current, valid license issued under Chapter 4723 of the Revised Code to practice nursing as an advanced practice registered nurse, but only to the extent of the nurse's authority under sections 4723. See Ohio Code 4729.01
- Prescription: means all of the following:
(1) A written, electronic, or oral order for drugs or combinations or mixtures of drugs to be used by a particular individual or for treating a particular animal, issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs;
(2) For purposes of sections 4723. See Ohio Code 4729.01
- Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
(1) On receipt of a request from a designated representative of a government entity responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline of health care professionals with authority to prescribe, administer, or dispense drugs, the board may provide to the representative information from the database relating to the professional who is the subject of an active investigation being conducted by the government entity or relating to a professional who is acting as an expert witness for the government entity in such an investigation.
(2) On receipt of a request from a federal officer, or a state or local officer of this or any other state, whose duties include enforcing laws relating to drugs, the board shall provide to the officer information from the database relating to the person who is the subject of an active investigation of a drug abuse offense, as defined in section 2925.01 of the Revised Code, being conducted by the officer’s employing government entity.
(3) Pursuant to a subpoena issued by a grand jury, the board shall provide to the grand jury information from the database relating to the person who is the subject of an investigation being conducted by the grand jury.
(4) Pursuant to a subpoena, search warrant, or court order in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a possible or alleged criminal offense, the board shall provide information from the database as necessary to comply with the subpoena, search warrant, or court order.
(5) On receipt of a request from a prescriber or the prescriber’s delegate approved by the board, the board shall provide to the prescriber a report of information from the database relating to a patient who is either a current patient of the prescriber or a potential patient of the prescriber based on a referral of the patient to the prescriber, if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The prescriber certifies in a form specified by the board that it is for the purpose of providing medical treatment to the patient who is the subject of the request;
(b) The prescriber has not been denied access to the database by the board.
(6) On receipt of a request from a pharmacist or the pharmacist’s delegate approved by the board, the board shall provide to the pharmacist information from the database relating to a current patient of the pharmacist, if the pharmacist certifies in a form specified by the board that it is for the purpose of the pharmacist’s practice of pharmacy involving the patient who is the subject of the request and the pharmacist has not been denied access to the database by the board.
(7) On receipt of a request from an individual seeking the individual’s own database information in accordance with the procedure established in rules adopted under section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, the board may provide to the individual the individual’s own prescription history.
(8) On receipt of a request from a medical director or a pharmacy director of a managed care organization that has entered into a contract with the department of medicaid under section 5167.10 of the Revised Code and a data security agreement with the board required by section 5167.14 of the Revised Code, the board shall provide to the medical director or the pharmacy director information from the database relating to a medicaid recipient enrolled in the managed care organization, including information in the database related to prescriptions for the recipient that were not covered or reimbursed under a program administered by the department of medicaid.
(9) On receipt of a request from the medicaid director, the board shall provide to the director information from the database relating to a recipient of a program administered by the department of medicaid, including information in the database related to prescriptions for the recipient that were not covered or paid by a program administered by the department.
(10) On receipt of a request from a medical director of a managed care organization that has entered into a contract with the administrator of workers’ compensation under division (B)(4) of section 4121.44 of the Revised Code and a data security agreement with the board required by section 4121.447 of the Revised Code, the board shall provide to the medical director information from the database relating to a claimant under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code assigned to the managed care organization, including information in the database related to prescriptions for the claimant that were not covered or reimbursed under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code, if the administrator of workers’ compensation confirms, upon request from the board, that the claimant is assigned to the managed care organization.
(11) On receipt of a request from the administrator of workers’ compensation, the board shall provide to the administrator information from the database relating to a claimant under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code, including information in the database related to prescriptions for the claimant that were not covered or reimbursed under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code.
(12) On receipt of a request from a prescriber or the prescriber’s delegate approved by the board, the board shall provide to the prescriber information from the database relating to a patient’s mother, if the prescriber certifies in a form specified by the board that it is for the purpose of providing medical treatment to a newborn or infant patient diagnosed as opioid dependent and the prescriber has not been denied access to the database by the board.
(13) On receipt of a request from the director of health, the board shall provide to the director information from the database relating to the duties of the director or the department of health in implementing the Ohio violent death reporting system established under section 3701.93 of the Revised Code.
(14) On receipt of a request from a requestor described in division (A)(1), (2), (5), or (6) of this section who is from or participating with another state’s prescription monitoring program, the board may provide to the requestor information from the database, but only if there is a written agreement under which the information is to be used and disseminated according to the laws of this state.
(15) On receipt of a request from a delegate of a retail dispensary licensed under Chapter 3796 of the Revised Code who is approved by the board to serve as the dispensary’s delegate, the board shall provide to the delegate a report of information from the database pertaining only to a patient’s use of medical marijuana, if both of the following conditions are met:
(a) The delegate certifies in a form specified by the board that it is for the purpose of dispensing medical marijuana for use in accordance with Chapter 3796 of the Revised Code.
(b) The retail dispensary or delegate has not been denied access to the database by the board.
(16) On receipt of a request from a judge of a program certified by the Ohio supreme court as a specialized docket program for drugs, the board shall provide to the judge, or an employee of the program who is designated by the judge to receive the information, information from the database that relates specifically to a current or prospective program participant.
(17) On receipt of a request from a coroner, deputy coroner, or coroner’s delegate approved by the board, the board shall provide to the requestor information from the database relating to a deceased person about whom the coroner is conducting or has conducted an autopsy or investigation.
(18) On receipt of a request from a prescriber, the board may provide to the prescriber a summary of the prescriber’s prescribing record if such a record is created by the board. Information in the summary is subject to the confidentiality requirements of this chapter.
(19)(a) On receipt of a request from a pharmacy’s responsible person, the board may provide to the responsible person a summary of the pharmacy’s dispensing record if such a record is created by the board. Information in the summary is subject to the confidentiality requirements of this chapter.
(b) As used in division (A)(19)(a) of this section, “responsible person” has the same meaning as in rules adopted by the board under section 4729.26 of the Revised Code.
(20) The board may provide information from the database without request to a prescriber or pharmacist who is authorized to use the database pursuant to this chapter.
(21)(a) On receipt of a request from a prescriber or pharmacist, or the prescriber’s or pharmacist’s delegate, who is a designated representative of a peer review committee, the board shall provide to the committee information from the database relating to a prescriber who is subject to the committee’s evaluation, supervision, or discipline if the information is to be used for one of those purposes. The board shall provide only information that it determines, in accordance with rules adopted under section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, is appropriate to be provided to the committee.
(b) As used in division (A)(21)(a) of this section, “peer review committee” has the same meaning as in section 2305.25 of the Revised Code, except that it includes only a peer review committee of a hospital or a peer review committee of a nonprofit health care corporation that is a member of the hospital or of which the hospital is a member.
(22) On receipt of a request from a requestor described in division (A)(5) or (6) of this section who is from or participating with a prescription monitoring program that is operated by a federal agency and approved by the board, the board may provide to the requestor information from the database, but only if there is a written agreement under which the information is to be used and disseminated according to the laws of this state.
(23) Any personal health information submitted to the board pursuant to section 4729.772 of the Revised Code may be provided by the board only as authorized by the submitter of the information and in accordance with rules adopted under section 4729.84 of the Revised Code.
(24) On receipt of a request from a person described in division (A)(5), (6), or (17) of this section who is participating in a drug overdose fatality review committee described in section 307.631 of the Revised Code, the board may provide to the requestor information from the database, but only if there is a written agreement under which the information is to be used and disseminated according to the laws of this state.
(25) On receipt of a request from a person described in division (A)(5), (6), or (17) of this section who is participating in a suicide fatality review committee described in section 307.641 of the Revised Code, the board may provide to the requestor information from the database, but only if there is a written agreement under which the information is to be used and disseminated according to the laws of this state.
(26) On receipt of a request from a designated representative of the division of marijuana control in the department of commerce, the board shall provide to the representative information from the database relating to an individual who, or entity that, is the subject of an active investigation being conducted by the division.
(B) The state board of pharmacy shall maintain a record of each individual or entity that requests information from the database pursuant to this section. In accordance with rules adopted under section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, the board may use the records to document and report statistics and law enforcement outcomes.
The board may provide records of an individual’s requests for database information only to the following:
(1) A designated representative of a government entity that is responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline of health care professionals with authority to prescribe, administer, or dispense drugs who is involved in an active criminal or disciplinary investigation being conducted by the government entity of the individual who submitted the requests for database information;
(2) A federal officer, or a state or local officer of this or any other state, whose duties include enforcing laws relating to drugs and who is involved in an active investigation being conducted by the officer’s employing government entity of the individual who submitted the requests for database information;
(3) A designated representative of the department of medicaid regarding a prescriber who is treating or has treated a recipient of a program administered by the department and who submitted the requests for database information.
(C) Information contained in the database and any information obtained from it is confidential and is not a public record. Information contained in the records of requests for information from the database is confidential and is not a public record. Information contained in the database that does not identify a person, including any licensee or registrant of the board or other entity, may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.
(D) A pharmacist or prescriber shall not be held liable in damages to any person in any civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property on the basis that the pharmacist or prescriber did or did not seek or obtain information from the database.
Last updated September 25, 2023 at 10:15 AM