(1) The department shall establish and maintain a prescription monitoring program to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of all Schedules II, III, IV, and V controlled substances and any additional drugs identified by the pharmacy quality assurance commission as demonstrating a potential for abuse by all professionals licensed to prescribe or dispense such substances in this state. The program shall be designed to improve health care quality and effectiveness by reducing abuse of controlled substances, reducing duplicative prescribing and overprescribing of controlled substances, and improving controlled substance prescribing practices with the intent of eventually establishing an electronic database available in real time to dispensers and prescribers of controlled substances. As much as possible, the department should establish a common database with other states. This program’s management and operations shall be funded entirely from the funds in the account established under RCW 74.09.215. Nothing in this chapter prohibits voluntary contributions from private individuals and business entities as defined under Title 23, 23B, 24, or 25 RCW to assist in funding the prescription monitoring program.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, each dispenser shall submit to the department by electronic means information regarding each prescription dispensed for a drug included under subsection (1) of this section. Drug prescriptions for more than one day use should be reported. The information submitted for each prescription shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) Patient identifier;

(b) Drug dispensed;

(c) Date of dispensing;

(d) Quantity dispensed;

(e) Prescriber; and

(f) Dispenser.

(3)(a) Until January 1, 2021, each dispenser shall submit the information in accordance with transmission methods established by the department, not later than one business day from the date of dispensing or at the interval required by the department in rule, whichever is sooner.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2021, each dispenser must submit the information as soon as readily available, but no later than one business day from the date of distributing, and in accordance with transmission methods established by the department.

(4) The data submission requirements of subsections (1) through (3) of this section do not apply to:

(a) Medications provided to patients receiving inpatient services provided at hospitals licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW; or patients of such hospitals receiving services at the clinics, day surgery areas, or other settings within the hospital’s license where the medications are administered in single doses;

(b) Pharmacies operated by the department of corrections for the purpose of providing medications to offenders in department of corrections institutions who are receiving pharmaceutical services from a department of corrections pharmacy, except that the department of corrections must submit data related to each offender’s current prescriptions for controlled substances upon the offender’s release from a department of corrections institution; or

(c) Veterinarians licensed under chapter 18.92 RCW. The department, in collaboration with the veterinary board of governors, shall establish alternative data reporting requirements for veterinarians that allow veterinarians to report:

(i) By either electronic or nonelectronic methods;

(ii) Only those data elements that are relevant to veterinary practices and necessary to accomplish the public protection goals of this chapter; and

(iii) No more frequently than once every three months and no less frequently than once every six months.

(5) The department shall continue to seek federal grants to support the activities described in chapter 259, Laws of 2007. The department may not require a practitioner or a pharmacist to pay a fee or tax specifically dedicated to the operation and management of the system.

Declaration—2019 c 314: See note following RCW 18.22.810.

Findings—2013 c 36: “The legislature finds that:

(1) The prescription monitoring program contributes to patient safety and reduction in drug errors for all patients, including medicaid beneficiaries in Washington state. Further, the prescription monitoring program provides the critical function of reducing costs borne by medicaid and provides for the detection of fraud in the medicaid system.

(2) Because of the nexus between medicaid, medicaid fraud, and cost reductions, the funding for the operations and management of the prescription monitoring program should be funded entirely from the medicaid fraud penalty account under RCW 74.09.215, with the option of funding the prescription monitoring program through voluntary contributions from private individuals and corporations as defined under Title 23, 23B, 24, or 25 RCW.” [ 2013 c 36 § 1.]