Georgia § 16-13-57 - Program to record prescription information into electronic data base; administration and oversight.

§ 16-13-57. Program to record prescription information into electronic data base; administration and oversight.

As used in this part, the term: "Department" means the Department of Public Health. "PDMP" means the prescription drug monitoring program data base. Subject to funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly or otherwise available for such purpose, the department shall, in consultation with members of the Georgia Composite Medical Board, the State Board of Pharmacy, and the agency, establish and maintain a program to electronically record into an electronic PDMP prescription information resulting from the dispensing of Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substances and to electronically review such prescription information that has been entered into such data base. The purpose of such PDMP shall be to assist in the reduction of the abuse of controlled substances; to improve, enhance, and encourage a better quality of health care by promoting the proper use of medications to treat pain and terminal illness; to reduce duplicative prescribing and overprescribing of controlled substance practices for health oversight purposes; and to gather data for epidemiological research. The PDMP shall be administered by the department. Each prescriber who has a DEA registration number shall enroll to become a user of the PDMP as soon as possible, and no later than January 1, 2018; provided, however, that prescribers who attain a DEA registration number after such date shall enroll within 30 days of attaining such credentials. A prescriber who violates this subsection shall be held administratively accountable to the state regulatory board governing such prescriber for such violation. Any state regulatory board governing prescribers shall have the discretion to rescind any consent orders or other disciplinary actions that were entered into or imposed prior to April 26, 2019, for a violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection after review based on, but not limited to, the following factors: subsequent compliance with paragraph (1) of this subsection; compliance with the terms of the consent order or other disciplinary action; and whether such prescriber has had previous infractions of other laws or regulations relating to his or her licensure. The authority granted under this paragraph shall expire on December 31, 2019. On and after April 26, 2019, for purposes of this subsection, the term "administratively accountable" shall mean a warning or the imposition of a fine, but any such fine shall not be considered a disciplinary action against the licensee. Between January 1, 2018, and May 31, 2018, the department shall randomly test the PDMP to determine if it is accessible and operational 99.5 percent of the time. If the department determines that the PDMP meets such standard, then between June 1, 2018, and June 20, 2018, the department shall certify in writing to each board that governs prescribers that it is operational. Each board that governs prescribers shall publish such information on its website. (Code 1981, § 16-13-57 , enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 659, § 2/SB 36; Ga. L. 2017, p. 319, § 1-2/HB 249; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 16/SB 365; Ga. L. 2019, p. 273, § 1A/HB 551; Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 16/SB 429.) The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, added subsection (a); redesignated former subsection (a) as present subsection (b); rewrote subsection (b); and added subsections (c) and (d). The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation near the end of the second sentence of subsection (b). The 2019 amendment, effective April 26, 2019, designated the existing provisions of subsection (c) as paragraph (c)(1) and added paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3). The 2020 amendment, effective July 29, 2020, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "April 26, 2019," for "the effective date of this Act" in the first sentence of paragraph (c)(2). Code Commission notes. - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2019, "April 26, 2019" was substituted for "the effective date of this Act" near the beginning of paragraph (c)(3). Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2017, p. 319, § 1-1/HB 249, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Jeffrey Dallas Gay, Jr., Act.'" Law reviews. - For article, "Crimes and Offenses: Controlled Substances," see 28 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 269 (2011). For article on the 2017 amendment of this Code section, see 34 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 143 (2017). For annual survey on healthcare law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 1053 (2019).