PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Require Prescribers of Controlled Substances To Use the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program Software
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §7250-A  is enacted to read:
§ 7250-A. Required use of prescription monitoring information
After December 31, 2015, a prescriber may not prescribe a controlled substance to a patient or authorize a refill of an existing prescription of a controlled substance for a patient prior to obtaining, in accordance with rules adopted by the department, any available prescription monitoring information related to the patient.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §7251, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:
 
1-A.  Failure to comply with use requirement.     A prescriber is subject to discipline by the applicable professional licensing entity if the prescriber fails to obtain any available prescription monitoring information related to a patient prior to prescribing a controlled substance or authorizing a refill of an existing prescription of a controlled substance as required by section 7250-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires, beginning January 1, 2016, prescribers of controlled substances to obtain any available prescription monitoring information from the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program established by the Department of Health and Human Services related to a patient before prescribing or authorizing a refill of a prescription of a controlled substance to the patient.