Section 11165.

(a)  To assist law enforcement and regulatory agencies in their efforts to control the diversion and resultant abuse of Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV controlled substances, and for statistical analysis, education, and research, the Department of Justice shall, contingent upon the availability of adequate funds from the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California, the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, the State Dentistry Fund, the Board of Registered Nursing Fund, and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California Contingent Fund, maintain the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of, and Internet access to information regarding, the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV controlled substances by all practitioners authorized to prescribe or dispense these controlled substances.

(b) The reporting of Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substance prescriptions to CURES shall be contingent upon the availability of adequate funds from the Department of Justice. The department may seek and use grant funds to pay the costs incurred from the reporting of controlled substance prescriptions to CURES. Funds shall not be appropriated from the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California, the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, the State Dentistry Fund, the Board of Registered Nursing Fund, the Naturopathic Doctor's Fund, or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California Contingent Fund to pay the costs of reporting Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substance prescriptions to CURES.

(c) CURES shall operate under existing provisions of law to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of patients. Data obtained from CURES shall only be provided to appropriate state, local, and federal persons or public agencies for disciplinary, civil, or criminal purposes and to other agencies or entities, as determined by the Department of Justice, for the purpose of educating practitioners and others in lieu of disciplinary, civil, or criminal actions. Data may be provided to public or private entities, as approved by the Department of Justice, for educational, peer review, statistical, or research purposes, provided that patient information, including any information that may identify the patient, is not compromised. Further, data disclosed to any individual or agency as described in this subdivision shall not be disclosed, sold, or transferred to any third party.

(d) For each prescription for a Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled substance, as defined in the controlled substances schedules in federal law and regulations, specifically Sections 1308.12, 1308.13, and 1308.14, respectively, of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the dispensing pharmacy or clinic shall provide the following information to the Department of Justice on a weekly basis and in a format specified by the Department of Justice:

(1) Full name, address, and the telephone number of the ultimate user or research subject, or contact information as determined by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the gender, and date of birth of the ultimate user.

(2) The prescriber's category of licensure and license number; federal controlled substance registration number; and the state medical license number of any prescriber using the federal controlled substance registration number of a government-exempt facility.

(3) Pharmacy prescription number, license number, and federal controlled substance registration number.

(4) NDC (National Drug Code) number of the controlled substance dispensed.

(5) Quantity of the controlled substance dispensed.

(6) ICD-9 (diagnosis code), if available.

(7) Number of refills ordered.

(8) Whether the drug was dispensed as a refill of a prescription or as a first-time request.

(9) Date of origin of the prescription.

(10) Date of dispensing of the prescription.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 418, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2012.)