§1007. Access to prescription monitoring information and audit trail information

A. Except as provided in Subsections C, D, E, F, G, H, and I of this Section, prescription monitoring information submitted to the board and audit trail information shall be protected health information, not subject to public or open records law, including but not limited to R.S. 44:1 et seq., and not subject to disclosure. Prescription monitoring information and audit trail information shall not be available for civil subpoena from the board nor shall such information be disclosed, discoverable, or compelled to be produced in any civil proceeding nor shall such records be deemed admissible as evidence in any civil proceeding for any reason. Notwithstanding this provision, law enforcement and professional licensing, certification, or regulatory agencies may utilize prescription monitoring information and audit trail information in the course of any investigation and subsequent criminal and administrative proceedings, but only in accordance with federal and state law and the requirements of this Part.

B. The board shall maintain procedures to ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of patients and patient information collected, recorded, transmitted, and maintained, as well as audit trail information, is not disclosed to persons or entities except as authorized or required in Subsections C through J of this Section.

C. The board shall review the prescription monitoring information. If there is reasonable suspicion to believe a breach of professional or occupational standards may have occurred, the board shall notify the appropriate professional licensing agency with jurisdiction over prescribers or dispensers and shall provide prescription monitoring information required for an investigation.

D. The board shall provide prescription monitoring information to public or private entities, whether located in or outside of the state, for public research, policy, or educational purposes, but only after removing information that identifies or could be reasonably used to identify prescribers, dispensers, and individual patients or persons who received prescriptions from prescribers.

E. The following persons may access prescription monitoring information at no cost and in the same or similar manner, and for the same or similar purposes, as those persons are authorized to access similar protected health information under federal and state law and regulation:

(1) Persons authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled substances or drugs of concern, or their delegates as defined by rule, for the purpose of providing medical or pharmaceutical care for their patients, or for verifying their prescribing records.

(2) Designated representatives from the professional licensing, certification, or regulatory agencies of this state or another state charged with administrative oversight of those professionals engaged in the prescribing or dispensing of controlled substances or other drugs of concern.

(3) Designated representatives from the Louisiana Medicaid program regarding Medicaid program recipients.

(4) Designated representatives of the board and any vendor or contractor establishing or maintaining the prescription monitoring program.

(5) A medical examiner or coroner, or a delegate thereof, for the purpose of investigating an individual's death.

(6) A licensed substance abuse addiction counselor providing services as part of a state-licensed substance abuse or addiction treatment program.

(7) A probation or parole officer for the purpose of monitoring an offender's compliance with participation in a drug diversion program or with other conditions of probation or parole related to monitored drugs.

(8) An epidemiologist with the Louisiana Department of Health for the purpose of assisting the board in analyzing prescription monitoring information in order to conduct public health evaluations to support public policy and education pursuant to an agreement with the board.

F. The board may provide a report containing prescription monitoring information upon application of local, state, out-of-state, and federal law enforcement or prosecutorial officials, including judicially supervised specialty courts within the criminal justice system that are authorized by the Louisiana Supreme Court, engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of the laws governing controlled substances or other drugs of concern in compliance with and as limited by the relevant requirements of any of the following:

(1) A court order or court-ordered warrant, or a subpoena or summons issued by a judicial officer.

(2) A grand jury subpoena.

(3) An administrative request, including an administrative subpoena or summons, a civil or an authorized investigative demand, or similar process authorized under law, provided by law enforcement to the board, and further, provided all of the following:

(a) The information sought is relevant and material to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry.

(b) The request is specific and limited in scope to the extent reasonably practicable in light of the purpose for which the information is sought.

(c) De-identified information, or limited information that does not identify or could not reasonably lead to the identification of an individual patient, could not reasonably be used.

G. The board may provide prescription monitoring information in response to queries from prescription monitoring programs located in other states, through its participation in a secure interstate data exchange system, and the information may be used by those programs in a manner consistent with this Section.

H. The board may provide prescription monitoring information to authorized users of the prescription monitoring program via a state health information exchange or other third party conduit that has been approved by the board.

I. The board may provide prescription monitoring information to any of the following persons in accordance with procedures established by board regulation:

(1) An individual who requests his personal prescription monitoring information.

(2) A parent, legal guardian, or legal healthcare agent, for the purpose of reviewing the history of monitored drugs dispensed to a child or an individual for whom the agent makes healthcare decisions, to the extent consistent with federal and state confidentiality laws and regulations.

(3) An executor of a will, or a court-appointed succession representative of an estate, for the purpose of reviewing the history of monitored drugs dispensed to a deceased individual.

J. The board may disclose audit trail information to individuals identified in Paragraph (E)(2) and Subsections F and I of this Section for use in an active investigation of an individual who submitted requests for prescription monitoring information.

K.(1) The board and advisory council shall not be subject to civil liability, administrative action, or other legal or equitable relief for any of the following:

(a) Failure to possess prescription monitoring information that was not reported to the board.

(b) Release of prescription monitoring information or audit trail information that was factually incorrect.

(c) Release of prescription monitoring information or audit trail information to the wrong person or entity.

(d) Unlawful access to prescription monitoring information by an individual, or unlawful disclosure or use of prescription monitoring information by an individual who requested and received prescription monitoring information pursuant to this Section.

(2) A dispenser or reporting agent shall not be subject to civil liability, administrative action, or other legal or equitable relief for reporting prescription monitoring information to the board.

(3) A prescriber, dispenser, or other individual, agency, or entity in proper possession of prescription monitoring information or audit trail information pursuant to this Part shall not be subject to civil liability, administrative action, or other legal or equitable relief for accessing, using, or disclosing prescription monitoring information or audit trail information pursuant to the provisions of this Section.

Acts 2006, No. 676, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2010, No. 488, §1, eff. June 22, 2010; Acts 2012, No. 352, §1; Acts 2013, No. 110, §1; Acts 2015, No. 22, §1; Acts 2017, No. 241, §1, eff. June 14, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 206, §4; Acts 2018, No. 232, §1.