1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Board shall provide Internet access to the database of the program established pursuant to NRS 453.162 to an occupational licensing board that licenses any practitioner who is authorized to write prescriptions for human consumption of controlled substances listed in schedule II, III, IV or V. An occupational licensing board that is provided access to the database pursuant to this section may access the database to investigate a complaint, report or other information that indicates fraudulent, illegal, unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate activity related to the prescribing, dispensing or use of a controlled substance. The Board may terminate the access of an occupational licensing board that accesses the database for any other purpose.

2. The Board and the Division must have access to the program established pursuant to NRS 453.162 to identify any suspected fraudulent, illegal, unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate activity related to the prescribing, dispensing or use of controlled substances.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the Board or the Division shall report any activity it reasonably suspects may:

(a) Indicate fraudulent, illegal, unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate activity related to the prescribing, dispensing or use of a controlled substance to the appropriate law enforcement agency or occupational licensing board and provide the law enforcement agency or occupational licensing board with the relevant information obtained from the program for further investigation.

(b) Indicate the inappropriate use by a patient of a controlled substance to the occupational licensing board of each practitioner who has prescribed the controlled substance to the patient. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 1, the occupational licensing board may access the database of the program established pursuant to NRS 453.162 to determine which practitioners are prescribing the controlled substance to the patient. The occupational licensing board may use this information for any purpose it deems necessary, including, without limitation, alerting a practitioner that a patient may be fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance or determining whether a practitioner is engaged in unlawful or unprofessional conduct.

4. The Board or Division may withhold any report required by subsection 3 if the Board determines that doing so is necessary to avoid interfering with any pending administrative or criminal investigation into the suspected fraudulent, illegal, unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate prescribing, dispensing or use of a controlled substance.

5. The Board and the Division shall cooperatively develop a course of training for persons who are required or authorized to receive access to the database of the program pursuant to subsection 7 or NRS 453.1645 and 453.165 and require each such person to complete the course of training before the person is provided with Internet access to the database.

6. Each practitioner who is authorized to write prescriptions for and each person who is authorized to dispense controlled substances listed in schedule II, III, IV or V for human consumption shall complete the course of instruction described in subsection 5. The Board shall provide Internet access to the database to each such practitioner or other person who completes the course of instruction.

7. Each practitioner who is authorized to write prescriptions for human consumption of controlled substances listed in schedule II, III, IV or V shall, to the extent the program allows, access the database of the program established pursuant to NRS 453.162 at least once each 6 months to:

(a) Review the information concerning the practitioner that is listed in the database, including, without limitation, information concerning prescriptions issued by the practitioner, and notify the Board if any such information is not correct; and

(b) Verify to the Board that he or she continues to have access to and has accessed the database as required by this subsection.

8. Information obtained from the program relating to a practitioner or a patient is confidential and, except as otherwise provided by this section and NRS 239.0115, 453.162 and 453.163, must not be disclosed to any person. That information must be disclosed:

(a) Upon a request made on a notarized form prescribed by the Board by a person about whom the information requested concerns or upon such a request on behalf of that person by his or her attorney; or

(b) Upon the lawful order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

9. If the Board, the Division or a law enforcement agency determines that the database of the program has been intentionally accessed by a person or for a purpose not authorized pursuant to NRS 453.162 to 453.165, inclusive, the Board, Division or law enforcement agency, as applicable, must notify any person whose information was accessed by an unauthorized person or for an unauthorized purpose.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 1433; A 1999, 245, 1872, 1890; 2001, 417; 2003, 2294; 2007, 735, 2110; 2009, 1303; 2011, 458; 2015, 114, 1169, 1557; 2017, 1178, 4404; 2019, 170, effective January 1, 2020)