HB150 Summary

• Establishes the Alabama State Controlled Substance Database Trust Fund as a separate special revolving trust fund to receive grants, donations, federal matching funds, and appropriated funds for database development, implementation, and operation.

• Creates a Controlled Substances Prescription Database Advisory Committee with representatives from medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, hospital associations, state health officer, licensing boards, optometric association, podiatry association, and mental health department; allows proxy participation and remote meeting attendance.

• Requires licensed pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, and prescribing practitioners (physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, veterinarians) to report Class II-V controlled substance prescription information to the department using specified data elements including prescriber name, patient information, drug code, quantity, and payment method.

• Restricts database access to certifying boards (for their licensees), licensed practitioners (for their patients/supervisees), pharmacists (for prescriptions they fill), law enforcement (with probable cause affidavit), department employees, other state monitoring programs, and Medicaid Agency (for fraud investigation); practitioners have no obligation to check the database before prescribing.

• Declares all database information privileged and confidential, not subject to subpoena or discovery in civil proceedings, usable only for state/federal law violations and regulatory board activities; original business records remain discoverable.