TITLE 54

PROFESSIONS, VOCATIONS, AND BUSINESSES

CHAPTER 17

PHARMACISTS

54-1727.  Confidentiality of prescriptions and patient information. (1) In addition to the requirements of the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996, all prescriptions, drug orders, records or any other prescription information that specifically identifies an individual patient shall be held in the strictest confidence. No person in possession of such information shall release the information, unless requested as follows:

(a)  By the board or its representatives acting in their official capacity;

(b)  By the patient or the patient’s designee regarding the patient’s own records;

(c)  By agents of the department of health and welfare when acting in their official capacity with reference to issues related to the practice of pharmacy (written requests by authorized agents of the department requesting such information are required);

(d)  By agents of any board whose practitioners have prescriptive authority, when the board is enforcing laws governing that practitioner;

(e)  By an agency of government charged with the responsibility for providing medical care for the patient (written requests by authorized agents of the agency requesting such information are required);

(f)  Nothing in this section shall prohibit insurance companies and health plans from sharing patient-specific information with law enforcement authorities or any of the entities identified in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection in cases of suspected fraud and substance abuse; or

(g)  Nothing in this section shall prohibit disclosure of patient-specific information to law enforcement authorities pursuant to a search warrant, subpoena, or other court order.

(2)  Any person who has knowledge by virtue of his office or occupation of any prescription drug order, record, or pharmacy-related information that specifically identifies an individual patient shall not divulge such information except as authorized in this section. Any person or entity to whom information is divulged pursuant to this section shall not divulge such information except in compliance with this section.

(3)  Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the board or its representatives from inspecting the records of licensees and registrants or the authority of any other board with licensees or registrants who have prescriptive authority from performing any other duty or authority of that board, nor shall this section limit a court of competent jurisdiction from ordering the release or disclosure of such records upon a showing of just cause after such review or hearing as the court deems necessary and proper. This section shall not limit the authority of any other board or agency to inspect records of persons it regulates, notwithstanding that the records may contain information protected by the provisions of this section.

(4)  In addition to all other penalties as provided by law, any person or entity found by the board to be in violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject to an administrative penalty not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) for each violation.

(5)  No person shall be liable, nor shall a cause of action exist, for any loss or damage based on the proper good faith release of records pursuant to the provisions of this section.

History:

[54-1727, added 2000, ch. 189, sec. 1, p. 465; am. 2007, ch. 140, sec. 1, p. 405; am. 2021, ch. 54, sec. 16, p. 172.]