WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HB 5148

CONT SUB-PMP-SCHEDULE II&IV

104th Regular Session Introduced by Julie Morrison and 1 co-sponsor

Strengthens prescription monitoring and limits medication shopping by requiring PMP access attempts for high-risk scripts and enabling unsolicited reports when poly-prescribing is

0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 5148

HB5148 (104th Illinois General Assembly)
Topic: CONT SUB-PMP-SCHEDULE II & IV (Prescription Monitoring Program measures and related controls)

Summary purpose
- The bill amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, principally to address medication/pharmacy shopping and to strengthen prescription monitoring program (PMP) practices for prescribers and dispensers. It also makes changes related to registration, access, and reporting within the PMP, with some patient-protection and operational provisions.

Key provisions and changes

1) Prohibitions on medication/pharmacy shopping
- It is unlawful to knowingly or intentionally fraudulently obtain or try to obtain any controlled substance or prescription from a prescriber or dispenser while already being supplied by another prescriber or dispenser, without disclosing that ongoing prescription/substance to the new prescriber or dispenser.
- It is unlawful to knowingly or intentionally fraudulently obtain or try to obtain a controlled substance from a pharmacy while already being supplied by another pharmacy, without disclosing that ongoing prescription/substance to the second pharmacy.
- These shopping violations may also implicate related sections of the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or this Act.

2) Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) registration and access
- Effective January 1, 2018, each prescriber who holds an Illinois controlled substances license must register with the PMP.
- If registration failures occur due to technological or operational issues, a prescriber is not subject to criminal liability or professional discipline solely for those failures.
- Veterinarians: beginning on the act’s effective date, licensed veterinarians are exempt from PMP registration and from accessing PMP data; existing veterinarian registrants will be removed from the PMP.
- Prescribers or their designees must document an attempt to access PMP data when issuing initial prescriptions for:
- Any stimulant listed in Schedule II, and
- All initial prescriptions for Schedule II opioids and Schedule IV benzodiazepines (e.g., certain narcotics and anti-anxiety medications), with exceptions:
- Oncology treatment or palliative care prescriptions are excluded.
- A hospital ED may provide up to a 7-day or less supply for acute, traumatic conditions without this access attempt requirement.
- The attempt-to-access must be documented in the patient’s medical record.
- Hospitals must facilitate designation of a prescriber’s designee to access the PMP for services at the hospital.

3) Unsolicited PMP reports for potential medication shopping
- If a patient has 5 or more prescribers or 5 or more pharmacies (or both) within a 6-month period that do not use a common electronic file as required by the Pharmacy Practice Act for controlled substances, the PMP may issue an unsolicited report to the involved prescribers, dispensers, and their designees about possible medication shopping.
- If such a report is issued to a prescriber, it must also be sent to the applicable dispensing pharmacy.

4) Clarifications and protections
- The Act clarifies that nothing requires prescribers/dispensers/pharmacists to seek/disclose patient medication information or to prescribe/dispense against clinical judgments.
- The provisions do not apply to inpatients or residents of hospitals or other institutions or to institutional pharmacies.
- Patient feedback criticizing a clinical decision about a controlled-substance prescription shall not be a basis for adverse credentialing, contracting, licensure, or employment actions against the prescriber or dispenser.

Procedural/timeline highlights

  • Effective date: The bill set the PMP registration obligations and related changes to take effect consistent with prior amendments (e.g., references to 101st General Assembly changes). The explicit new registration requirement becomes effective January 1, 2018.
  • Importantly, veterinarians are exempt from PMP access and registration after the effective date, with current registrants removed from the PMP.
  • The bill includes reporting and documentation requirements to be recorded in patient records, and hospital systems must support designee access arrangements.

Who is affected

  • Prescribers with Illinois controlled substances licenses (doctors, dentists, mid-level practitioners, etc.)
  • Pharmacists and dispensing pharmacies
  • Hospital facilities and emergency departments
  • Hospitals’ designated prescriber designees
  • Pharmaceutical entities that may be involved in multi-source prescribing
  • Veterinarians (explicit exemption from PMP registration and access)

Potential impact

  • Aims to curb medication/pharmacy shopping by requiring disclosure of other ongoing prescriptions and by enabling PMP-based monitoring with documented access attempts.
  • Increases accountability for prescribers/dispensers when issuing initial Schedule II stimulants, Schedule II opioids, and Schedule IV benzodiazepines.
  • Creates a mechanism to alert providers about possible poly-prescribing patterns (unsolicited reports) to reduce risks of misuse or diversion.
  • Balances patient care with privacy and clinical discretion by clarifying limitations on disclosures and avoiding penalties for clinical decisions and certain medical contexts.
  • Excludes in-hospital/institutional settings and veterinarians from certain PMP provisions.

Sponsors
- Primary: Rep. Janet Yang Rohr; Co-sponsors: Sen. Julie Morrison and Sen. Ram Villivalam

Note: This summary reflects the content and structure of HB5148 as filed and amended in the 104th Illinois General Assembly and may be subject to further legislative changes or clarifications during floor action.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.