H. B. 3247
(By Delegates Eldridge, Butcher, C. Miller,
Barker, Hall, Rodighiero and Reynolds)
[Introduced March 20, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Government
Organization.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §30-3-19, relating to
requiring any person licensed to prescribe drugs within West
Virginia pursuant to chapter thirty of this code, to check
with the State Board of Pharmacy before initially prescribing
certain drugs to a new patient to determine if said patient is
engaging in doctor shopping.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-3-19, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. MEDICAL PRACTICES ACT.
§30-3-19. Issuance of certain prescriptions for new patients.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, any person licensed to prescribe drugs within West Virginia pursuant to
this chapter, shall check with the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy
regarding any current or past prescriptions or requests for
prescriptions of drugs before initially prescribing any drugs
included in Category II, III or IV of the Uniform Controlled
Substances Act to any new patient of said physician.
(b) A new patient shall include a person the physician has
initially examined and came to a diagnosis generally accepted in
the medical community that may warrant the physician to prescribe
said drugs to the person.
(c) The Board of Medicine, the Board of Pharmacy and the Board
of Osteopathy shall jointly agree and propose rules for legislative
approval to implement this section of the code in accordance with
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
NOTE: This bill shall require any person licensed to prescribe
drugs within West Virginia pursuant to chapter thirty of this code,
to check with the State Board of Pharmacy before initially
prescribing certain drugs to a new patient to determine if said
patient is engaging in doctor shopping.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.