Prescription Monitoring Program (H 5756, 0647)

In an attempt to combat illicit prescription drug use, Rhode Island maintains a prescription monitoring database that records the information of any individual prescribed a medication that falls under certain sections of the Uniformed Controlled Substances Act.  For years, the information contained within that database and who could access that information was largely unregulated by Rhode Island law.  The ACLU testified before the House Health, Education and Welfare and Senate Health and Human Services committees in support of legislation that would impose privacy protections on the database’s use.  The legislation was originally intended solely to expand the number of medications within this database and permit the use of e-prescribing by doctors.  After the ACLU raised concerns last year, the legislation was amended to include strong privacy protections to ensure the information of responsible patients remains uncompromised.  Governor Chafee signed this legislation into law in June.