PRINTER'S NO. 2217
No. 1683 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY PASHINSKI, MUNDY, BELFANTI, BIANCUCCI, BISHOP,
BOBACK, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CONKLIN, COSTA, DePASQUALE,
DERMODY, FABRIZIO, JOSEPHS, LENTZ, LONGIETTI, MELIO, MENSCH,
OLIVER, PALLONE, PAYTON, PETRARCA, PRESTON, ROEBUCK,
SABATINA, SHIMKUS, K. SMITH, TANGRETTI, WANSACZ, WHEATLEY,
YEWCIC AND KULA, JULY 3, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JULY 3, 2007
AN ACT
1 Providing for electronic prescriptions and for duties of the
2 Department of Health; and imposing penalties.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
7 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
10 "Health care facility." Any health care facility providing
11 clinically related health services including, but not limited
12 to, a general or special hospital, including psychiatric
13 hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, ambulatory surgical
14 facilities, long-term care nursing facilities, abortion
15 facilities, cancer treatment centers using radiation therapy on
1 an ambulatory basis and inpatient drug and alcohol treatment
2 facilities, both for-profit and nonprofit and including those
3 operated by an agency or State or local government. The term
4 shall also include hospice. The term shall not include an office
5 used primarily for the private or group practice by health care
6 practitioners where no reviewable clinically related health
7 service is offered, a facility providing treatment solely on the
8 basis of prayer or spiritual means in accordance with the tenets
9 of any church or religious denomination or a facility conducted
10 by a religious organization for the purpose of providing health
11 care services exclusively to clergy or other persons in a
12 religious profession who are members of the religious
13 denominations conducting the facility.
14 Section 2. E-prescribing.
15 Within 60 days following the effective date of this act, a
16 health care facility shall develop a full and complete
17 implementation plan with specific goals, key performance
18 indicators and timelines in order to meet the following
19 requirements:
20 (1) Commencing September 1, 2008, every health care
21 facility shall provide easy and timely access to an e-
22 prescribing system for use by all medical staff who have
23 prescriptive authority in this Commonwealth.
24 (2) The e-prescribing system chosen by the health care
25 facility shall be able to monitor and notify the medical
26 staff of potentially harmful drug interactions for each
27 prescription filed.
28 (3) Thereafter, the health care facility shall certify
29 to the department on its application for license or license
30 renewal that it provides access for all medical staff that
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1 write prescriptions to an e-prescribing system and permits
2 its use in the facility.
3 Section 3. Regulations.
4 Within 180 days following the effective date of this act, the
5 State Board of Medicine shall promulgate regulations that will
6 establish guidelines for the use of e-prescribing by every
7 physician that chooses to write prescriptions electronically.
8 The e-prescribing system shall be able to monitor and notify the
9 physician of potentially harmful drug interactions for each
10 prescription filed by that physician. The department may require
11 that every physician certify on the physician's application for
12 a license or license renewal that the physician has access to an
13 e-prescribing system and report whether it is being used for
14 writing prescriptions.
15 Section 4. Penalties.
16 (a) Health care facility.--Any false or misleading statement
17 on a certification by a health care facility shall subject the
18 health care facility to a fine of $5,000 per violation.
19 (b) Physician.--Any false or misleading statement on a
20 certification by a physician shall subject the physician to a
21 fine of $5,000 per violation.
22 Section 5. Funds for e-prescribing.
23 Up to $25,000,000 of the funds appropriated by the General
24 Assembly for the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund established
25 under 12 Pa.C.S. Ch. 29 (relating to machinery and equipment
26 loans) shall be made available for grants to health care
27 facilities to assist in acquiring the systems described in this
28 act. Grants shall not exceed 50% of a health care facility's
29 costs, which shall be approved by the Department of Community
30 and Economic Development. The Department of Community and
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1 Economic Development shall develop criteria for evaluating
2 applications for grants that considers the fiscal condition of
3 the health care facility, the ability of the health care
4 facility to implement the technology and the potential savings
5 through avoided costs and reduced errors. The criteria shall be
6 forwarded by the Department of Community and Economic
7 Development to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication
8 in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
9 Section 6. Effective date.
10 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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