Some notable legislation came out of the 84th Legislative Session, at least as it relates to the practice of medicine in the state, and specifically the state’s efforts to fight prescription abuse. Senate Bill 195, passed in the most recent legislative session, serves up some significant changes to the Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) role in regulating the prescribing of controlled substances. 

Effective September 1, 2016, a physician or practitioner in the state of Texas will no longer need to hold a Controlled Substances Registration (CSR) through the DPS. I see this as a positive change as requiring a state DPS registration alongside the federal registration already mandated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration is redundant and unnecessary. Practitioner’s will probably be happy to have one less expiration date to track, and one less fee to pay.         

Senate Bill 195 also moves the Prescription Access Texas (PAT) electronic prescription database from one state agency to another, specifically from the DPS to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (Pharmacy Board). PAT has been available for wide use since 2012. Most practitioners who might have occasion to use PAT, are probably aware of it at this point. It makes prescribing data more easily accessible to physicians, pharmacists, and law enforcement. The primary utility for practitioners is the ability to access a patient’s full prescribing history and verify that patients are not receiving controlled medication from multiple sources. It is also useful to monitor whether the practitioner’s own prescribing authority has been used without their knowledge.

So, what is going to change now that PAT is moving under the Pharmacy Board’s operation and control? It appears improvements that have been considered include allowing access to prescription data from surrounding states or nationwide, creating a more user-friendly interface with increased functionality, and ensuring reliable access to the program. The legislature decided that the Pharmacy Board, as a healthcare agency, and an agency engaged in the regulation of filling prescriptions, is better equipped than DPS to implement those changes. We shall see.