A bill that would allow advanced practice registered nurses prescriptive authority for controlled substances advanced out of the Senate last week. It is the result of an agreement between the Kentucky Association of Nurse Practioners and Nurse Midwives and the Kentucky Medical Association.
It is sponsored by Sen Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville.
The bill now goes to the House.
SB 94 creates the Collaborative Agreement for the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse’s Prescriptive Authority for Controlled Substances Committee (CAPA-CS).
“This legislation has been seven years in the making and I am particularly pleased because it included the stakeholders from the beginning,” said Adams. “We rarely get everything we want in Frankfort, but with SB 94, I believe everyone who came to the table got most of what they wanted.”
The committee will be made up of four members. Two will be advanced practice registered nurses who currently prescribe or have prescribed scheduled drugs and be appointed by the Kentucky Board of Nursing. The other two will be physicians appointed by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure who have currently or had previously a signed CAPA-CS with an advanced practice registered nurse who prescribes scheduled drugs.
The committee is required to meet at least biannually in person or via video conferencing to review the advanced practice registered nurse’s reverse KASPER report or that of the PDMP currently used in Kentucky.
An advanced practice registered nurse who wishes to continue to prescribe controlled substances may be exempt from CAPA-CS requirements if the advanced practice registered nurse has:
● Completed 4 years of prescribing authority for controlled substances with a CAPA-CS;
● Maintained a United States Drug Enforcement Administration registration; and
● Maintained a master account with what is known as KASPER, the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting, or the prescription drug monitoring program currently in use in Kentucky.
The bill also establishes the Controlled Substances Prescribing Council under the Office of the Inspector General at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). The council will consist of 15 members and will include:
● The Inspector General at CHFS, who will serve as chair.
● The executive director of the Office of Drug Control Policy.
● Two currently licensed prescribers of scheduled drugs selected by the Kentucky Board of Dentistry. One will be a dentist and one an oral surgeon.
● Four licensed physicians who currently prescribe scheduled drugs selected by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. One will be a primary care specialist and one emergency medicine. One will have a specialty in psychiatry or addiction medicine, and one will be a pain management specialist.
● Four licensed advanced practice registered nurses who currently prescribe scheduled drugs and will be selected by the Kentucky Board of Nursing. One will be a primary care specialist, one an acute care specialist, one a psychiatric mental health or addiction specialist, and one a pain management specialist.
● One licensed prescriber of scheduled drugs selected by the Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners.
● One licensed prescriber of scheduled drugs selected by the Kentucky Board of Podiatry.
● One licensed pharmacist selected by the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy.
The council shall meet at least quarterly to discuss matters relating to the safe and appropriate prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances.
“Ongoing collaboration is key. The council and committee established by SB 94 will require the right people to remain at the table examining and adjusting on how prescriptions are utilized in Kentucky,” said Adams.