ASSEMBLY, No. 4514

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED OCTOBER 15, 2018

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Somerset)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Creates registry of individuals who required medical assistance as result of misusing controlled dangerous substance.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning controlled dangerous substances and supplementing Title 24 of the Revised Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    a.  The Commissioner of Human Services shall develop and maintain a drug abuse and misuse registry, which shall be a confidential registry of the names of individuals who required medical assistance as a result of having misused a controlled dangerous substance, which information shall be submitted to the Commissioner by emergency medical response entities, hospitals, and police departments.  The Commissioner shall make the registry accessible to healthcare practitioners, who shall be required to access the system prior to prescribing any controlled dangerous substance.

     b.    As used in this section:

     "Emergency medical response entity" means an organization, company, governmental entity, community-based program, or healthcare system that provides pre-hospital emergency medical services and assistance to opioid or heroin addicts or abusers in the event of an overdose.  "Emergency medical response entity" includes, but is not limited to, a first aid, rescue and ambulance squad or other basic life support ambulance provider; a mobile intensive care provider or other advanced life support ambulance provider; an air medical service provider; or a fire-fighting company or organization, which squad, provider, company, or organization is qualified to send paid or volunteer emergency medical responders to the scene of an emergency.

     "Health care practitioner" means a prescriber, pharmacist, or other individual whose professional practice is regulated pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, and who, in accordance with the practitioner's scope of professional practice, prescribes or dispenses controlled dangerous substances.

 

     2.    Names and individual identification data collected pursuant to the provisions of this act shall not be disclosed by the Commissioner of Health unless required by law, and nothing in this act shall be construed to require disclosure of any private or confidential health information in violation of State or federal privacy laws.

 

     3.    The Commissioner of Human Services shall report annually any findings made pursuant to this act to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature.

 

     4.    This act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

 

     Under the bill, the Commissioner of Human Services is to develop and maintain a drug abuse and misuse registry, which is to be a confidential registry of the names of individuals who required medical assistance as a result of having misused a controlled dangerous substance which information is to be submitted to the Commissioner by emergency medical response entities, hospitals, and police departments.  The Commissioner is to make the registry accessible to healthcare practitioners who are to be required to access the system prior to prescribing any controlled dangerous substance.