54.1-2520 - Program establishment; Director's regulatory authority.
§ 54.1-2520. Program establishment; Director's regulatory authority.
A. The Director shall establish, maintain, and administer an electronicsystem to monitor the dispensing of covered substances to be known as thePrescription Monitoring Program. Covered substances shall include allSchedule II, III, and IV controlled substances, as defined in the DrugControl Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.).
B. The Director, after consultation with relevant health regulatory boards,shall promulgate, in accordance with the provisions of the AdministrativeProcess Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.), such regulations as are necessary toimplement the prescription monitoring program as provided in this chapter,including, but not limited to, the establishment of criteria for grantingwaivers of the reporting requirements set forth in § 54.1-2521.
C. The Director may enter into contracts as may be necessary for theimplementation and maintenance of the Prescription Monitoring Program.
D. The Director shall provide dispensers with a basic file layout to enableelectronic transmission of the information required in this chapter. Forthose dispensers unable to transmit the required information electronically,the Director shall provide an alternative means of data transmission.
E. The Director shall also establish an advisory committee within theDepartment to assist in the implementation and evaluation of the PrescriptionMonitoring Program.
(2002, c. 481; 2005, cc. 637, 678.)