In California, the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) is an electronic tracking program that reports all pharmacy (and specified types of prescriber) dispensing of controlled drugs by drug name, quantity, prescriber, patient, and pharmacy.

The CURES database addresses only part of the problem. According to a 2013 federal survey, two-thirds of the people abusing pharmaceuticals had not been prescribed the drugs – so they wouldn’t have been listed in the database. Nevertheless, CURES can help physicians and pharmacies identify those who are pill-shopping from doctor to doctor, while helping states track down doctors who are overprescribing narcotics.

When California lawmakers created the CURES database to fight prescription drug abuse years ago, they left out an important piece. Although pharmacists were required to list in the database any customers who received potentially dangerous and addictive drugs, doctors weren’t required to check those records before prescribing more pills. State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced a bill that would finally require doctors to do what they should have been doing all along.

And Governor Brown signed SB 482 into law this week. After January 1, the law will require a health care practitioner authorized to prescribe, order, administer, or furnish a controlled substance to consult the CURES database to review a patient’s controlled substance history no earlier than 24 hours, or the previous business day, before prescribing a Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled substance to the patient for the first time and at least once every 4 months thereafter if the substance remains part of the treatment of the patient.

Any health care practitioner who fails to consult the CURES database is required to be referred to the appropriate state professional licensing board solely for administrative sanctions, as deemed appropriate by that board.

Currently, the Los Angeles Times reports that only about 10% of those who can prescribe these drugs have even signed up to use CURES. The California Medical Assn., the main trade group for doctors, has resisted any mandate on its members to consult the database, arguing that the Legislature shouldn’t meddle in the practice of medicine. Besides, the group says, CURES isn’t ready yet for the avalanche of queries that such a mandate would cause.

The new law addresses the latter by delaying the requirement until the state certifies that CURES has been fully upgraded. As for the former concern, the bill imposes no restrictions on prescribing that state law doesn’t already impose. It simply holds doctors and other prescribers responsible for checking CURES when the potential for pill-shopping is at its highest – for example, when a patient is prescribed a dangerous drug for the first time. That’s not asking much.

Existing law (Health and Safety Code Section 11165.1) required all California licensed prescribers authorized to prescribe scheduled drugs to register for access to CURES 2.0 by July 1, 2016 or upon issuance of a Drug Enforcement Administration Controlled Substance Registration Certificate, whichever occurs later. California licensed pharmacists must have registered for access to CURES 2.0 by July 1, 2016, or upon issuance of a Board of Pharmacy Pharmacist License, whichever occurs later.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and confidentiality and disclosure provisions of California law cover the information contained in CURES 2.0. Access to CURES 2.0 is limited to licensed prescribers and licensed pharmacists strictly for patients in their direct care; and regulatory board staff and law enforcement personnel for official oversight or investigatory purposes.

Thus, it seems fair to assume that in the near future, workers’ compensation claim administrators should expect to see confirmation from a claimant’s PTP that the CURES database has been reviewed as required by law.