California Providers – Mandatory CURES Reports

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As of October 2, 2018, all providers practicing in California must check the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database before prescribing certain medications, including opioid pain medications.

Physicians and advanced practice providers who prescribe controlled substances already must be registered with CURES 2.0, according to state law.  California Health and Safety Code Section 11165.1 requires health care practitioners authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or dispense scheduled controlled substances to submit a CURES registration application to the Department of Justice before July 1, 2016, or upon receipt of a DEA registration.

Senate Bill 482, which was signed into law in 2016, requires California providers to check the CURES database for signs of abuse when initially prescribing opioid pain medications, as well as steroids, sleep aids and psychiatric medications. The law also requires providers to recheck the database every four months while the medication is continued.

Importantly, implementation of the requirement was delayed until six months from the date on which the California Department of Justice could certify that the CURES program had adequate staff and was ready for statewide use.

On April 2, 2018 the Department of Justice released the following statement:

“Pursuant to Section 11165.4 (e) of the Health and Safety Code, the Department of Justice certifies that, as of April 2, 2018, the CURES database is ready for statewide use and that the Department of Justice has adequate staff, user support, and education. Mandatory CURES consultation becomes effective on October 2, 2018.”

MIEC already recommends that providers consult CURES (or their corresponding state prescription drug monitoring program) and run a Patient Activity Report (PAR) for each patient prior to prescribing any Schedule II-IV controlled substance, and at periodic intervals throughout the duration of treatment.  Copying PARs into patient charts will document compliance with the upcoming law and current best practices, and it will assist providers in reducing harm associated with the misuse of prescription medications.

 

California physicians can learn more about CURES at https://oag.ca.gov/cures.

For questions, contact the CURES Program at CURES@doj.ca.gov or (916) 210-3187.