(1) In order to expand integration of prescription monitoring program data into certified electronic health record technologies, the department must collaborate with health professional and facility associations, vendors, and others to:

(a) Conduct an assessment of the current status of integration;

(b) Provide recommendations for improving integration among small and rural health care facilities, offices, and clinics;

(c) Comply with federal prescription drug monitoring program qualification requirements under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396w-3a to facilitate eligibility for federal grants and establish a program to provide financial assistance to small and rural health care facilities and clinics with integration as funding is available, especially under federal programs;

(d) Conduct security assessments of other commonly used platforms for integrating prescription monitoring program data with certified electronic health records for possible use in Washington; and

(e) Assess improvements to the prescription monitoring program to establish a modality to identify patients that do not wish to receive opioid medications in a manner that allows an ordering or prescribing physician to be able to use the prescription monitoring program to identify patients who do not wish to receive opioids or patients that have had an opioid-related overdose.

(2)(a) By January 1, 2021, a facility, entity, office, or provider group identified in RCW 70.225.040 with ten or more prescribers that is not a critical access hospital as defined in RCW 74.60.010 that uses a federally certified electronic health records system must demonstrate that the facility's or entity's federally certified electronic health record is able to fully integrate data to and from the prescription monitoring program using a mechanism approved by the department under subsection (3) of this section.

(b) The department must develop a waiver process for the requirements of (a) of this subsection for facilities, entities, offices, or provider groups due to economic hardship, technological limitations that are not reasonably in the control of the facility, entity, office, or provider group, or other exceptional circumstance demonstrated by the facility, entity, office, or provider group. The waiver must be limited to one year or less, or for any other specified time frame set by the department.

(3) Electronic health record system vendors who are fully integrated with the prescription monitoring program in Washington state may not charge an ongoing fee or a fee based on the number of transactions or providers. Total costs of connection must not impose unreasonable costs on any facility, entity, office, or provider group using the electronic health record and must be consistent with current industry pricing structures. For the purposes of this subsection, "fully integrated" means that the electronic health records system must:

(a) Send information to the prescription monitoring program without provider intervention using a mechanism approved by the department;

(b) Make current information from the prescription monitoring program available to a provider within the workflow of the electronic health records system; and

(c) Make information available in a way that is unlikely to interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage access, exchange, or use of electronic health information, in accordance with the information blocking provisions of the federal twenty-first century cures act, P.L. 114-255.

Declaration—2019 c 314: See note following RCW 18.22.810.