7.1.3 The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner or delegate as required for the purpose of conducting an investigation or inquiry into the cause, manner and circumstances of an individual’s death; 7.1.4 The Medical Director of the Department of Vermont Health Access relating to a Medicaid recipient for whom a claim for a Schedule II, III, or IV was submitted. This access is for Medicaid quality assurance, utilization, and federal monitoring purposes; and 7.1.5 The VPMS program manager, designated program staff, or any contractors acting at the direction of, or as authorized by, the program manager for purposes of management of the VPMS database. 7.2 VPMS Querying by Delegates 7.2.1 Delegates must register with the VPMS under a registered pharmacist, prescriber, or the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner in order to access and query the VPMS system. 7.2.1.1 Delegates may register as a delegate under multiple prescribers. 7.2.1.2 Delegates must accurately assign each query to the appropriate prescriber. 7.2.2 The authorizing registrant must approve the delegate before the delegate is issued access, and is responsible for the delegate’s appropriate use of the VPMS. 7.2.3 Any and all information requested by the delegate is for the purpose of providing treatment to a bona fide current patient of the authorizing pharmacist or prescriber, or in the case of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the purpose of conducting an inquiry or investigation into an individual’s death. 7.2.4 The delegate shall notify the prescriber of findings of the delegate’s query, prior to the prescriber writing a new prescription for controlled substances. 7.3 Requests for VPMS Information by Those Without Direct Access for Querying the System The following persons and entities may request from the VPMS program manager information for the following purposes: 7.3.1 Individual Records 7.3.1.1 A patient may request information from VPMS relating to themselves. 7.3.1.2 The request shall be submitted to the Department in writing using the Patient Prescription History Request Form, and shall be signed by the patient and shall include: • The patient’s name; • The patient’s date of birth; • The time period for which the information is requested; • The patient’s telephone number, mailing address; • The patient’s original signature; and • A copy of a federally recognized form of photo identification (such as a driver’s license or passport) or a Vermont Driver’s Privilege Card.
A copy of the Patient Prescription History Request Form can be found on the Health Department’s website. 7.3.1.3 In order to submit the Patient Prescription History Request Form, the individual may: • Mail a notarized original to the Health Department. • Present the form to the Health Department in-person. 7.3.2 Professional Boards 7.3.2.1 A designated representative of a professional board that is responsible for the licensure, regulation or discipline of health care prescribers or dispensers may request information from the VPMS pursuant to a bona fide specific investigation. The request shall be submitted on a form provided by the Department on the VPMS website and shall include: • The name of the licensee, if applicable; • The licensee’s DEA number, if applicable; • The timeframe under investigation; • The requester’s name; • The requester’s telephone number, mail and street address; • A statement certifying that the request is pursuant to a bona fide specific investigation; and • A statement certifying that the requester is duly designated by the board of licensure to make the request. 7.3.2.2 The request shall be delivered by secure fax, password-protected e-mail, or in person to VPMS staff. 8.0 Protections, Disclosure and Use of VPMS Information Pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 4284, all data submitted to, or accessed from, the VPMS in conformity with this rule are confidential, exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act, and shall only be disclosed as provided in this rule. 8.1 Disclosing Information from the VPMS 8.1.1 When the Department finds that a patient meets or exceeds clinical thresholds established by the Department, an Unsolicited Report shall be sent to all providers who have prescribed or dispensed a Controlled Substance to that patient. 8.1.2 When the Commissioner of Health has credible information that suggests that there may be fraudulent or illegal activity by a health care prescriber or dispenser, the Commissioner may provide relevant data to the appropriate licensing or certification authority. 8.1.2.1 That authority may report the data that are evidence of suspected fraudulent or illegal activity to a drug diversion investigator. 8.1.2.2 The drug diversion investigator shall not
8.1.2.3 Any disclosure of VPMS information shall document a bona fide specific investigation and shall specify the case number of the investigation. 9.0 Enforcement 9.1 Prescribers are bound by the requirements of this rule and are subject to sanctions by their licensing authority for failure to comply with it. 9.2 A dispenser who intentionally fails to comply with the reporting requirements specified in this rule shall be subject to discipline by the board of pharmacy, or other appropriate licensing authority, as provided in 18 V.S.A. § 4283(h). 9.3 The Department may refer to the appropriate licensing authority any pharmacy that fails to submit a timely or complete Report of Controlled Substances Dispensed. 9.4 If the VPMS shows that a patient has filled a prescription for a controlled substance written by a prescriber who is not a registered user of VPMS, the Commissioner of Health will notify the professional by email or United States Postal Service and will notify the applicable licensing authority.
10.0 Training
10.1 Pharmacist and Prescriber Training 10.1.1 Training on how to access the VPMS and how to correctly use the information from the VPMS will be offered to all registrants. 10.1.2 Trainings may be done through professional associations representing health care providers or provided by the Department in a live or web-based format. 10.2 Drug Diversion Investigators must complete a training program offered or approved by the Department.
have direct access to the VPMS data except for information provided to the officer by the licensing or certification authority.
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