House Status:
Senate Status:
Senate Status:
Minutes for HB2759 - Committee on Appropriations
Short Title
Requiring veterinarians to submit information to the prescription monitoring program and providing for transfers of moneys from certain state agencies to the state board of pharmacy for operation and maintenance of the prescription monitoring program.
Minutes Content for Wed, Mar 21, 2018
Chairman Waymaster opened the hearing on the bill.
Scott Abbott, Office of the Revisor of Statutes presented the bill brief. The bill would require veterinarians to participate in and submit information to the prescription monitoring program.(Attachment 1). In response to questions from committee members, he stated that the Board of Pharmacy would determine how to record the information when prescribing medication, which would most likely reflect the person receiving and administering the drug, and the information on the pet for tracking purposes.
Greg Lakin, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, presented testimony as a proponent of the bill (Attachment 2). The K-TRACS system would be crucial for monitoring veterinarian prescribed drugs. He responded to questions by committee members. He stated that large animals and livestock are often times prescribed opiates.
Carly Haynes, Kansas Board of Pharmacy, presented testimony as a proponent of the bill (Attachment 3). She provided an overview of the board. The board is responsible for administering the Kansas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (K-TRACS), which tracks and monitors controlled substances and other drugs of concern in Kansas. The goal of K-TRACS is to prevent misuse, abuse and diversion of the controlled substances and ensure the availability of these medications for legitimate medical use.The grant funding is no longer available for ongoing support and maintenance of K-TRACS, and the board would request that the Board of Veterinary Examiners would contribute to the cost in conjunction with the other boards. She responded to questions from committee members. She stated an upgrade to K-TRACS would be approximately $60,000.
Representative Landwehr presented testimony as a proponent of the bill (Attachment 4). She emphasized the need to upgrade the tracking system to include veterinarians as an proactive approach to address the increased addiction to opioid and other drugs of concern. She responded to questions from committee members and stated that the costs for K-TRACS could be paid from fees collected.
Jay Hedrick, presented testimony as an opponent of the bill (Attachment 5). The license fee would be $90.00 and is approximately 10 percent of the agency's budget, he stated. A review of the annual inspection process followed. In response to questions from committee members, he reviewed the details included in a physical examination, track medication going in and distributed out based on subpoena invoices for controlled substances, which are kept for two years. It was noted that the fee would apply to all licensed veterinarians.
Tucker Stewart, Kansas Livestock Association presented testimony as an opponent of the bill (Attachment 6). There is not a lot of dispensing of Opioids and veterinarians adhere to stringent regulations required by the Drug Enforcement Agency for prescribing or dispensing controlled substances.
Megan Kilgore, Kansas Veterinary Medical Association (KVMA) presented testimony as an opponent of the bill (Attachment 7). Opioids are a very small percentage of usage for veterinarians, and there are no records of animal abuse to obtain opioids for personal use. KVMA is open to discussion on combating opioid use in humans. As requested, a list of those states that are exempt or excluded from reporting requirements will be forthcoming.
Eva Dudek, Parsons Pet Hospital, presented testimony in opposition of the bill (Attachment 8). In response to questions from committee members, she stated that opioids are used in small animals with severe injuries on a short term basis only. Kansas is a mandatory reporting state, if there is speculation of animal abuse or drug abuse concerns in the home.
Chairman Waymaster closed the hearing on the bill.
