State Board of Health — Department of Health

Ark. Code Ann. tit. 20, ch. 7

in effect

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-101 Violations — Penalties.

(a)(1) Every firm, person, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this act or any of the orders or rules issued in accordance with this act is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment not exceeding one (1) month, or both. (2) Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. (3) During the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency, a firm, person, or corporation is not liable under subdivision (a)(1) of this section if the violation of the provisions of this act or any orders or rules issued in accordance with this act related to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency results from the behavior of a patron or customer of the firm, person, or corporation. (4) During the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency, other state agencies that inspect a firm, person, or corporation, including the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, shall not hold the firm, person, or corporation liable under subdivision (a)(1) of this section if the violation of the provisions of this act or any orders or rules issued in accordance with this act related to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency results from the behavior of a patron or customer of the firm, person, or corporation. (5) Enforcement of order, rules, or directives is the expressed responsibility of the issuing agency. (b)(1)(A)(i) Every firm, person, or corporation who violates any of the rules issued or promulgated by the State Board of Health or who violates any condition of a license, permit, certificate, or any other type of registration issued by the board may be assessed a civil penalty by the board. The penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation. (ii) Each day of a continuing violation may be deemed a separate violation for purposes of penalty assessments. (B) However, no civil penalty may be assessed until the person charged with the violation has been given the opportunity for a hearing on the violation. (2) All fines collected under this subsection shall be deposited into the State Treasury and credited to the Public Health Fund to be used to defray the costs of administering this section. (3) Subject to such rules as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, the disbursing officer for the Department of Health may transfer all unexpended funds relative to fines collected under this subsection, as certified by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, to be carried forward and made available for expenditures for the same purpose for any following fiscal year. (4) All rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection shall be reviewed by the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-102 Members — Appointment.

(a) The State Board of Health shall consist of the following members, to be appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate as follows: (1)(A) Seven (7) members of the board shall be licensed medical doctors of good professional standing, to be appointed by the Governor as follows: (i) One (1) member shall be appointed from each of the four (4) congressional districts of this state as established by § 7-2-101 et seq.; and (ii) Three (3) members shall be appointed from the state at large by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Medical Society, Inc. (B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section, at least one (1) of the positions allocated for licensed medical doctors shall be an osteopathic physician appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association from the state at large; (2) One (1) member shall be a regularly licensed, registered, and practicing dentist who has at least seven (7) years' experience in the practice of his or her profession in this state. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas State Dental Association; (3) One (1) member shall be a professional engineer as defined in § 17-30-101 who has at least seven (7) years' experience in the practice of his or her profession in this state. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting The Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers; (4) One (1) member shall be a regularly licensed professional nurse who has been a resident of the state for at least seven (7) years preceding the appointment and who has at least a bachelor's degree and five (5) years' nursing experience in the state. This member shall be appointed from a list by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Nurses Association; (5) One (1) member shall be a regularly licensed pharmacist who has been actively engaged in the practice of pharmacy for at least seven (7) years preceding his or her appointment. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Pharmacist's Association; (6) One (1) member shall be a regularly licensed veterinarian who has been actively engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine for at least seven (7) years preceding his or her appointment. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association; (7) One (1) member shall be a registered sanitarian who has at least seven (7) years' experience in the practice of his or her profession preceding his or her appointment. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas State Board of Sanitarians; (8) One (1) member shall be a hospital administrator who has at least seven (7) years' experience in the practice of his or her profession in Arkansas. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Hospital Association, Inc.; (9) One (1) member shall be a regularly licensed, registered, and practicing optometrist who has at least seven (7) years' experience in the practice of his or her profession in this state. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Optometric Association, Inc.; (10) One (1) member shall be a regularly licensed and practicing chiropractor. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Chiropractic Physicians Association; (11) One (1) member shall be a restaurant operator who has owned or operated a restaurant for a minimum of five (5) years. This member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Hospitality Association, Inc.; (12) One (1) member shall be a consumer representative who has an interest in public health. This member shall be appointed by the Governor from the state at large; (13) One (1) member shall be more than sixty (60) years of age and represent the elderly. This person shall not be actively engaged in or retired from any occupation, profession, or industry to be regulated by the board. The member shall be appointed by the Governor from the state at large and be subject to confirmation by the Senate; (14) One (1) member shall be a licensed doctor of podiatric medicine of good professional standing who has at least seven (7) years' experience in the practice of the profession in this state. The member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Podiatric Medical Association Inc.; (15) One (1) member shall be a member of the Arkansas Public Health Association, Inc. The member shall be appointed by the Governor after consulting the Arkansas Public Health Association, Inc.; (16) One (1) member shall be a licensed medical doctor of good professional standing who shall be appointed by the Governor from a rural county that contains a medically underserved population in the state; and (17) One (1) member shall be the Secretary of the Department of Health. (b) Each of the members of the board so appointed shall take the oath prescribed by the Arkansas Constitution for state officers and shall be commissioned by the Governor in the same manner as other state officials.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-103 Members — Officers.

(a) The members of the State Board of Health shall elect one (1) of the members as president. (b)(1) The State Board of Health shall nominate to the Governor a Director of the Department of Health. (2)(A) The Governor shall appoint the director who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. (B) The director shall report to the Secretary of the Department of Health. (C) The Secretary of the Department of Health may serve as the Director of the Department of Health if the Governor determines all statutory requirements are fulfilled. (3) The director may: (A) Serve as the State Health Officer; (B) Serve as the Secretary for the State Board of Health but shall not sit as a member of the State Board of Health; and (C)(i)(a) Be a licensed medical doctor who is a graduate of a school of medicine recognized by the Arkansas State Medical Board; (b) Hold a graduate degree in public health or a graduate degree in a recognized public health discipline from an accredited college or university or have equivalent knowledge and experience in public health as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health; and (c) Have experience in the practice of public health and in leadership and management, the sufficiency of which shall be determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health; or (ii) Hold a doctoral degree in public health or a doctoral degree in a recognized public health discipline from an accredited college or university with at least five (5) years of experience in the practice of public health and at least ten (10) years of experience in the leadership and management of a large complex organization, the sufficiency of which shall be determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-104 Members — Compensation.

All appointed members of the State Board of Health may receive expense reimbursement and stipends in accordance with § 25-16-901 et seq.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-105 Proceedings.

(a)(1) The State Board of Health shall meet at least one (1) time every three (3) months. (2) Upon the call of the President of the State Board of Health or a majority of the members of the board, the board shall meet at such other times as may be necessary in the interest of public health. (b)(1) The board may adopt bylaws regulating the transaction of its business and provide within the bylaws for the appointment of committees to which the board may delegate authority and power for all duties committed to the board, but under the direction and subject to the control of the board. (2) The board may also adopt and use an official seal. (c) A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and for the performance of such duties as the board may prescribe.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-106 Office.

The office of the State Board of Health shall be located in Little Rock, and the board shall be furnished with all necessary equipment and supplies, including laboratory supplies, books, stationery, blanks, furniture, etc., as are provided other officers of the state and as are necessary for carrying on the work of the board, and the office is to be provided in a suitable building to be designated by the Secretary of the Department of Health.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-107 Appointment of assistant director.

The Secretary of the Department of Health may appoint and employ an assistant director who shall be knowledgeable in the field of public health and whose duty it shall be to assist the secretary in the general supervision of the affairs of his or her office and in the enforcement of quarantine and sanitation throughout the state.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-108 Engagement of certain personnel.

The Department of Health may engage suitable persons to render sanitary service, to make or supervise practical and scientific investigations and examinations requiring expert skill, and to prepare plans and to report relative to sanitary service.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-109 Authority to regulate public health — Exceptions.

(a)(1) Power is conferred on the State Board of Health to make all necessary and reasonable rules of a general nature for: (A) The protection of the public health and safety; (B) The general amelioration of the sanitary and hygienic conditions within the state; (C) The suppression and prevention of infectious, contagious, and communicable diseases; (D) The proper enforcement of quarantine, isolation, and control of such diseases; and (E) The proper control of chemical exposures that may result in adverse health effects to the public. (2) All rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection shall be reviewed by the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof. (b) However, if a patient can be treated with reasonable safety to the public health, he or she shall not be removed from his or her home without his or her consent, or the consent of the parents or guardian in the case of a minor, and the rules, when made, shall be printed in pamphlet form, with such numbers of copies as may be necessary for the distribution of the information to health bodies, health and sanitary officers, and the public generally. (c) The board shall not: (1) Regulate the practice of medicine or healing nor interfere with the right of any citizen to employ the practitioner of his or her choice; or (2) Require, through enforcement or application, or both, of the provisions of this act or any orders or rules issued in accordance with this act related to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency a firm, person, or corporation to regulate the behavior of patrons or customers of the firm, person, or corporation during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-111 Administration of certain federal acts.

(a) The State of Arkansas does accept the benefits of any acts now passed or hereafter to be passed by the United States Congress to provide for cooperation with the states in the protection of mothers and infants and promotion of a public health program. (b)(1) The State Board of Health is designated as the board for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the federal acts and this section and shall have all necessary authority to cooperate with the federal authorities administering the acts of the United States Congress. (2) The board shall administer any legislation pursuant thereto enacted by the State of Arkansas under this section for promotion of a health program. (c)(1) The Secretary of the Department of Health shall act as executive officer for the purpose of administering the federal acts and this section. (2) The secretary shall carry into effect such rules and regulations as the federal authorities and the board may adopt pursuant to the federal acts and this section. (d) The Treasurer of State is designated and appointed custodian of all moneys received by the state from the appropriation made by the United States Congress, and he or she may receive and provide for the proper custody of the moneys and make disbursements in the manner provided by law and for the purpose specified in this section. (e) The allocation of funds under this section shall be made to the respective counties in consecutive order as they make application and qualify for the funds. (f)(1) Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section upon conviction shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500) at the discretion of the court. (2) Each day that the violation is committed shall constitute a separate offense.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-112 Inspections.

(a) It is made the duty of all officers and agents who have the control, charge, or custody of any public structure, work, grounds, or erection, or of any plan, description, outlines, drawings, or charts thereof or relating thereto, made, kept, or controlled under any public authority, to permit and facilitate the examination and inspection and the making of copies of these items by any officer or person authorized by the State Board of Health. (b) The members of the board and such other officers or persons as may at any time be authorized by the board, without fee or hindrance, to enter, examine, and survey all grounds, erections, vehicles, structures, apartments, buildings, and plans when the public health may be promoted or in any way preserved.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-113 Nuisances.

(a)(1) At any time, the Governor may require the State Board of Health to examine nuisances or questions affecting the security of life and health in any locality in the state, and in such cases the State Board of Health shall have all the necessary powers to make those examinations. The State Board of Health shall report the results to the Governor within the limits of time which he or she shall prescribe for the examination and report to be prepared and submitted. (2) At any time, whether an investigation is at the request of the State Board of Health, or whenever the Governor shall have directed an examination and report to be made by the State Board of Health into any alleged nuisance, any board of health of any city of the state may appoint and select any one (1) of its officers as its representative during the examination of any nuisance. This representative officer shall have a seat at and be entitled to take part in all the deliberations of the State Board of Health during the investigation but without the right to vote. (b) When approved by the Governor, the report of the examination shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, and the Governor, in relation to the matters or things found and certified by the State Board of Health to be a nuisance, may declare them to be public nuisances and order them to be changed as he or she shall direct, or be abated and removed. (c) Any violation of an order shall be held and punished as a misdemeanor, and thereafter the Governor, by his or her order in writing which is certified under his or her official seal and directed to the officers of the county in which the nuisance shall be situated, may require the prosecuting attorney, the sheriff, and the other officers of every county to take all necessary measures to execute the order of the Governor and to have it obeyed.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-114 Public health laboratory.

(a)(1) The State Board of Health shall establish, equip, and maintain a public health laboratory that shall be used for making: (A) Analyses of foods and drugs to enforce pure food and drug laws; (B) Analyses of the environment to investigate cases or suspected cases of human exposure; and (C) Investigations of cases and suspected cases of malaria, diphtheria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, glanders, hookworm disease, rabies, and other infectious, contagious, communicable, and debilitating diseases. (2) The public health laboratory shall be established and maintained at the Department of Health under the direct supervision of the Secretary of the Department of Health or his or her authorized representatives. (b)(1) The department may establish fees to be charged for performing analyses of various types of samples submitted to the public health laboratory for examination. (2) All fees levied and collected under this subsection are special revenues and shall be deposited into the State Treasury, there to be credited to the Public Health Fund. (c) Subject to rules as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, the disbursing officer for the department may transfer all unexpended funds relative to the laboratory services that pertain to fees collected, as certified by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, to be carried forward and made available for expenditures for the same purpose for any following fiscal year.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-115 Transportation of dead bodies.

(a)(1) The State Board of Health shall prepare the necessary methods and forms and prescribe the rules regulating the issue and use of transfer permits, with the proper coupons attached thereto, to be issued by local organized boards of health or health officers, for the transportation of the dead bodies of persons which are to be transported for burial beyond the limits of the counties where the death occurred. (2) In all cases, the State Board of Health shall require the coupons to be attached to the permits, to be detached and preserved by every common carrier or the person in charge of any vessel, railroad train, or vehicle to whom the dead bodies shall be delivered for transportation. (b) Any violation of these rules shall be a misdemeanor.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-117 Hospices — Definition — State Hospice Office — Creation.

(a) There is created within the Department of Health a State Hospice Office to be administered in a division of the department to be designated by the Secretary of the Department of Health. (b)(1) The office shall: (A) Coordinate the care of terminally ill persons with all existing agencies, programs, and facilities; (B) Implement rules, regulations, and standards for hospice care in general agreement with guidelines of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Arkansas, Inc. and in compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; (C) Provide technical assistance and information to developing hospices; (D) Maintain a central storehouse of information and reference materials relating to the hospice concept and disseminate this to programs and individuals on request in an equitable manner and accept and respond to inquiries relating to hospice; and (E) Assist the Arkansas State Hospice Association in developing the hospice concept in this state and networking hospice programs with existing medical communities and human service facilities. (2) All functions and duties of the office shall be carried out in accordance with the laws of Arkansas and the rules of the Health Services Permit Agency, the Health Services Permit Commission, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (c)(1) The rules and requirements of the Health Services Permit Agency and the commission shall be revised to include separate permit-of-approval categories of healthcare facilities entitled “hospice facilities” and “hospice agencies” and to develop criteria for granting the permits of approval for hospice facilities and for hospice agencies for which applications shall be filed in accordance with the criteria. (2) A hospice facility or hospice agency shall not convert its licensure to any other license. (d) As used in this section, “hospice” or “hospice program” means an autonomous, centrally administered, medically directed, coordinated program providing a continuum of home, outpatient, and homelike inpatient care for the terminally ill patient and the patient's family, and which employs an interdisciplinary team to assist in providing palliative and supportive care to meet the special needs arising out of the physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and economic stresses which are experienced during the final stages of illness and during dying and bereavement. The care shall be available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, and provided on the basis of need, regardless of ability to pay. (e) The licensure fee for a hospice shall be an annual fee of five hundred dollars ($500).

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-118 Annual conference for health officers.

(a) There shall be an annual conference of county health officers and city health officers of this state, meeting at such time and place as the State Board of Health designates. The President of the State Board of Health or some member of the board shall preside at the conference. (b) Each of the several counties, towns, and cities may provide for and pay the necessary expenses of its county health officer or city health officer for attendance at the conference.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-119 Identification tags and bracelets.

(a) When application is made and upon the payment of the fees provided in this section, the Department of Health may prepare and furnish to the applicant either a suitable metal tag commonly referred to as “dog tag” or an identification bracelet which may be inscribed with, in addition to the name and address of the person, the birth date, blood type, and any other pertinent medical information that might be needed in case of an accident or emergency with respect to the person. (b) The department shall charge a fee of fifty cents (50¢) for each metal tag or dog tag and a fee of one dollar ($1.00) for each identification bracelet containing the information authorized in this section. (c) All fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the State Treasury as special revenues, and the Treasurer of State shall credit them, after deducting from them the collection charge authorized by law, to the Public Health Fund to be used to defray the cost of this section and for the maintenance and operation of the department.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-120 No right to enter home or take charge of children.

(a) No official, agent, or representative of the Department of Health shall have any right under this section to enter any home over the objection of the owner of the home or to take charge of any child over the objection of either or both parents or of the person standing in loco parentis or having custody of the child. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the power of a parent or guardian or person standing in loco parentis to determine what treatment or correction shall be provided for a child or the agencies to be employed for these purposes.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-121 Annual report.

(a) It shall be the duty of the State Board of Health to make an annual written report through the Secretary of the Department of Health to the Governor on or before January 1 of each year. (b) The report shall include: (1) A financial statement covering the expenditures of all funds appropriated for the board's purposes; (2) So much of the proceedings of the board and information concerning vital and mortuary statistics, knowledge respecting diseases, and instructions on the subject of sanitation and hygiene which may be thought useful by the board for dissemination among the people; and (3) Such suggestions as to legislative action as the board deems necessary.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-122 Reports for general distribution.

The State Board of Health may publish for general distribution such reports and other matter as it may deem useful in promoting the interest of the public health of this state.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-123 Fees.

(a) All revenue derived from fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited as special revenues into the State Treasury, where they shall be credited to the Public Health Fund. (b) These fees are as follows: (1) All fees prescribed in the Vital Statistics Act, § 20-18-101 et seq., which are as follows: (A) A fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) collected by the State Registrar of Vital Records for the filing of a delayed certificate of birth; (B) A fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) collected by the state registrar for the filing of a delayed certificate of death or marriage; (C) A fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) collected by the state registrar for issuing a new certificate of birth for a person who has been legitimated, or whose paternity has been determined, or whose name has been changed; (D)(i) A fee of one dollar ($1.00) collected by the clerks of the county courts upon the application of any person for marriage. (ii) This fee is in addition to any other fees; (E)(i) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(1)(E)(ii) of this section, a fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) collected by the state registrar for the amendment of any record. (ii) For a hospital that requests an amendment of a record, a fee of two dollars ($2.00); (F) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) collected by the state registrar for the making and certification of any certificate or record other than a death certificate; (G) A fee of: (i) Four dollars ($4.00) collected by the state registrar for the making and certification of a single copy of a death certificate; and (ii) One dollar ($1.00) collected for the making and certification of each additional copy of a death certificate; (H)(i) A fee of: (a) Five dollars ($5.00) collected by the state registrar for an examination and search of the files for any birth, marriage, divorce, or putative father record; and (b) Four dollars ($4.00) for an examination and search of the files for a death record. (ii) The fees set out in this subdivision (b)(1)(H) shall be paid before searching the record; and (I) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) collected by the state registrar for establishing a new certificate of birth under § 20-18-406; (2)(A) A fee to be collected for the review of plans and specifications covering improvements that by law or rule are required to be reviewed by the State Board of Health or Department of Health, including without limitation plans and specifications covering waterworks, sewage works, swimming pools, hospitals and related facilities, food service and food processing establishments, and plumbing in public facilities. (B) The fee imposed under subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section shall be one percent (1%) of the estimated cost, with a maximum fee of five hundred dollars ($500) and a minimum fee of fifty dollars ($50.00), calculated and paid on the basis of the engineering estimate of the total cost of the particular improvement, which estimate is to be submitted with the plans and specifications for review. (C) If the maximum fee of five hundred dollars ($500) is paid, no engineering estimate of the total cost need be submitted with the plans and specifications; and (3) A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) to be collected by the board or the department for each cemetery inspection as required by law or rule.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-124 Disposition of certain fees.

All fees collected by the Department of Health for food-related establishment permits, septic tank permits, and milk permits shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Public Health Fund and shall be for the use of the Division of Environmental Health Protection of the Department of Health.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-125 Payment of certain salaries and expenses.

All salaries and other expenses provided for by this act which are not required to be paid by counties, cities, and incorporated towns shall be paid out of the Public Health Fund.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-126 Payment of overtime for home health employees.

(a) The Department of Health may make overtime payments to employees engaged in the performance of home health activities. (b) The payments are to be in addition to compensation otherwise due the employees at the same rate currently paid to the employees for regular time, but on an hourly basis.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-128 Maintenance fee for breath-testing instruments.

(a)(1) The State Board of Health may assess a fee for the maintenance of breath-testing instruments by law enforcement agencies for purposes contained in the Omnibus DWI or BWI Act, § 5-65-101 et seq., and § 5-65-201 et seq. (2) The fees collected shall be used for the support of the maintenance program as appropriated by law. (3) This subsection does not exclude manufacturer-approved repair services. (b) The fee imposed shall not exceed the cost of maintenance by the Department of Health. (c)(1) Funds derived from the fees levied under this section are special revenues and shall be collected by the department and deposited into the State Treasury, where they shall be credited to the Public Health Fund. (2) Subject to such rules as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, the disbursing officers for the department may transfer all unexpended funds relative to the blood alcohol instrument maintenance program funds outlined in this section, as certified by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, to be carried forward and made available for the expenditures for the same purpose for any following year.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-129 Reimbursement for certain medical supplies or services.

(a)(1) The Department of Health may implement a reimbursement system to recover part or all of the costs of delivering services. (2) For the purpose of vaccine and vaccine administration reimbursement, if a private healthcare insurer declines or does not respond to a request to contract with the department within ninety (90) days of the request to contract, the private healthcare insurer shall reimburse the department at the rate paid to an in-network provider. (b) The system shall provide that fees shall be collected only from those patients who are financially able to pay the fee and that no one shall be denied services because of inability to pay. (c)(1) Funds derived from the fees shall be used exclusively for the purchase of medical supplies or services necessary to enable the department to continue to provide essential health care. (2) The department may transfer six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) in any fiscal year to the State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund for the purposes established by § 20-7-204. (d)(1) Funds collected by the department under this section shall be deposited into the State Treasury. These funds shall be credited to the Public Health Fund to be used exclusively for support of medical supplies or services. (2) Subject to rules as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, all unexpended funds that pertain to fees collected shall be carried forward and made available for expenditure for the same purposes for any following fiscal year.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-130 Recovery of expenditures for extraordinary operations.

(a) The purpose of this section is to more equitably allocate the costs between the state and responsible parties when unforeseen circumstances arise as a result of accidents and other man-made causes which require assistance from the Department of Health. The authority to recover these expenses would enable the department to replace funds budgeted for routine activities which were spent for a department response to nonroutine, unplanned circumstances creating the potential for adverse health effects such as transportation accidents involving food and drugs, environmental contamination, and food product contamination. (b)(1) The State Board of Health may promulgate rules necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this section. (2) In adopting these rules, the board shall define the circumstances under which recovery should be pursued and the method to determine the amount of each recovery, which shall be based on costs. (c) The department may recover from the responsible party or parties actual costs incurred in participation during extraordinary, time-consuming operations such as damage assessment, sampling, monitoring, health studies, and product evaluations which arise from unforeseen circumstances. (d) All moneys levied and collected under this section are special revenues and shall be deposited into the State Treasury, there to be credited to the Public Health Fund. (e) Subject to rules as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, the disbursing officer for the department may transfer all unexpended funds relative to the recovery of expenditures program that pertain to moneys collected, as certified by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, to be carried forward and made available for expenditures for the same purpose for any following fiscal year.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-131 Local control of county or city units of Department of Health.

(a) The mayor or county judge of any city or county that is providing facilities for a local unit of the Department of Health shall be consulted before the hiring of or the removal of the administrator of the local unit. (b) Notwithstanding the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq., the department with the consent of the employee may share personnel information with a mayor or county judge. (c) Furthermore, any employee removed as administrator of a local unit shall be allowed to participate in the state grievance process.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-132 Guidelines for cleanup of clandestine methamphetamine labs.

(a) The Department of Health shall develop guidelines for the cleanup of former clandestine methamphetamine drug labs. (b) The guidelines shall be made available on the department's website and shall be available to law enforcement officials and the public upon request. (c) The guidelines shall be reviewed and updated annually.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-134 Powers and duties.

(a) The Child Health Advisory Committee shall meet at least one (1) time per month and make recommendations to the State Board of Education and the State Board of Health consistent with the intent and purpose of this section and §§ 20-7-133 and 20-7-135. (b) The committee shall develop nutrition and physical activity standards and policy recommendations with consideration of the following: (1) Foods sold individually in school cafeterias but outside the regulated National School Lunch Program; (2) Competitive foods as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as the definition is in existence on January 1, 2015, and offered at schools typically through vending machines, student stores, school fundraisers, food carts, or food concessions; (3) The continuing professional development of food service staff; (4) The expenditure of funds derived from competitive food and beverage contracts; (5) Physical education and activity; (6) Systems to ensure the implementation of nutrition and physical activity standards; and (7) The monitoring and evaluating of results and reporting of outcomes. (c) The committee shall examine the progress of the Arkansas Coordinated School Health Program and make recommendations to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Health concerning the implementation of the Arkansas Coordinated School Health Program.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-135 Nutrition and physical activity standards — Implementation.

(a) After having consulted the Child Health Advisory Committee and the State Board of Health, the State Board of Education shall promulgate appropriate rules to ensure that nutrition and physical activity standards and body mass index for age assessment protocols are implemented to provide students with the skills, opportunities, and encouragement to adopt healthy lifestyles. (b) The Department of Health in consultation with the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall: (1) Employ one (1) qualified community health promotion professional with training or experience, or both, in nutrition, chronic disease, or another related field to be housed within the department to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate pilot or model programs to support schools and communities if funds are available; (2) Employ one (1) statewide health promotion consultant to be housed within the division if funds are available; (3) Employ one (1) person as a community health promotion specialist to support implementation of pilot or model programs in schools and communities in nutrition and physical activity in several distinct geographical areas of the state if funds are available; (4) Assign all community health nurses under its supervision to work with schools to assure that body mass index for age assessment protocols are followed by school employees or their designees who conduct body mass index for age assessments and other student health screenings; and (5) Not use more than five percent (5%) of the annual Department of Health Master Settlement Agreement funds for the salaries or programs created under this subsection. (c) Every school district shall: (1) Prohibit for elementary school students in-school access to vending machines offering food and beverages; (2)(A) Permit students in grades seven through twelve (7-12) in- school access to vending machines offering food and beverages that meet the nutrition standards of the federal Smart Snacks in School program throughout the school day according to the school's health and wellness plan. (B) A school district shall not restrict the times that vending machines under subdivision (c)(2)(A) of this section are powered on or powered off. (C) Subdivision (c)(2)(A) and (B) of this section only apply to schools offering vending machine services; (3) Require schools to include as part of the annual report to parents and the community the amounts and specific sources of funds received and expenditures made from competitive food and beverage contracts; (4) Beginning with kindergarten and then in even-numbered grades, require schools to include as a part of a student health report to parents a body mass index percentile by age for each student; and (5)(A) Permit any parent to refuse to have his or her child's body mass index percentile for age assessed and reported, by providing a written refusal to the school. (B) Students in grades eleven (11) and twelve (12) are exempt from any policy or requirement of a public school or the state for measuring or reporting body mass index. (d) The division shall: (1) Begin the implementation of standards developed by the Child Health Advisory Committee and approved by the division; and (2) Annually monitor and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the nutrition and physical education standards. (e) Every school district shall include health and wellness goals as part of the school district's district strategic plan required under § 6-15-2919, that address: (1) Raising awareness of the importance of nutrition and physical activity; and (2) Assisting in the development of local policies that address issues and goals, including without limitation the following: (A) Assisting with the implementation of nutrition and physical activity standards developed by the school nutrition and physical activity advisory committee with the approval of the division and the State Board of Health; (B) Integrating nutrition and physical activity into the overall curriculum; (C) Ensuring that professional development for staff includes nutrition and physical activity issues; (D) Ensuring that students receive nutrition education and engage in healthful levels of vigorous physical activity; and (E) Improving the quality of physical education curricula and increasing training of physical education teachers . (f)(1) The division and the department shall report annually on progress in implementing nutrition and physical education standards to the: (A) Chair of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor; (B) Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor; (C) Chair of the House Committee on Education; and (D) Chair of the Senate Committee on Education. (2) The State Board of Education shall submit to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education for the House Committee on Education's and the Senate Committee on Education's review any proposed rules regarding physical education or physical activity standards for grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) developed pursuant to this section.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-136 Statewide fluoridation program — Definition.

(a) As used in this section, “water system” means a facility including without limitation a parent system, consecutive system, or other system that holds, treats, and supplies water directly or through a consecutive system or consecutive systems to five thousand (5,000) persons or more. (b) The company, corporation, municipality, county, government agency, or other entity that owns or controls a water system shall control the quantity of fluoride in the water so as to maintain a fluoride content established by the Department of Health. (c) The State Board of Health shall adopt rules relating to the fluoridation of water systems that shall include without limitation: (1) Permissible concentrations of fluoride to be maintained by a water system; and (2) Requirements and procedures for maintaining permissible concentrations of fluoride including without limitation: (A) Necessary equipment; (B) Recordkeeping; (C) Reporting; and (D) Testing. (d)(1) A water system required to fluoridate under this section is not required to comply with the requirements of this section until funds sufficient to pay capital start-up costs for fluoridation equipment for the system have become available from any source other than tax revenue or service revenue regularly collected by the company, corporation, municipality, county, or other government agency that owns or controls the water system. (2) A licensed civil engineer recognized or employed by the department who is familiar with the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of fluoridation systems shall determine for the department whether the capital start-up costs claimed under subdivision (d)(1) of this section are reasonable. (e) A water system for a city in this state that receives its water supply from a community in another state is not required to comply with this section until a substantially similar fluoridation program is enacted for the water system of the community in the other state.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-137 Soccer goal safety — Definition.

(a)(1) As used in this section, “public recreation area” means an area that is used by members of the public for recreational activities. (2) “Public recreation area” includes a privately owned or publicly owned: (A) Park; (B) Sports field; (C) Auditorium; (D) School playground; or (E) Other school facility. (b) A soccer goal in a public recreation area shall be anchored according to the Guidelines for Movable Soccer Goal Safety promulgated by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission as in effect on February 1, 2011, or the guidelines adopted by the Department of Health. (c) The department shall develop and adopt guidelines for soccer goal safety as provided under this section.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-140 Arkansas standards for human breast milk — Arkansas Breast Milk Bank.

(a) The Department of Health shall establish, by rule, standards for transporting, processing, and distributing commercial human breast milk on a for-profit or nonprofit basis in this state. (b) The department may: (1) Convene a committee of subject matter experts to assist in the development of the standards described in subsection (a) of this section; and (2) Develop programs to encourage the creation of nonprofit human breast milk depositories and banks, if funding is available. (c)(1) The Arkansas Breast Milk Bank is created within the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. (2) The Arkansas Breast Milk Bank shall: (A) Accept and provide breast milk to assist mothers and guardians in providing breast milk to their infants; (B) Screen all breast milk collected before distribution of the breast milk; (C) Collect a reasonable fee, if the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences determines that a fee is necessary for the operation of the Arkansas Breast Milk Bank; and (D) Comply with all standards established by the department under subsection (a) of this section. (3) Any fees, donations, or collections generated from the Arkansas Breast Milk Bank shall be deposited into the State Treasury as special revenues and shall be credited to the Breast Milk Bank Special Fund to be used exclusively for the Arkansas Breast Milk Bank.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-146 Prohibition on requirement for vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) — Definition.

(a) As used in this section, “coerce” means: (1) Using physical violence, threats, intimidation, or retaliation with the purpose of causing a reasonable individual of ordinary susceptibilities to acquiesce when the individual otherwise would not; (2) Making conditional a private or public benefit, including without limitation employment, promotion, or another employment benefit, with the purpose of causing a reasonable individual of ordinary susceptibilities to acquiesce when the individual otherwise would not; or (3) Using any other means with the purpose of causing a reasonable individual of ordinary susceptibilities to acquiesce when the individual otherwise would not. (b) The state, a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, or a state or local official shall not mandate or require an individual to receive a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID- 19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both. (c) Receiving a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID- 19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both, shall not be a condition of education, employment, entry, or services from the state or a state agency or entity or for obtaining a licensure, certificate, or permit from a state agency or entity. (d) The Department of Health shall maintain information and data on any potential risks and harms associated with the administration of the vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), and shall make the information and data publicly available. (e) The state, a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, or a state or local official shall not discriminate against or coerce in any way an individual for refusing to receive a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both, including without limitation: (1) Coercing an employee into consenting to receive a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both; (2) Withholding the opportunity for career advancement from an employee who does not consent to receiving a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID- 19), or both; or (3) Withholding a salary, a wage increase, insurance, or insurance discounts from an employee who does not consent to receiving a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both. (f) If the state, a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, or a state or local official determines that necessary federal funding is dependent upon an individual in this state receiving a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both, the state, state agency or entity, political subdivision of the state, or state or local official shall receive approval from the Legislative Council to mandate or require the individual to receive a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both, before mandating or requiring an individual to receive a vaccine or immunization for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or any subvariants of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), or both.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-147 Ivermectin without prescription or consultation with healthcare professional.

(a) As used in this section, "over-the-counter medication" means medication that may be legally sold and purchased without a prescription. (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, ivermectin suitable for human use may be sold or purchased as an over-the-counter medication in this state without a prescription or consultation with a healthcare professional.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-201 Title.

This subchapter may be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Health Department Building and Local Grant Act”.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-202 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter: (1)(A) “Acquire” means to lease, lease-purchase, or purchase any lands, buildings, structures, improvements, or other property, real, personal, or mixed. (B) “Acquire” also includes payment or provision for payment of all expenses incidental thereto; (2) [Repealed.] (3)(A) “Construct” means to acquire, construct, reconstruct, renovate, remodel, install, and equip any lands, buildings, structures, improvements, or other property, real, personal, or mixed, useful in connection with any expansion or acquisition and to make other necessary expenditures in connection therewith by the methods and in the manner as may be authorized by law and in the case of an acquisition of equipment and other property of a medical, laboratory, or technical nature, by the method the Secretary of the Department of Health shall determine to be necessary or desirable to accomplish the power, purposes, and authorities set forth in this subchapter and without regard to the provisions of other laws pertaining to the construction and acquisition of property by state agencies. (B) “Construct” also includes payment or provision for payment for all expenses incidental thereto; (4) [Repealed.] (5) [Repealed.] (6) “Fees” means all fees set forth in § 20-7-123(b), which are confirmed and ratified by this subchapter; and (7) “Fund” means the State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-203 Disposition of funds.

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Health may construct or acquire such facilities and property as are necessary for the provision of current and future requirements for the Department of Health. (b) Notwithstanding other provisions of this subchapter, the secretary, with the approval of the State Board of Health, may use any unobligated funds in the State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund in an amount not to exceed six hundred fifty thousand dollars ($650,000) to construct or acquire any land, building, structure, or other property, real, personal, or mixed, and any expenses incidental thereto which are deemed appropriate for the provision of current and future requirements for the department. (c) With the approval of the board, the secretary may lease, sublease, or otherwise negotiate for the use of any space acquired or constructed under this subchapter to other governmental and nongovernmental entities. Revenues derived from any such lease, sublease, or other arrangement shall be deposited into the Public Health Fund. (d) Neither the secretary nor any member of the board shall be personally liable for any obligation or action undertaken in connection therewith or for any damages sustained by anyone with respect to any obligations or actions unless he or she shall have acted with a corrupt intent.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-204 State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund.

(a) There is established on the books of the Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, and Chief Fiscal Officer of the State a fund to be known as the “State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund”. (b) The fund shall consist of such revenues as may be authorized by law, including a portion collected under § 20-7-129 and § 20-7-408(f). (c) The Secretary of the Department of Health shall be the disbursing agent and executive officer for the fund. (d) The fund shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitations, and, except as provided in § 20-7-203(b), shall only be used for expansion, renovation, construction, or improvements to the Department of Health building and for grants for construction, renovation, or other expansion of approved local health unit facilities in this state. (e) No money from the fund may be used for the acquisition, purchase, lease, or otherwise, of real property for any local health unit facility.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-205 Rules — Application for grants.

(a)(1) The State Board of Health may develop and implement rules to receive, review, and approve applications for grants for new construction, renovation, or expansion of local health unit facilities from counties or cities. (2) The board may adopt such rules as may be necessary to provide for the distribution of such funds for the renovation, construction, improvement, and development of the State Health Building. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any grant approved by the board to a county or city for the development of a local public health facility project shall require ten percent (10%) local matching funds from the city or county applicant. The matching funds may be in the form of either cash or an in-kind match, to be determined by the board. The value of existing buildings and property shall not qualify for local matching funds under this section. (c) The board may also establish by rule a special program to address renovation of local health units due to special requirements of the Department of Health. The programs shall provide for grants of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The local match may be waived for the special grants. (d)(1) Application for grants under this subchapter shall be made in accordance with the rules of the board, and each application shall be considered on a needs-assessment basis. (2) In addition, the applicant city or county shall furnish proof of the following with each grant application: (A) Local community involvement in the project; (B) Existence of resources to expand existing facilities, including availability of land; (C) A design of the proposed project; and (D) Evidence of need, including factors such as population growth, additional services to be offered, and increased workload.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-206 Participation conditioned.

Participation in the grant programs shall be conditioned on compliance with this subchapter and any rules or regulations of the State Board of Health promulgated under this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-301 Title.

This subchapter shall be entitled the “State Health Data Clearinghouse Act”.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-302 Purpose.

The General Assembly finds that as a result of rising healthcare costs, the shortage of health professionals and healthcare services in many areas of the state, and the concerns expressed by care providers, consumers, third-party payors, and others involved with planning for the provision of health care, there is an urgent need to understand patterns and trends in the availability, use, and costs of these services. Therefore, to establish an information base for patients, health professionals, and hospitals, to improve the appropriate and efficient usage of healthcare services, and to provide for appropriate protection for confidentiality and privacy, the Department of Health shall act as a state health data clearinghouse for the acquisition and dissemination of data from state agencies and other appropriate sources to carry out this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-303 Collection and dissemination of health data.

(a) With the approval of the State Board of Health, the Secretary of the Department of Health shall compile and disseminate health data collected by the Department of Health. (b)(1) In consultation with advisory groups appointed by the secretary with representation from hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, health profession licensing boards, and other state agencies, the department should: (A) Identify the most practical methods to collect, transmit, and share required health data as described in § 20-7-304; (B) Utilize, wherever practical, existing administrative databases and modalities of data collection to provide the required data; (C) Develop standards of accuracy, timeliness, economy, and efficiency for the provision of the data; and (D) Ensure confidentiality of data by enforcing appropriate rules. (2) To maximize limited resources and to prevent duplication of effort, the department may consider, when appropriate, contracting with private entities for the collection of data as set forth in this section subject to this subchapter. (c)(1) All state agencies, including health profession licensing, certification, or registration boards and commissions, which collect, maintain, or distribute health data, including data relating to the Arkansas Medicaid Program, shall make available to the department such data as are necessary for the department to carry out its responsibilities under this subchapter or such rules as may be adopted as provided in § 20-7-305. (2) If health data are already reported to another organization or governmental agency in the same manner, form, and content or in a manner, form, and content acceptable to the department, the secretary may obtain a copy of the data from the organization or agency, and no duplicate report need be submitted by the organization. (3) All hospitals and outpatient surgery centers licensed by the state shall submit information in a form and manner as prescribed by rules by the State Board of Health pursuant to § 20-7-305. However, if the same information is being collected by another state agency, the department shall obtain the data from the other state agency.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-304 Release of health data.

The Secretary of the Department of Health may release data collected under this subchapter, except that data released shall not include any information which identifies or could be used to identify any individual patient, provider, institution, or health plan except as provided in § 20-7-305 .

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-305 State Board of Health to prescribe rules — Data collected not subject to discovery.

(a) The State Board of Health shall prescribe and enforce such rules as may be necessary to carry out this subchapter, including the manner in which data are collected, maintained, compiled, and disseminated, and including such rules as may be necessary to promote and protect the confidentiality of data reported under this subchapter. (b) Data provided, collected, or disseminated under this subchapter which identifies, or could be used to identify, any individual patient, provider, institution, or health plan shall not be subject to discovery pursuant to the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure or the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. (c)(1)(A) The Department of Human Services may provide data only for purposes of research and aggregate statistical reporting to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for its Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, or other researchers for research projects approved by the Department of Health under rules promulgated by the State Board of Health that provide for appropriate security and confidentiality protections for the data. (B) The Department of Human Services also shall provide data to the Arkansas Hospital Association, Inc. for its price transparency and consumer-driven healthcare project that will make price and quality information about Arkansas hospitals available to the general public. (2) The data shall be treated in a manner consistent with all state and federal privacy requirements, including, without limitation, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 privacy rule, specifically 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(i). (3) Any identifiable data provided, collected, or disseminated under this subsection shall not be subject to discovery pursuant to the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure or the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. (d) It shall be unlawful for the hospital or outpatient surgery center to release any patient-identifying information to any nongovernmental third party.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-306 Reports — Assistance.

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Health shall prepare and submit a biennial report to the Governor and the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof. (b) The Department of Health shall provide assistance to the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof in the development of information necessary in the examination of healthcare issues. (c)(1) With regard to § 6-18-702(d), § 6-60-504(b), and § 20-78-206(a)(2)(B), the department shall report every six (6) months to the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor regarding: (A) The geographic patterns of exemptions, vaccination rates, and exemptions in those areas as well as the rest of the state; and (B) Disease incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases collected by the department. (2) The collection of exemption information shall begin January 4, 2004. (3) Reports shall begin at the first interim meeting of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-307 Penalties.

(a)(1) Any person, firm, corporation, organization, or institution that violates any of the provisions of this subchapter or any rules promulgated under this subchapter regarding confidentiality of information shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. (2) Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. (b) Any person, firm, corporation, organization, or institution knowingly violating any of the provisions of this subchapter or any rules promulgated under this subchapter shall be guilty of a violation and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500). (c)(1) Every person, firm, corporation, organization, or institution that violates any of the rules adopted by the State Board of Health or that violates any provision of this subchapter may be assessed a civil penalty by the board. (2) The civil penalty shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each violation. (3) However, no civil penalty may be assessed until the person charged with the violation has been given the opportunity for a hearing on the violation pursuant to the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-308 Repealer.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this subchapter are repealed, except that nothing in this subchapter shall be interpreted to repeal any provision which authorizes the Health Services Permit Agency to gather such data as may be necessary to conduct permit-of-approval activities.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-309 List of substances used to alter samples in drug or alcohol screening tests.

The Department of Health shall maintain and update as part of its database under this subchapter a list of substances that may be used to adulterate urine or other bodily fluids that may be used in or used to interfere with a drug or alcohol screening test.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-310 Construction with other laws.

Nothing in this act shall be construed to encourage, conflict, or otherwise interfere with the preemption of state and local laws under any federal laws or United States Department of Transportation regulations related to drug testing procedures and confidentiality.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-401 Title.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Department of Health Public Health Laboratory Act of 2003”.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-402 Purpose.

It is the purpose of this subchapter to better serve the citizens of Arkansas by providing for the construction and equipping of a modern public health laboratory.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-403 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter: (1) “Authority” means the Arkansas Development Finance Authority; (2) “Authorizing resolution” means the resolution or resolutions adopted by the State Board of Health authorizing the loan; (3) [Repealed.] (4) “Building” means the state building of the Department of Health located on West Markham Street in Little Rock; (5) “Construct” means to acquire, construct, reconstruct, remodel, install, and equip any lands, buildings, structures, improvements, or other property, whether real, personal, or mixed, useful in connection with the expansion, by any method and manner as may be authorized by law, and in the case of the acquisition of equipment and other property of a medical, laboratory, or technical nature, by any method as the board or the Secretary of the Department of Health determines to be necessary or desirable to accomplish the power, purposes, and authorities set forth in this subchapter and without regard to the provisions of other laws pertaining to the construction and acquisition of property by state agencies; (6) “Construction fund” means the State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund; (7) [Repealed.] (8) “Fee revenues” means all revenues derived from all or any of the fees; (9) “Fees” means the fees generated under this subchapter that represent an increase to the allowable fees set forth in § 20-7-123; (10) “Laboratory” means a public health laboratory that is a modern stand-alone public health laboratory to be constructed on the existing site of the department located on West Markham Street in Little Rock; (11) “Loan” means the loan which the board may effect from the authority by the terms of this subchapter; (12) “Renovation” means the renovation and improvement of the building, including the renovation and alteration of existing properties, whether real, personal, or mixed; (13) “Revenue fund” means the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund; and (14) “Revenue loan fund” means the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Loan Fund.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-404 Approval of construction.

(a)(1) The laboratory shall be constructed subject to approval by the State Board of Health. (2) The board may take such action as may be appropriate for the renovation of the building and any facilities necessarily related to the building. (b) Subject to the approval of the board, the plans, specifications, and estimates of cost for the laboratory and renovation of the building shall be developed by the Secretary of the Department of Health, and the secretary may employ architects and other like professional and technical assistance as determined to be necessary for the construction of the laboratory and renovation of the building. (c) The board and the secretary may take such action as may be appropriate for the construction of the laboratory and renovation of the building to accomplish the purposes of this subchapter and may engage legal, technical, and other assistance as necessary.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-405 Financing of construction and renovation.

(a)(1) To finance the construction of the laboratory and renovation of the building, the State Board of Health may enter into a loan from the Arkansas Development Finance Authority in the principal amount of not more than twenty-six million dollars ($26,000,000) under the Arkansas Development Finance Authority Act, § 15-5-101 et seq., § 15-5-201 et seq., and § 15-5-301 et seq. (2) The amount and purpose of the loan shall be approved by the board in an authorizing resolution, copies of which shall be maintained in the records of the board and of the authority. (b) The loan shall bear interest at a rate determined by the rate of interest on funds borrowed by the authority to fund the loan but not to exceed the lesser of ten percent (10%) per annum or the maximum rate of interest permitted by the Arkansas Constitution. (c) The loan shall mature over a period of not more than thirty (30) years. (d) The board and the Secretary of the Department of Health may execute and deliver agreements, instruments, and other undertakings and writings and take such action as may be appropriate to evidence the loan and the security for the loan and to carry out this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-406 Security for indebtedness.

(a) The payment and other obligations of the State Board of Health under and with respect to the loan shall be secured by a pledge of the fee revenues, subject to the terms of this subchapter and the reserved power to release fee revenues as set forth in this subchapter. (b) The loan shall be an obligation of the board only and shall not constitute an indebtedness for which the faith and credit of the State of Arkansas or any of its revenues are pledged. (c) The loan shall not be secured by a lien on any land, building, or other property belonging to the State of Arkansas. (d) The loan shall not constitute an indebtedness within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory limitation.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-407 Fees.

In addition to the fees authorized by § 20-7-123(b)(1)(H) and (I), the following fees shall be collected and credited to the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund: (1) A fee of seven dollars ($7.00) collected by the State Registrar of Vital Records for the making and certification of any birth certificate or record; (2) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) collected for the making and certification of each additional copy of any birth certificate or record; (3) A fee of six dollars ($6.00) collected by the registrar for the making and certification of a single copy of a death certificate; (4) A fee of seven dollars ($7.00) collected by the registrar for the making and certification of each additional copy of a death certificate; (5) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) collected by the registrar for the making and certification of any marriage or divorce certificate or record; (6) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) collected by the registrar for the making and certification of each additional copy of any marriage or divorce certificate or record; (7) A fee of seven dollars ($7.00) collected by the registrar for an examination and search of the files for any birth record; (8) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) collected by the registrar for an examination and search of the files for any marriage or divorce record; and (9) A fee of six dollars ($6.00) collected by the registrar for an examination and search of the files for any death record.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-408 Disposition of certain fees.

(a)(1) Except as set forth in this subchapter, all fee revenues shall be treated as cash funds and shall not be deposited into the State Treasury, but shall be deposited as and when received into a bank or banks approved by the State Board of Health or the Secretary of the Department of Health in an account or accounts of the board designated the “State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund”. (2) So long as the loan is outstanding, all moneys in the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund shall not be subject to the provisions of §§ 19-4-801 — 19-4-805 and shall be deposited, handled, and disbursed as set forth in this subchapter. (b) Moneys held in the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund shall be withdrawn and deposited no less frequently than bimonthly as follows and in the following order of priority: (1) An annual amount sufficient to provide for principal, interest, servicing fees, and reserve requirements with respect to the loan but not to exceed two million six hundred thousand dollars ($2,600,000) per fiscal year: (A) Before the commencement of the loan, in the State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund; and (B) Beginning upon commencement of the loan, in an account or accounts in the name of the board or the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, as determined by the board and the authority, designated the “State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Loan Fund”; and (2) Any balance remaining shall be distributed fifty percent (50%) to the Public Health Fund and fifty percent (50%) to the State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund. (c)(1) All funds held in the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund, the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Loan Fund, and the State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund shall be deemed to be cash funds, shall not be deposited into the State Treasury, and shall be transferred, deposited, and applied as set forth in this subchapter without the necessity of appropriation. (2) All transfers from the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund and the State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund shall be made by or at the direction of the secretary. (3) All transfers from the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Loan Fund shall be made by: (A) The secretary; or (B) The authority, if approved by the board. (d) So long as the loan is outstanding, funds held in the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Loan Fund shall be used solely for the purpose of paying and providing for the principal of, interest on, and servicing fees, if any, in connection with the loan and providing for the creation and maintenance of necessary reserves. The funds may be pledged by the board to secure the loan and may be pledged and used by the authority to pay and secure bonds issued by the authority to finance the construction. (e)(1) So long as the loan is outstanding, all fees shall be imposed and all fee revenues shall be collected and applied as provided in this subchapter. (2) However, particular fees may be reduced or eliminated so long as remaining fees are increased or new fees are added to the end that the aggregate annual amount of fee revenues shall always equal at least three million dollars ($3,000,000). (f) Upon payment or discharge of the loan and all bonds issued by the authority under this subchapter, the fees authorized by this subchapter shall be deposited into the State Health Department Building and Local Grant Trust Fund.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-409 State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund.

The proceeds of the loan other than amounts required to establish reserves, to pay interest on the loan for a period not to exceed one (1) year, or to pay costs of the loan and of issuing bonds, all of which shall be set forth in written directions executed by the Secretary of the Department of Health, shall be deposited as cash funds into an account of the State Board of Health designated the “State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund” and disbursed by the secretary for the construction of the expansion.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-410 Investment of funds.

(a) All moneys held at any time in the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Fund and the State Board of Health Public Health Laboratory Construction Fund shall be invested and reinvested to the extent feasible, as directed by the Secretary of the Department of Health. (b) All moneys held in the State Board of Health Laboratory Revenue Loan Fund shall be invested and reinvested to the extent feasible, as directed by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, in securities which are eligible for the securing of public deposits under § 19-5-203, subject in all cases to the term of the loan and of bonds issued by the authority.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-411 Formation of contracts.

(a) The authorizing resolution and each agreement or other writing executed and delivered pursuant to it or to this subchapter, together with this subchapter, shall constitute a contract between the State Board of Health and the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, and the obligations of the board may be enforced by mandamus or other equitable or legal remedy. (b) The obligations of the board shall be freely assignable by the authority, provided that the board is notified in writing of the assignment.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-412 Limitations on liability.

Neither the Secretary of the Department of Health nor any member of the State Board of Health shall be personally liable on the loan or on account of any of the obligations or actions undertaken in connection with the loan, or for any damages sustained by anyone with respect to the obligations or actions, unless he or she acted with a corrupt intent.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-501 Title.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Health-Conscious Shopper Act”.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-502 Findings — Intent.

(a) The General Assembly finds that shopping cart handles may be contaminated with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, mucus, and even urine and fecal matter. (b) This subchapter is intended to: (1) Increase awareness of Arkansas shoppers, infants, and young children about potential contamination from contact with a shopping cart handle; (2) Provide a barrier of protection between a shopper and a shopping cart handle; and (3) Prevent the spread of viruses or bacteria.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-503 Arkansas Health-Conscious Shopper Program.

(a) There is created the Arkansas Health-Conscious Shopper Program. (b) Under the program, each Arkansas business that uses shopping carts or infant carriers is encouraged to voluntarily provide consumers with sanitation wipes at the entrance of its business on or before January 1, 2008.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-504 Department of Health — Guidelines.

The Department of Health shall develop guidelines for businesses in the appropriate types and use of sanitation wipes for shopping cart handles.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-601 Title.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Act”.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-602 Purpose.

The purpose of this subchapter is to protect the state health system and the citizens of Arkansas by: (1) Enhancing patient care by providing prescription monitoring information that will ensure legitimate use of controlled substances in health care, including palliative care, research, and other medical pharmacological uses; (2) Helping curtail the misuse and abuse of controlled substances; (3) Assisting in combating illegal trade in and diversion of controlled substances; and (4) Enabling access to prescription information by practitioners, law enforcement agents, and other authorized individuals and agencies and to make prescription information available to practitioners, law enforcement agents, and other authorized individuals and agencies in other states.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-603 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter: (1)(A) “Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program” means the prescription drug program that is a portion of the Title XIX Medicaid program for the State of Arkansas. (B) The Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program includes any entity contracted with the Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program and to which the Arkansas Medicaid Program has granted authority; (2) “Certified law enforcement prescription drug diversion investigator” means a certified law enforcement officer assigned by his or her law enforcement agency to investigate prescription drug diversion and who has completed a certification course in prescription drug diversion approved by the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Committee and certified by the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training; (3) “Controlled substance” means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules II-V; (4) “Dispense” means to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including without limitation the prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the controlled substance for that delivery; (5)(A) “Dispenser” means a practitioner who dispenses. (B) “Dispenser” does not include: (i) A licensed hospital pharmacy when it is distributing controlled substances for the purpose of outpatient services, inpatient hospital care, or at the time of discharge from a hospital, except for a pharmacy owned by a hospital that has a retail pharmacy permit when the pharmacy is distributing controlled substances directly to the public; (ii) A wholesale distributor of Schedules II-V controlled substances; or (iii) A practitioner or other authorized person who administers a controlled substance; (6) “Exchangeability” means the ability of the program to electronically share reported information with another state's prescription monitoring program if the information concerns the dispensing of a controlled substance either: (A) To a patient who resides in the other state; or (B) Prescribed by a practitioner whose principal place of business is located in the other state; (7) “Investigation” means an active inquiry that is being conducted with a reasonable, good-faith belief that the inquiry: (A) Could lead to the filing of administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings; or (B) Is ongoing and continuing and a reasonable, good-faith anticipation exists for securing an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable future; (8) “Opioid” means a drug or medication that relieves pain, including without limitation: (A) Hydrocodone; (B) Oxycodone; (C) Morphine; (D) Codeine; (E) Heroin; and (F) Fentanyl; (9) “Patient” means the person or animal who is the ultimate user of a controlled substance for whom a lawful prescription is issued and for whom a controlled substance is lawfully dispensed; (10) “Practitioner” means: (A) A physician, dentist, veterinarian, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, pharmacist, scientific investigator, or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to prescribe, distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, or to administer a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research in this state; and (B) A pharmacy, hospital, or other institution licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, or to administer a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research in this state; (11) “Prescribe” means to issue a direction or authorization, by prescription, permitting a patient lawfully to obtain a controlled substance; (12) “Prescriber” means a practitioner or other authorized person who prescribes a Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substance; (13) “Prescription” means a controlled substance lawfully prescribed and subsequently dispensed; (14) “Prescription drug monitoring program” means a program that collects, manages, analyzes, and provides information regarding Schedule II, III, IV, and V controlled substances as provided under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, § 5-64-101 et seq., §§ 5-64-1101 — 5-64-1103, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, § 20-56-201 et seq., or §§ 20-64-501 — 20-64-513; (15) “Qualified law enforcement agency” means a law enforcement agency that has a certified law enforcement prescription drug diversion investigator and a chief, sheriff, or law enforcement chief executive officer who has successfully completed a certification course in prescription drug diversion approved by the commission; (16) “Schedule II” means controlled substances that are placed in Schedule II under § 5-64-205; (17) “Schedule III” means controlled substances that are placed in Schedule III under § 5-64-207; (18) “Schedule IV” means controlled substances that are placed in Schedule IV under § 5-64-209; (19) “Schedule V” means controlled substances that are placed in Schedule V under § 5-64-211; and (20) “Ultimate user” means a person who lawfully possesses a controlled substance for: (A) The person's own use; (B) The use of a member of the person's household; or (C) Administering to an animal owned by a person or by a member of the person's household.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-604 Requirements for Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

(a) The State Board of Health shall create the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program upon the Department of Health's procuring adequate funding to establish the program. (b)(1) Each dispenser shall submit to the department information regarding each controlled substance dispensed. (2) A dispenser located outside Arkansas and licensed and registered by the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy shall submit to the department information regarding each controlled substance prescription dispensed to an ultimate user whose address is within Arkansas. (3) The State Board of Health shall create a controlled substances database for the program. (c) Each dispenser required to report under subsection (b) of this section shall submit to the department by electronic means information that shall include without limitation: (1) The dispenser's identification number; (2) The date the prescription was filled; (3) The prescription number; (4) Whether the prescription is new or is a refill; (5) The National Drug Code for the controlled substance that is dispensed; (6) The quantity of the controlled substance dispensed; (7) The number of days' supply dispensed; (8) The number of refills ordered; (9)(A) A patient identifier. (B) A patient identifier shall not be a Social Security number or a driver's license number; (10) The patient's name; (11) The patient's address; (12) The patient's date of birth; (13) The patient's gender; (14) The prescriber's identification number; (15) The date the prescription was issued by the prescriber; and (16) The source of the payment for the prescription. (d)(1) Except as required in subdivision (d)(2) of this section, practitioners are encouraged to access or check the information in the controlled substance database created under this subchapter before prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications. (2)(A) A prescriber shall check the information in the program when prescribing: (i) An opioid from Schedule II or Schedule III for every time prescribing the medication to a patient; and (ii) A benzodiazepine medication for the first time prescribing the medication to a patient. (B) A licensing board that licenses practitioners who have the authority to prescribe shall adopt rules requiring the practitioners to check the information in the program as described in subdivision (d)(2)(A) of this section. (C) This subdivision (d)(2) does not apply to: (i) A practitioner administering a controlled substance: (a) Immediately before or during surgery; (b) During recovery from a surgery while in a healthcare facility; (c) In a healthcare facility; or (d) Necessary to treat the patient in an emergency situation at the scene of an emergency, in a licensed ground ambulance or air ambulance, or in the intensive care unit of a licensed hospital; (ii) A practitioner prescribing or administering a controlled substance to: (a) A palliative care or hospice patient; or (b) A resident in a licensed nursing home facility; or (iii) Situations in which the program is not accessible due to technological or electrical failure. (D) The State Board of Health may amend, by rule, the exemptions listed in subdivision (d)(2)(C) of this section upon a recommendation from the Secretary of the Department of Health and a showing that the exemption or lack of exemption is unnecessarily burdensome or has created a hardship. (3) A licensed oncologist shall check the program when prescribing to a patient on an initial malignant episodic diagnosis and every three (3) months following the diagnosis while continuing treatment. (e) This subchapter does not prohibit licensing boards from requiring practitioners to access or check the information in the controlled substance database as a part of a review of the practitioner's professional practice. (f) Each dispenser shall submit the required information in accordance with transmission methods and frequency established by the department. (g)(1) The department shall create a process for patients to address errors, inconsistencies, and other matters in their record as maintained under this section, including cases of breach of privacy and security. (2) The department shall develop algorithms within the controlled substance database that would alert a practitioner if his or her patient is being prescribed opioids by more than three (3) physicians within any thirty-day period, if funding is available. (h)(1) The department shall limit access to only those employees whose access is reasonably necessary to carry out this section. (2) However, a prescriber may delegate access to the controlled substance database to persons under his or her supervision or employment. (i) A certified law enforcement prescription drug diversion investigator shall provide to the department the following information in order to be granted access to the program: (A) Written verification that the inquiries were part of a lawful prescription drug diversion investigation as provided to the department through the case number of the investigation; and (B) The disposition of the investigation. (3)(A) The verification form under subdivision (j)(2) of this section shall be submitted to the department within thirty (30) days of receipt of the form by the qualified law enforcement agency. (B) Failure to submit a verification form under subdivision (j)(3)(A) of this section shall result in the immediate suspension of access to the database by the qualified law enforcement agency and its certified law enforcement prescription drug diversion investigators until a determination is made by the department to allow continued access. (1) The identification credentials assigned by the department; and (2) The case number of the investigation. (j)(1) A qualified law enforcement agency shall submit to the department an annual report of the data accessed by all certified law enforcement prescription drug diversion investigators in the qualified law enforcement agency, including without limitation: (2) The department shall: (A) Create a verification form for use under subdivision (j)(1) of this section; and (B) Make the verification form available annually to the qualified law enforcement agency.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-605 Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Committee — Creation — Members.

(a) The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Committee shall be created by the State Board of Health upon the Department of Health’s procuring adequate funding to establish the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. (b) The mission of the committee is to consult with and advise the department on matters related to the establishment, maintenance, operation, and evaluation of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. (c) The committee shall consist of: (1) One (1) representative designated by each of the following organizations: (A) The Arkansas Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.; (B) The Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police; (C) The Arkansas Drug Director; (D) The Arkansas Medical Society, Inc.; (E) The Arkansas Nurses Association; (F) The Arkansas Optometric Association, Inc.; (G) The Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association; (H) The Arkansas Pharmacist's Association; (I) The Arkansas Podiatric Medical Association, Inc.; (J) The Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association; (K) The Arkansas Sheriffs' Association; (L) The Arkansas State Dental Association; (M) The Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association; (N) The State Board of Health; and (O) The Arkansas Public Defender Commission; (2) One (1) mental health provider or certified drug and alcohol counselor; (3) One (1) consumer appointed by the Governor; (4) One (1) obstetrician and gynecologist licensed by the Arkansas State Medical Board and designated by the Department of Health; (5) One (1) member of the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership designated by the Department of Health; (6) The Chair of the Arkansas State Medical Board or his or her designee who is also a member of the Arkansas State Medical Board; and (7) The President of the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners or his or her designee who is also a member of the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-606 Confidentiality.

(a) Prescription information submitted to the Department of Health under this subchapter is confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. (b)(1) The controlled substances database created in this subchapter and all information contained in the controlled substances database and any records maintained by the Department of Health or by an entity contracting with the Department of Health that is submitted to, maintained, or stored as a part of the controlled substances database is privileged and confidential, is not a public record, and is not subject to subpoena or discovery in a civil proceeding. (2) Information in the controlled substances database may be accessed by: (A) A certified law enforcement officer pursuant to a criminal investigation but only after the law enforcement officer obtains a search warrant signed by a judge that demonstrates probable cause to believe that a violation of federal or state criminal law has occurred, that specified information contained in the database would assist in the investigation of the crime, and that the specified information should be released to the certified law enforcement officer; (B) A regulatory body engaged in the supervision of activities of licensing or regulatory boards of practitioners authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled substances; (C) A person or entity investigating a case involving breaches of privacy involving the database or its records; (D) A certified law enforcement prescription drug diversion investigator of a qualified law enforcement agency; (E) A practitioner within the Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program; (F) The Department of Human Services or the Crimes Against Children Division if: (i) The purpose of the database access is related to an investigation under the Child Maltreatment Act, § 12-18-101 et seq., and not pursuant to a criminal investigation by a certified law enforcement officer; and (ii) The Department of Human Services has obtained a circuit court order to access the database under § 12-18-622; (G) The Office of Medicaid Inspector General for review and investigation of fraud, waste, and abuse within the Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program if access is limited to beneficiaries of the Arkansas Medicaid prescription drug program; or (H) The State Medical Examiner as authorized by law to investigate causes of deaths for cases under investigation pursuant to his or her official duties and responsibilities. (c) This section does not apply to information, documents, or records created or maintained in the regular course of business of a pharmacy, a medical, dental, optometric, or veterinary practitioner, or another entity covered by this subchapter, and all information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not immune from discovery or use in a civil proceeding merely because the information contained in the records was reported to the controlled substances database under this subchapter. (d) The Department of Health shall establish and enforce policies and procedures to ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of patients are maintained and that patient information collected, recorded, transmitted, and stored is protected and not disclosed to persons except as listed in § 20-7-607. (e) The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program shall establish and maintain a process for verifying the credentials and authorizing the use of prescription information by individuals and agencies listed in § 20-7-607.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-607 Providing prescription monitoring information.

(a)(1)(A)(i) The Department of Health shall review the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program information, including without limitation a review to identify information that appears to indicate whether a person is obtaining prescriptions in a manner that may represent misuse or abuse of controlled substances based on prescribing criteria determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health upon consultation with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Committee. (ii) The prescribing criteria shall be posted on the website of the department and be available in print upon request. (B) If the information appears to indicate misuse or abuse may have occurred, the department shall notify the practitioners and dispensers who have prescribed or dispensed in the following manner: (i) The department shall provide quarterly reports to the individual practitioners and dispensers; and (ii) If after twelve (12) months of providing quarterly reports to the practitioners and dispensers, the information appears to indicate misuse or abuse may be continuing, the department shall send a report to the licensing boards of the practitioner or dispenser who prescribed or dispensed the prescription. (C) If information of misuse or abuse is identified, the department shall notify the practitioners and dispensers who prescribed or dispensed the prescriptions and the United States Diversion Control Division of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. (D) On or before January 1, 2019, the department shall contract with a vendor to make the program interactive and to provide same-day reporting in real time, if funding and technology are available. (2)(A) The department may: (i) Review the program information, including without limitation a review to identify information that appears to indicate whether a prescriber or dispenser may be prescribing or dispensing prescriptions in a manner that may represent misuse or abuse of controlled substances; and (ii) Require prescribers or dispensers, or both, to provide physical copies of written or electronic prescriptions upon request to validate data submitted to the program in order to evaluate the information reported by the program. (B) If information of misuse or abuse is identified, the department may notify the professional licensing board of the prescriber or dispenser only after the relevant professional licensing board has provided the department with the parameters for triggering a notification from the department to the professional licensing board. (b) The department shall provide information in the program upon request and at no cost only to the following persons: (1)(A) A person authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled substances for the purpose of providing medical or pharmaceutical care for his or her patients or for reviewing information regarding prescriptions that are recorded as having been issued or dispensed by the requester. (B) An agent or employee of the prescriber or dispenser to whom the prescriber or dispenser has delegated the task of assessing the data described in this subsection, but only if the agent or employee has been granted access by a delegate account; (2) A patient who requests his or her own prescription monitoring information; (3) A parent or legal guardian of a minor child who requests the minor child's program information; (4)(A) A designated representative of a professional licensing board of the professions of the healing arts representing healthcare disciplines whose licensees are prescribers pursuant to an investigation of a specific individual, entity, or business licensed or permitted by the licensing board. (B) Except as permitted by subdivision (a)(2) of this section, the department shall provide information under subdivision (b)(4)(A) of this section only if the requesting licensing board states in writing that the information is necessary for an investigation; (5) A mortality review recognized by the department; (6) Local, state, and federal law enforcement or prosecutorial officials engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of the laws governing controlled substances required to be submitted under this subchapter pursuant to the agency's official duties and responsibilities; and (7) Personnel of the department for purposes of administration and enforcement of this subchapter. (c) Information collected under this subchapter shall be maintained for three (3) years. (d) The department may provide patient, prescriber, or dispenser information to public or private entities for statistical, research, or educational purposes after encrypting or removing any patient's name, street name and number, patient identification number, month and day of birth, and prescriber or dispenser information that could be used to identify individual patients or persons who received prescriptions. (e) The department may provide information in the program to insurance carriers for the purpose of verifying prescriber or dispenser registration for individuals that are part of the health plan's network of providers.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-608 Information exchange with other prescription drug monitoring programs.

(a) The Department of Health may provide prescription monitoring information to federal prescription drug monitoring programs or other states' prescription drug monitoring programs, and the information may be used by those programs consistent with this subchapter. (b) The department may request and receive prescription monitoring information from federal prescription drug monitoring programs or other states' prescription drug monitoring programs and may use the information under this subchapter. (c) The department may develop the capability to transmit information to other prescription drug monitoring programs and receive information from other prescription drug monitoring programs employing the standards of exchangeability. (d) The department may enter into written agreements with federal prescription drug monitoring programs or other states' prescription drug monitoring programs for the purpose of describing the terms and conditions for sharing prescription information under this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-609 Authority to contract.

(a) The Department of Health may contract with another agency of this state or with a private vendor, as necessary, to ensure the effective operation of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. (b) A contractor shall be bound to comply with the provisions regarding confidentiality of prescription information as outlined in this subchapter and shall be subject to the penalties specified in this subchapter for unlawful acts.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-610 Authority to seek funding.

(a) The Department of Health may make application for, receive, and administer grant funding from public or private sources for the development, implementation, or enhancement of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. (b) A fee shall not be levied against practitioners for the purpose of funding or complying with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-611 Unlawful acts and penalties.

(a)(1) It is unlawful for a dispenser to purposely fail to submit prescription monitoring information as required under this subchapter. (2) A violation of subdivision (a)(1) of this section is a Class B misdemeanor. (b)(1) It is unlawful for a dispenser to purposely submit fraudulent prescription information. (2) A violation of subdivision (b)(1) of this section is a Class D felony. (c)(1) It is unlawful for a person authorized to receive prescription monitoring information to purposely disclose the information in violation of this subchapter. (2) A violation of subdivision (c)(1) of this section is a Class C felony. (d)(1) It is unlawful for a person authorized to receive prescription drug monitoring program information to use such information in a manner or for a purpose in violation of this subchapter. (2) A violation of subdivision (d)(1) of this section is a Class C felony. (e)(1) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly obtain, use, or disclose or attempt to obtain, use, or disclose information by fraud or deceit from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program or from a person authorized to receive information from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program under this subchapter. (2) A violation of subdivision (e)(1) of this section is a Class C felony. (f) In addition to the criminal penalties provided in this section, a dispenser or practitioner who uses or discloses confidential information received from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in a manner or for a purpose in violation of this subchapter may be subject to disciplinary action by the dispenser's or practitioner's licensing board. (g) In addition to the criminal penalties provided in this section, a law enforcement officer who uses or discloses confidential information received from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in a manner or for a purpose in violation of this subchapter may be subject to disciplinary action by the law enforcement officer's agency or department. (h) This subchapter does not limit a person whose privacy has been compromised unlawfully under this section from bringing a civil action to address the breach of privacy or to recover all damages to which the person may be entitled per violation, including attorney's fees and costs. (i) A practitioner who purposely fails to access the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program as required by § 20-7-604(d) is subject to disciplinary action by the licensing board of the practitioner.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-612 Privacy rights protected.

This subchapter does not give authority to any person, agency, corporation, or other legal entity to invade the privacy of any citizen as defined by the General Assembly, the courts, or the United States Constitution or the Arkansas Constitution other than to the extent provided in this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-613 Rules.

The State Board of Health shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-614 Effective date.

(a) The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program shall become operational March 1, 2013, if full funding is available under § 20-7-610. (b) The Secretary of the Department of Health may suspend operation of the program if adequate funding under § 20-7-610 ceases.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-615 Prescriber with a prescription drug violation.

(a) A prescriber who has been found by his or her licensing board to be in violation of a rule or law involving prescription drugs shall be required by the appropriate licensing board to register with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and access patient information before writing a prescription for an opioid. (b) The licensing board, in its discretion, may remove this requirement after a period of time if the licensing board deems removal of the requirement appropriate.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-701 Title.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Combating Prescription Drug Abuse Act”.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-702 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter: (1) “Chronic nonmalignant pain” means pain requiring more than three (3) consecutive months of prescriptions for: (A) An opioid that is written for more than the equivalent of ninety (90) tablets, each containing five milligrams (5 mg) of hydrocodone; (B) A morphine equivalent dose of more than fifteen milligrams (15 mg) per day; or (C) In the specific case of tramadol, an average dose equivalent of two hundred milligrams (200 mg) or greater per day; (2) “Hospital” means a healthcare facility licensed as a hospital by the State Board of Health under § 20-9-213; (3) “Opioid” means a drug or medication that relieves pain, including without limitation: (A) Codeine; (B) Fentanyl; (C) Heroin; (D) Hydrocodone; (E) Morphine; and (F) Oxycodone; and (4) “Prescriber” means a practitioner or other authorized person who prescribes a Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substance.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-703 Opioid prescribing guidelines for emergency department.

(a) A hospital with an emergency department shall adopt guidelines concerning opioid prescribing in the emergency department. (b) The guidelines shall be drafted jointly by the emergency department physicians and medical staff and approved by the governing body of the hospital. (c) The guidelines shall address, at a minimum: (1) Treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain and acute pain; (2) Limits on amounts or duration of opioid prescriptions; and (3) Identification of situations where opioid prescriptions should be discouraged or prohibited. (d) The guidelines shall not be construed as establishing a standard of care.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-704 Prescriber education.

(a)(1) Within the first two (2) years of being granted a license in the state, a prescriber shall obtain a minimum of two (2) hours of prescribing education approved by the appropriate licensing board. (2) The education approved by the appropriate licensing board under subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall include: (A) Options for online and in-person programs; and (B) Information on prescribing rules, regulations, and laws that apply to individuals who are licensed in the state. (b) This section shall apply to all prescribers licensed after December 31, 2015.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-705 Licensing board rules.

(a) A licensing board that licenses individuals with prescriptive authority shall adopt rules that are at least as stringent as the rules of the Arkansas State Medical Board concerning use of narcotics for the treatment of pain not associated with malignant or terminal illness. (b) A licensing board that licenses individuals who are authorized to prescribe opioids for treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain shall promulgate rules that contain, at a minimum, the requirements of § 20-7-707.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-706 Patient evaluation.

A patient who is being treated with controlled substances for chronic nonmalignant pain shall be evaluated at least one (1) time every six (6) months by a physician who is licensed by the Arkansas State Medical Board.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-707 Prescriber requirements.

(a) For a patient with chronic nonmalignant pain, a prescriber, at a minimum and in addition to any additional requirements of the appropriate licensing board, shall: (1) Check the prescriptive history of the patient on the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program at least every six (6) months; and (2) Have a signed pain contract with the patient that states, at a minimum, the expectations of the prescriber for the behavior of the patient which may include: (A) A requirement for random urine drug screenings to help ensure that the patient is abiding by the requirements of the contract; and (B) A requirement for random pill counts to ensure compliance with the prescription. (b) The requirements of this section shall not apply to a patient: (1) Whose pain medications are being prescribed for a malignant condition; (2) With a terminal condition; (3) Who is a resident of a licensed healthcare facility; (4) Who is enrolled in a hospice program; or (5) Who is in an inpatient or outpatient palliative care program.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-708 Immunity.

A prescriber or licensed healthcare facility that in good faith reports a suspected drug diversion is immune from civil or criminal liability and disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing board.

Source: Public.Resource.Org / UniCourt, Official Code of Arkansas Annotated, Release 78 (2020) (unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ar)URL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ar/transforms/ar/ocar/r78/gov.ar.code.title.20.htmlFetched: 11/8/2026