SESSION OF 2022
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2253
As Amended by Senate Committee on Public
Health and Welfare

Brief*
HB 2253, as amended, would amend provisions of the
Prescription Monitoring Program Act (Act). The bill would add
to the list of information a dispenser may submit to the
Prescription Monitoring Program (K-TRACS), amend the list
of individuals who may request and receive data from K-
TRACS, amend how data is stored outside of K-TRACS, and
add one member to the K-TRACS Advisory Committee
(Committee) for a total of ten members.
The bill would also make technical amendments.

Definitions (Section 1)
The bill would add new definitions to the Act and amend
others, as follows:
● Add “audit trail information” to mean information
produced regarding requests for K-TRACS data
that the State Board of Pharmacy (Board) and the
Committee use to monitor compliance with the Act;
● Add “delegate” to mean:
○ A registered nurse, licensed practical nurse,
respiratory therapist, emergency medical
responder, paramedic, dental hygienist,
pharmacy technician, or pharmacy intern who
has registered for access to the K-TRACS
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 database as an agent of a practitioner or
pharmacist;
○ A death investigator who has registered for
limited access to K-TRACS as an agent of a
medical examiner, coroner, or another person
authorized under law to investigate or
determine causes of death; or
○ An individual authorized to access the
database by the Board in rules and
regulations;
● Amend “dispenser” to include a pharmacy as an
entity that delivers a scheduled substance or drug
of concern to an ultimate user;
● Add “pharmacy” to mean a premises, laboratory,
area, or other place currently registered with the
Board where scheduled substances or drugs of
concern are offered for sale or dispensed in the
state; and
● Add “program” to mean the prescription monitoring
program.
K-TRACS Information (Section 2 )
The bill would amend a provision in the Act requiring a
dispenser to submit to the Board by electronic means
information required by the Board regarding each prescription
dispensed for scheduled substances and drugs of concern.
The bill would add to the list of information a dispenser may
submit, as required by the Board:
● The diagnosis code;
● The patient’s species code; and
● The date the prescription was sold.

2- 2253
 The bill also would remove the Board’s authority to issue
a waiver to a dispenser to allow submission of data by paper
or other non-electronic means.
The bill would authorize the Board to enable features
and include additional information in the database, including:
● The date or fact of death;
● The dispensation or administration of emergency
opioid antagonists, as defined in statute; and
● The data related to an overdose event.
K-TRACS Data (Section 3)
The bill would amend the Act to include audit trail
information as privileged and confidential information not
subject to subpoena or discovery in civil proceedings.
The bill would amend a provision in the Act authorizing
the Board to provide data to Board personnel to specify the
data provision would be for the purposes of the operation of
K-TRACS, in addition to administration and enforcement.
The bill would expand the list of individuals who may
request and receive data from K-TRACS to include:
● Practitioners, as designated representatives from
the Kansas Department of Health and Environment
(KDHE) regarding authorized Medicaid program
recipients;
● Individuals operating a practitioner- or pharmacist-
impaired provider program for the purpose of
reviewing drugs dispensed to a practitioner or
pharmacist enrolled in K-TRACS;


3- 2253
 ● Delegates of the following individuals currently
authorized by the Act:
○ Individuals authorized to prescribe or
dispense scheduled substances and drugs of
concern for the purpose of providing medical
or pharmaceutical care for their patients and
when an individual is obtaining prescriptions
in a manner that appears to be misuse,
abuse, or diversion of such substances or
drugs; and
○ Medical examiners, coroners, or other
individuals authorized under law to investigate
or determine cause of death;
● Individuals or organizations notified by the
Committee;
● Practitioners or pharmacists conducting research
approved by an institutional review board with
patient consent for the release of program data;
and
● An overdose fatality review board established by
the State of Kansas.
Database Access Qualifications
The bill would require an individual registered for access
to the K-TRACS database to notify the Board in writing within
30 calendar days of any action that would disqualify the
individual from being authorized to receive K-TRACS data.
The bill would require the State Board of Healing Arts,
Board of Nursing, Kansas Dental Board, and Board of
Examiners in Optometry to notify the Board in writing within
30 calendar days of any denial, suspension, revocation, or
other administrative limitation of a practitioner’s license or
registration that would disqualify a practitioner from being
authorized to receive K-TRACS data.
4- 2253
 The bill would require a practitioner or pharmacist to
notify the Board within 30 calendar days of any action that
would disqualify a delegate from being authorized to receive
program data on behalf of a practitioner or pharmacist.
Data Reviews
The bill would authorize the Committee to notify the
Disability and Behavioral Health Services Section of the
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
(KDADS) for the purpose of offering confidential treatment
services if a Committee review of K-TRACS data indicates an
individual may be obtaining prescriptions in a manner that
may represent misuse or abuse of scheduled substances and
drugs of concern, and the review does not identify a recent
prescriber as a point of contact for potential clinical
intervention.
The bill would replace the term “controlled” substances
with “scheduled” substances in the provisions of the Act
relating to the Committee review of K-TRACS data.
The bill would require the Committee, if a review of
information appears to indicate K-TRACS data has been
accessed or used in violation of state or federal law, to
determine whether a report to the board overseeing the
license of such individual is warranted and would authorize
the Committee to make such report.
Data Authorizations
The bill would authorize the Board to provide K-TRACS
data to medical care facilities for statistical, research, or
educational purposes if all identifying information is removed.
The bill would authorize the Board to block any user’s
access to the K-TRACS database if the Board has reason to
believe access to the data is or may be used by such user in
violation of state or federal law.
5- 2253
Information Retention and Storage (Section 4)
The bill would prohibit K-TRACS data from being stored
outside of the database, with the following exceptions:
● Temporary storage necessary to deliver program
data to electronic health records or pharmacy
management systems approved by the Board;
● Retention of specific information or records related
to a criminal or administrative investigation or
proceeding;
● Program data provided to public or private entities
for statistical, research, or educational purposes
after removing information that could be used to
identify individual practitioners, dispensers,
patients, or persons who received prescriptions
from dispensers; or
● Board retention of information for purposes of
operation of K-TRACS and administration and
enforcement of the Act or the Uniform Controlled
Substances Act.
The bill would amend the Act to remove:
● A requirement the information and records be
destroyed after five years; and
● An exception to the destruction requirement for
records a law enforcement or oversight entity has
requested to be retained.
K-TRACS Advisory Committee Membership (Section 5)
The bill would expand the membership of the Committee
to a total of ten members by adding one member who is a
licensed advanced practice provider nominated by either the
Board of Nursing or the State Board of Healing Arts.
6- 2253
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Social Services Budget at the request of Representative
Carpenter.
[Note: A similar bill, SB 168, was introduced in the
Senate.]

House Committee on Social Services Budget
In the House Committee hearing on March 9, 2022,
proponent testimony was provided by representatives from
the Board, Board of Nursing, Kansas Hospital Association,
and Kansas Medical Society. The proponents generally spoke
to the updates to K-TRACS, data sharing guidelines, and
funding. According to the representative of the Board, the bill
would increase K-TRACS utilization and ease of use,
enhance data security, and enable more accurate patient
information.
Neutral testimony was provided by representatives of
the Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas
Optometric Association, and KDHE.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to:
● Add or amend definitions for “audit trail
information,” “delegate,” “pharmacy,” and
“program”;
● Expand K-TRACS data requirements to include the
diagnostic code, species code, and the date the
prescription was sold;
● Delete the fees for an initial set up and annual
maintenance for the integration of K-TRACS;
7- 2253
 ● Expand the list of persons who may request and
receive data from K-TRACS;
● Authorize the Committee to notify KDADS for the
purpose of offering confidential treatment services;
and
● Expand the membership of the Committee by one
member.
Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare
The Senate Committee did not hold a hearing on the bill
but did hold a hearing on the companion bill, SB 168, on
February 10, 2022.
On March 23, 2022, the Senate Committee amended
the bill to change the effective date from upon publication in
the Kansas Register to upon publication in the statute book.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Board indicates
enactment of the bill would have no fiscal effect on the
Board’s expenditures as Committee members are not paid
and meetings are held electronically. The Board states any K-
TRACS changes resulting from enactment of the bill would be
managed with existing staff, and the bill could create an
opportunity for further federal grant funding. The Board states
it could implement a fee-for-service integration component if
and when federal grant funds are no longer available for the
integration program. [Note: The House Committee removed
this provision of the bill.] Currently, the integration program is
funded by a federal grant from KDHE through August 2022.
The Board recommends creating a fee-based structure
for participants in the integration program, which could be
activated if grant funding opportunities no longer continue.
8- 2253
 The Board proposes structuring these costs in a tiered-
system based on the facility type (pharmacy, physician clinic,
hospital, or health system) and the number of users or
utilization level at the facility. The Board states this approach
would ensure that costs would be manageable for all facilities
and not act as a deterrent for use of this K-TRACS feature.
Additionally, the Board indicates traditional K-TRACS
software would remain available to prescribers and
pharmacists free of charge. Based on the current number of
facilities voluntarily participating in the INTEGRx8 program,
the Board estimates the facility cost would likely range from
$500 to $3,000 per year. The Board would provide the exact
costs through administrative rules and regulations in
consultation with stakeholders and the Committee. Revenue
would be deposited into the State Board of Pharmacy Fee
Fund, from which expenditures would be made. Integration
costs are estimated to be $814,113 for FY 2022 and
$831,996 for FY 2023.
The Board of Nursing indicates enactment of the bill
would have a negligible fiscal effect on expenditures of that
agency. The Board of Examiners in Optometry, the State
Board of Healing Arts, and the Kansas Dental Board indicate
enactment of the bill would have no fiscal effect on the
entities.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2022 Governor’s Budget Report.
K-TRACS; Prescription Monitoring Program Act; prescription monitoring program;
State Board of Pharmacy; State Board of Pharmacy Fee Fund; pharmacy;
prescriptions


9- 2253


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 65-1682, 65-4107, 65-4111, 65-1683, 65-1684, 65-1685, 65-1687, 65-4101, 65-1689
As Amended by House Committee: 65-1682, 65-4107, 65-4111, 65-1683, 65-1684, 65-1685, 65-1687, 65-4101, 65-1689
As Amended by Senate Committee: 65-1682, 65-4107, 65-4111, 65-1683, 65-1684, 65-1685, 65-1687, 65-4101, 65-1689