21 NCAC 32M .0117        REPORTING CRITERIA

(a)  The Department of Health and Human Services ("Department") may report to the North Carolina Board of Nursing ("Board") information regarding the prescribing practices of those nurse practitioners ("prescribers") whose prescribing:

(1)           falls within the top two percent of those prescribing 100 morphine milligram equivalents ("MME") per patient per day; or

(2)           falls within the top two percent of those prescribing 100 MMEs per patient per day in combination with any benzodiazepine and who are within the top one percent of all controlled substance prescribers by volume.

(b)  In addition, the Department may report to the Board information regarding prescribers who have had two or more patient deaths in the preceding 12 months due to opioid poisoning where the prescribers authorized more than 30 tablets of an opioid to the decedent and the prescriptions were written within 60 days of the patient deaths.

(c)  In addition, the Department may report to the Board information regarding prescribers who meet three or more of the following criteria, if there are a minimum of five patients for each criterion:

(1)           at least 25 percent of the prescriber's patients receiving opioids reside 100 miles or greater from the prescriber's practice location;

(2)           the prescriber had more than 25 percent of patients receiving the same opioids and benzodiazepine combination;

(3)           the prescriber had 75 percent of patients receiving opioids self-pay for the prescriptions;

(4)           the prescriber had 90 percent or more of patients in a three-month period that received an opioid prescription that overlapped with another opioid prescription for at least one week;

(5)           more than 50 percent of the prescriber's patients received opioid doses of 100 MME or greater per day excluding office-based treatment medications; and

(6)           the prescriber had at least 25 percent of patients who used three or more pharmacies within a three-month period to obtain opioids regardless of the prescriber.

(d)  The Department may submit these reports to the Board upon request and may include the information described in G.S. 90-113.73(b).

(e)  The reports and communications between the Department and the Board shall remain confidential pursuant to G.S. 90-113.74.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 90-5.1(a)(3); 90-113.74;

Eff. April 1, 2016;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2021; May 1, 2018.