(a) Neither this chapter nor any other law shall be construed to prohibit a certified nurse-midwife from furnishing or ordering drugs or devices, including controlled substances classified in Schedule II, III, IV, or V under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code), when all of the following apply:
(1) The drugs or devices are furnished or ordered incidentally to the provision of any of the following:
(A) The care and services described in Section 2746.5.
(B) Care rendered, consistent with the certified nurse-midwife’s educational preparation or for which clinical competency has been established and maintained, to persons within a facility specified in subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), (i), or (j) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code, a clinic as specified in Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code, a general acute care hospital as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, a licensed birth center as defined in Section 1204.3 of the Health and Safety Code, or a special hospital specified as a maternity hospital in subdivision (f) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C) Care rendered in an out-of-hospital setting pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2746.5.
(2) The furnishing or ordering of drugs or devices by a certified nurse-midwife for services that do not fall within the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5, and Schedule IV or V controlled substances by a nurse-midwife for any condition, including, but not limited to, Schedule IV or V controlled substances for services that fall within the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5, are in accordance with the standardized procedures or protocols. For purposes of this section, standardized procedure means a document, including protocols, developed in collaboration with, and approved by, a physician and surgeon and the certified nurse-midwife. The standardized procedure covering the furnishing or ordering of drugs or devices shall specify all of the following:
(A) Which certified nurse-midwife may furnish or order drugs or devices.
(B) Which drugs or devices may be furnished or ordered and under what circumstances.
(C) The method of periodic review of the certified nurse-midwife’s competence, including peer review, and review of the provisions of the standardized procedure.
(3) If Schedule II or III controlled substances, as defined in Sections 11055 and 11056 of the Health and Safety Code, are furnished or ordered by a certified nurse-midwife for any condition, including, but not limited to, Schedule II or III controlled substances for services that fall within the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5, the controlled substances shall be furnished or ordered in accordance with a patient-specific protocol approved by a physician and surgeon. For Schedule II controlled substance protocols, the provision for furnishing the Schedule II controlled substance shall address the diagnosis of the illness, injury, or condition for which the Schedule II controlled substance is to be furnished.
(b) (1) The furnishing or ordering of drugs or devices by a certified nurse-midwife is conditional on the issuance by the board of a number to the applicant who has successfully completed the requirements of paragraph (2). The number shall be included on all transmittals of orders for drugs or devices by the certified nurse-midwife. The board shall maintain a list of the certified nurse-midwives that it has certified pursuant to this paragraph and the number it has issued to each one. The board shall make the list available to the California State Board of Pharmacy upon its request. Every certified nurse-midwife who is authorized pursuant to this section to furnish or issue a drug order for a controlled substance shall register with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Enforcement System (CURES) pursuant to Section 11165.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) The board has certified in accordance with paragraph (1) that the certified nurse-midwife has satisfactorily completed a course in pharmacology covering the drugs or devices to be furnished or ordered under this section, including the risks of addiction and neonatal abstinence syndrome associated with the use of opioids. The board shall establish the requirements for satisfactory completion of this paragraph.
(3) A copy of the standardized procedure or protocol relating to the furnishing or ordering of controlled substances by a certified nurse-midwife shall be provided upon request to any licensed pharmacist who is uncertain of the authority of the certified nurse-midwife to perform these functions.
(4) Certified nurse-midwives who are certified by the board and hold an active furnishing number, who are currently authorized through standardized procedures or protocols to furnish Schedule II controlled substances, and who are registered with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration shall provide documentation of continuing education specific to the use of Schedule II controlled substances in settings other than a hospital based on standards developed by the board.
(c) Drugs or devices furnished or ordered by a certified nurse-midwife may include Schedule II controlled substances under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code) under the following conditions:
(1) The drugs and devices are furnished or ordered in accordance with requirements referenced in subdivisions (a) and (b).
(2) When Schedule II controlled substances, as defined in Section 11055 of the Health and Safety Code, are furnished or ordered by a certified nurse-midwife, the controlled substances shall be furnished or ordered in accordance with a patient-specific protocol approved by a physician and surgeon.
(d) Furnishing of drugs or devices by a certified nurse-midwife means the act of making a pharmaceutical agent or agents available to the patient. Use of the term “furnishing” in this section shall include the following:
(1) The ordering of a nonscheduled drug or device for services that fall within the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5.
(2) The ordering of a nonscheduled drug or device for services that fall outside the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5 in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(3) The ordering of a Schedule IV or V drug for any condition, including, but not limited to, for care that falls within the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5, in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(4) The ordering of a Schedule II or III drug in accordance with a patient-specific protocol approved by a physician and surgeon pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(5) Transmitting an order of a physician and surgeon.
(e) “Drug order” or “order” for purposes of this section means an order for medication or for a drug or device that is dispensed to or for an ultimate user, issued by a certified nurse-midwife as an individual practitioner, within the meaning of Section 1306.03 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, (1) a drug order issued pursuant to this section shall be treated in the same manner as a prescription of the supervising physician; (2) all references to “prescription” in this code and the Health and Safety Code shall include drug orders issued by certified nurse-midwives; and (3) the signature of a certified nurse-midwife on a drug order issued in accordance with this section shall be deemed to be the signature of a prescriber for purposes of this code and the Health and Safety Code.
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, a certified nurse-midwife may directly procure supplies and devices, obtain and administer diagnostic tests, directly obtain and administer nonscheduled drugs consistent with the provision of services that fall within the scope of services specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2746.5, order laboratory and diagnostic testing, and receive reports that are necessary to their practice as a certified nurse-midwife within their scope of practice, consistent with Section 2746.5.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 88, Sec. 5. (SB 1237) Effective January 1, 2021.)