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From Worker's Comp
reform to the elimination
of the triplicate prescription system, an array of new laws
will alter the medical-legal
landscape next year.

by Catherine Hanson
CMA Vice President
& General Counsel

espite the budget crisis and
the recall election, physicians
will face a new set of legal
requirements and opportunities
as a result of the California
Legislature's handiwork in 2003.

Thanks to CMA advocacy, another pernicious aspect of the Silent PPO problem has been redressed—physician discounts can no longer be transferred to other payors in the absence of the rest of the contractual agreement. Thus, for example, Knox-Keene Act protections, including the rights to fair payment processes guaranteed by the AB 1455 regulations, must accompany any physician discount roster transferred by a health plan to an unlicensed payor. In addition, the cumbersome triplicate prescription system will be phased out over the next year, to be replaced by the new California Security Prescription, which should dramatically reduce the potential for forgery or alteration. The following summarizes the new laws, likely to affect a large segment of the physician community. Other new laws of more limited interest, such as the new laws regulating the use of seclusion and restraints, or adding prescription drug labeling requirements, are discussed in the relevant portions of the 2004 California Physicians Legal Handbook and CMA ON-CALL systems. The laws described in the attached PDF are effective January 1, 2004, unless otherwise indicated.

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(If you have trouble downloading this document, please
contact CMA at 916/551-2074 and request a fax or e-mail copy.)