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State of California Department of Justice
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
Attorney General
Updated regulations pertaining to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) became effective on August 15, 2022. The regulations revise and add to the CURES access and use regulations that took effect on July 1, 2020. Relevant information concerning these regulations may be found on the following webpage of the Office of Attorney General’s website: https://oag.ca.gov/jdis/regs#cures
The Department of Justice has also published a bulletin with information about the regulations, entitled, “Adoption of Updated CURES Regulations.”
The optimized CURES includes expanded Delegate functionality, which allows Delegates to directly access data in CURES.
All prior Delegate associations were disabled upon the release of the optimized CURES on April 11, 2022. To continue using Delegates after April 11, 2022, new Delegate associations must be established.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has created a Quick Reference Guide that details how to establish and activate a Delegate in the optimized CURES, along with questions and answers. For detailed information view the Quick Reference Guide.
DOJ has also created two sample Delegate Agreements. The first sample Delegate Agreement demonstrates an agreement between one Authorizing User and one Delegate. The second sample Delegate Agreement demonstrates an agreement between one Authorizing User and multiple Delegates.
Detailed information concerning Delegate eligibility and Delegate Agreement requirements are described in DOJ’s October 14, 2022, bulletin entitled, New Features and Requirements for Expanded Delegate Access.
CURES (Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System) is a database of Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV and Schedule V controlled substance prescriptions dispensed in California serving the public health, regulatory oversight agencies, and law enforcement. CURES is committed to the reduction of prescription drug abuse and diversion without affecting legitimate medical practice or patient care.
The operation of CURES complies with all applicable federal and state privacy and security laws and regulations. The controlled substances dispensation history of an individual that is received by a practitioner or pharmacist from CURES is subject to the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), including the HIPAA regulations in 45 Code of Federal Regulations parts 160 and 164.
Access to CURES is strictly limited. Licensed health care practitioners and licensed pharmacists may access information in CURES only for patients under their care. Regulatory agency officials and law enforcement officials may access information in CURES only to assist the efforts of their agencies to control the diversion and resultant abuse of controlled substances.
California law (Health and Safety Code Section 11165.1) requires all California licensed health care practitioners authorized to prescribe Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV and Schedule V controlled substances to register for access to CURES upon issuance of a Drug Enforcement Administration Controlled Substance Registration Certificate. California licensed pharmacists must register for access to CURES upon issuance of a Board of Pharmacy Pharmacist License.
Prescriber and Pharmacist registration to access CURES is simple and fully automated. Prescribers and Pharmacists can register by accessing the CURES User Registration.
Section 11165.4 of the Health and Safety Code, sets forth the requirements for mandatory consultation of CURES. Please refer to your respective state licensing board for additional information regarding the CURES consultation requirement.
California Health & Safety Code section 11165(d) requires that for each prescription for a Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV, or Schedule V controlled substance, the dispensing pharmacy, clinic, or other dispenser shall report specified dispensing information to the Department of Justice or contracted prescription data processing vendor as soon as reasonably possible, but not more than one working day after the date a controlled substance is released to the patient or patient’s representative. Additionally, California Health & Safety Code section 11165(i) states veterinarians shall report dispensation information as soon as reasonably possible, but not more than seven days after the date a controlled substance is dispensed. Currently, the ASAP 2009 Version 4.1 format is accepted.
All reporting must be made through the PMP Clearinghouse system. Information about registration for PMP Clearinghouse can be found through the following resources:
For information on how to submit controlled substance prescription data or data corrections, pharmacies and direct dispensers may contact Bamboo Health by phone at (855) 502-0999.
In accordance with California Health & Safety Code section 11165(c)(2)(A) the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) may provide CURES data to public or private entities, as approved by the CA DOJ, for educational, peer review, statistical, or research purposes, provided that the patient information, including any information that may identify the patient, is not compromised.
To request CURES data for any of the above listed purposes, or for additional information about the data request process, you can go to the Research Center “Data Request Process” website at https://oag.ca.gov/research-center/request-process.
California law requires prescribers of any Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV, and Schedule V controlled substance to obtain and use tamper-resistant prescription forms ordered only from state-approved security printers. To order tamper-resistant prescription forms, please refer to the Approved List of Security Prescription Printers for vendors authorized by the California Department of Justice and the vendor’s contact information.
Reports of lost or stolen prescription forms or pads must be reported to local law enforcement and CURES. Users registered with CURES can electronically report their lost or stolen prescription forms or pads online when logged into their CURES account. A law enforcement agency report number is required when submitting a report of lost or stolen prescription forms to CURES.
For questions concerning how to report lost or stolen prescription pads or forms, please contact the Security Prescription Printer Program at SecurityPrinter@doj.ca.gov.