I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5591 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Defense 
to establish a prescription drug monitoring program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 24, 2018 
Mr. TURNER (for himself and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Defense to establish a prescription drug moni-
toring program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sharing Health Infor-
mation to Ensure Lifesaving Drug Safety Act’’ or the 
‘‘SHIELDS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SHARING INFORMATION WITH STATE PRESCRIP-
TION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAMS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 1074g of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 
subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(g) SHARING INFORMATION WITH STATE PRE-
SCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAMS.—(1) The Sec-
retary shall establish and operate a prescription drug mon-
itoring program (to be known as the Military Health Sys-
tem Prescription Drug Monitoring Program) for prescrip-
tion drugs provided through facilities of the uniformed 
services. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the program es-
tablished under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) is comparable to prescription drug moni-
toring programs operated by States, including such 
programs approved by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services under section 399O of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g–3); and 
‘‘(B) covers prescription drugs provided under 
the pharmacy benefits program that are controlled 
substances. 
‘‘(3)(A) In carrying out the program established 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish appro-
priate procedures for sharing between the program and 
State prescription drug monitoring programs patient-spe-
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cific information regarding prescription drugs that are 
controlled substances to prevent the misuse and diversion 
of opioid medications and other controlled substances. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of the regulations promulgated 
under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability 
and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–191; 42 
U.S.C. 1320d–2 note), any disclosure of patient-specific 
information by the Secretary under subparagraph (A) 
shall be treated as a permitted disclosure. 
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall include in the procedures 
established under subparagraph (A) appropriate safe-
guards, as determined by the Secretary, concerning the 
cybersecurity of information systems of the Department 
of Defense systems and the operational security of per-
sonnel of the Department. 
‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘controlled sub-
stance’ has the meaning given that term in section 102 
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).’’. 
(b) BRIEFING.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the 
implementation of the program established under section 
1074g(g) of title 10, United States Code, as added by sub-
section (a). 
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(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 
1079(q) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘section 1074g(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 1074g(h)’’. 
(2) FY16 NDAA.—Section 715(e)(2) of the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2016 (Public Law 114–92; 10 U.S.C. 1074g note) 
is amended by striking ‘‘section 1074g(g)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 1074g(h)’’. 
(3) FY17 NDAA.—Section 745(b) of the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2017 (Public Law 114–328; 10 U.S.C. 1074 note) 
is amended by striking ‘‘section 1074g(g)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 1074g(h)’’. 
Æ 
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