Bill Text: IL HB0076 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Requires that at least one registered pharmacy technician be on duty whenever the practice of pharmacy is conducted. Requires that pharmacies fill no more than 10 prescriptions per hour. Requires 10 pharmacy technician hours per 100 prescriptions filled. Prohibits pharmacies from requiring pharmacists to participate in advertising or soliciting activities that may jeopardize patient health, safety, or welfare and any activities or external factors that interfere with the pharmacist's ability to provide appropriate professional services. Provides that a pharmacist shall receive specified break periods. Provides that a pharmacy may not require a pharmacist to work during a break period, shall make available a break room meeting specified requirements, shall keep a complete and accurate record of the break periods and may not require a pharmacist to work more than 8 hours a workday. Provides for enforcement and penalties. Provides whistleblower protections for an employee of a pharmacy if the pharmacy retaliates against the employee for certain actions. Requires pharmacies to maintain a record of any errors in the receiving, filling, or dispensing of prescriptions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-18 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0076 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB0076-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB0076 Introduced , by Rep. Mary E. Flowers SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
225 ILCS 85/15 from Ch. 111, par. 4135
225 ILCS 85/15.7 new
225 ILCS 85/18 from Ch. 111, par. 4138
Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Requires that at least one registered pharmacy technician be on duty whenever the practice of pharmacy is conducted. Requires that pharmacies fill no more than 10 prescriptions per hour. Requires 10 pharmacy technician hours per 100 prescriptions filled. Prohibits pharmacies from requiring pharmacists to participate in advertising or soliciting activities that may jeopardize patient health, safety, or welfare and any activities or external factors that interfere with the pharmacist's ability to provide appropriate professional services. Provides that a pharmacist shall receive specified break periods. Provides that a pharmacy may not require a pharmacist to work during a break period, shall make available a break room meeting specified requirements, shall keep a complete and accurate record of the break periods and may not require a pharmacist to work more than 8 hours a workday. Provides for enforcement and penalties. Provides whistleblower protections for an employee of a pharmacy if the pharmacy retaliates against the employee for certain actions. Requires pharmacies to maintain a record of any errors in the receiving, filling, or dispensing of prescriptions.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Pharmacy Practice Act is amended by
changing Sections 15 and 18 and by adding Section 15.7 as
follows:
(225 ILCS 85/15) (from Ch. 111, par. 4135)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2023)
Sec. 15. Pharmacy requirements.
(1) It shall be unlawful for the owner of any pharmacy, as
defined in this Act, to operate or conduct the same, or to
allow the same to be operated or conducted, unless:
(a) It has a licensed pharmacist, authorized to
practice pharmacy in this State under the provisions of
this Act, and at least one pharmacy technician registered
under the provisions of this Act on duty whenever the
practice of pharmacy is conducted;
(b) Security provisions for all drugs and devices, as
determined by rule of the Department, are provided during
the absence from the licensed pharmacy of all licensed
pharmacists. Maintenance of security provisions is the
responsibility of the licensed pharmacist in charge; and
(c) The pharmacy is licensed under this Act to conduct

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the practice of pharmacy in any and all forms from the
physical address of the pharmacy's primary inventory where
U.S. mail is delivered. If a facility, company, or
organization operates multiple pharmacies from multiple
physical addresses, a separate pharmacy license is
required for each different physical address; .
(d) The pharmacy sets a prescription filling limit of
not more than 10 prescriptions filled per hour;
(e) The pharmacy mandates at least 10 pharmacy
technician hours per 100 prescriptions filled;
(f) The pharmacy places a general prohibition on
activities that distract pharmacists that includes:
(i) advertising or soliciting that may jeopardize
patient health, safety, or welfare; and
(ii) any activities or external factors, including
promotional requirements and productivity quotas, that
interfere with the pharmacist's ability to provide
appropriate professional services;
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
pharmacy provides a minimum of 2 15-minute paid rest
breaks and one 30-minute meal period in each workday on
which the pharmacist works at least 7 hours; a pharmacy
may not require a pharmacist to work during a break
period; a pharmacy that violates this paragraph shall pay
to the pharmacist 3 times the pharmacist's regular hourly
rate of pay for each workday during which the required

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breaks were not provided;
(h) The pharmacy makes available at all times a room
on the pharmacy's premises with adequate seating and
tables for the purpose of allowing a pharmacist to enjoy
break periods in a clean and comfortable environment;
(i) The pharmacy keeps a complete and accurate record
of the break periods of its pharmacists; and
(j) The pharmacy limits a pharmacist from working more
than 8 hours a workday.
(2) The Department may allow a pharmacy that is not
located at the same location as its home pharmacy and at which
pharmacy services are provided during an emergency situation,
as defined by rule, to be operated as an emergency remote
pharmacy. An emergency remote pharmacy operating under this
subsection (2) shall operate under the license of the home
pharmacy.
(3) The Secretary may waive the requirement for a
pharmacist to be on duty at all times for State facilities not
treating human ailments. This waiver of the requirement
remains in effect until it is rescinded by the Secretary and
the Department provides written notice of the rescission to
the State facility.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any person, who is not a
licensed pharmacy or health care facility, to purport to be
such or to use in name, title, or sign designating, or in
connection with that place of business, any of the words:

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"pharmacy", "pharmacist", "pharmacy department",
"apothecary", "druggist", "drug", "drugs", "medicines",
"medicine store", "drug sundries", "prescriptions filled", or
any list of words indicating that drugs are compounded or sold
to the lay public, or prescriptions are dispensed therein.
Each day during which, or a part which, such representation is
made or appears or such a sign is allowed to remain upon or in
such a place of business shall constitute a separate offense
under this Act.
(5) The holder of any license shall conspicuously display
it in the pharmacy in which he is engaged in the practice of
pharmacy. The pharmacist in charge shall conspicuously display
his name in such pharmacy. The pharmacy license shall also be
conspicuously displayed.
(6) It is unlawful for any pharmacy or pharmacy's agent or
representative to take any action against any person in
retaliation for the exercise of rights under this Section. In
any civil proceeding brought under this subsection, if the
plaintiff establishes that he or she was employed by the
defendant, exercised rights under this Section, or alleged in
good faith that the defendant was not complying with this
Section, and was thereafter terminated, demoted, or otherwise
penalized by the defendant, then a rebuttable presumption
shall arise that the defendant's action was taken in
retaliation for the exercise of rights established by this
Section. To rebut the presumption, the defendant must prove

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that the sole reason for the termination, demotion, or penalty
was a legitimate business reason.
(7) A person claiming violation of this Section shall be
entitled to all remedies available under law or in equity,
including, but not limited to, damages, back pay,
reinstatement, or injunctive relief. Any person terminated in
violation of this Section shall recover treble his or her lost
normal daily compensation and fringe benefits, together with
interest thereon, and any consequential damages suffered by
the employee. The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees
and costs to a prevailing plaintiff in an enforcement action
under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 100-497, eff. 9-8-17.)
(225 ILCS 85/15.7 new)
Sec. 15.7. Whistleblower protection.
(a) In this Section, "retaliatory action" means the
reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, denial of
promotion or transfer, or change in the terms and conditions
of employment of any employee of a pharmacy that is taken in
retaliation for the employee's involvement in a protected
activity as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
subsection (b).
(b) A pharmacy shall not take any retaliatory action
against an employee of the pharmacy because the employee does
any of the following:

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(1) discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor
or to a public body an activity, inaction, policy, or
practice implemented by a pharmacy that the employee
reasonably believes is in violation of a law, rule, or
regulation;
(2) provides information to or testifies before any
public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or
inquiry into any violation of a law, rule, or regulation
by a pharmacy; or
(3) assists or participates in a proceeding to enforce
the provisions of this Act.
(c) A violation of this Section may be established only
upon a finding that: (1) the employee of the pharmacy engaged
in conduct described in subsection (b) of this Section, and
(2) this conduct was a contributing factor in the retaliatory
action alleged by the employee. There is no violation of this
Section, however, if the facility demonstrates by clear and
convincing evidence that it would have taken the same
unfavorable personnel action in the absence of that conduct.
(d) The employee of the pharmacy may be awarded all
remedies necessary to make the employee whole and to prevent
future violations of this Section. Remedies imposed by the
court may include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) reinstatement of the employee to either the same
position held before the retaliatory action or to an

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equivalent position;
(2) two times the amount of back pay;
(3) interest on the back pay;
(4) reinstatement of full fringe benefits and
seniority rights; and
(5) payment of reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
(e) Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to diminish
the rights, privileges, or remedies of an employee of a
pharmacy under any other federal or State law, rule, or
regulation or under any employment contract.
(225 ILCS 85/18) (from Ch. 111, par. 4138)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2023)
Sec. 18. Record retention. There shall be kept in every
drugstore or pharmacy a suitable book, file, or electronic
record keeping system in which shall be preserved for a period
of not less than 5 years the original, or an exact, unalterable
image, of every written prescription and the original
transcript or copy of every verbal prescription filled,
compounded, or dispensed, in such pharmacy; and such book,
file, or electronic record keeping system of prescriptions
shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection to the
chief pharmacy coordinator and the duly authorized agents or
employees of the Department. In addition, any errors in the
receiving, filling, or dispensing of prescriptions of any
kind, including any errors resulting in an adverse drug

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interaction or adversely affecting the health of the patient,
shall be a part of these records.
Every prescription filled or refilled shall contain the
unique identifiers of the persons authorized to practice
pharmacy under the provision of this Act who fills or refills
the prescription.
Records kept pursuant to this Section may be maintained in
an alternative data retention system, such as a direct digital
imaging system, provided that:
(1) the records maintained in the alternative data
retention system contain all of the information required
in a manual record;
(2) the data processing system is capable of producing
a hard copy of the electronic record on the request of the
Board, its representative, or other authorized local,
State, or federal law enforcement or regulatory agency;
(3) the digital images are recorded and stored only by
means of a technology that does not allow subsequent
revision or replacement of the images; and
(4) the prescriptions may be retained in written form
or recorded in a data processing system, provided that
such order can be produced in printed form upon lawful
request.
As used in this Section, "digital imaging system" means a
system, including people, machines, methods of organization,
and procedures, that provides input, storage, processing,

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communications, output, and control functions for digitized
representations of original prescription records.
Inpatient drug orders may be maintained within an
institution in a manner approved by the Department.
(Source: P.A. 100-497, eff. 9-8-17.)