Sponsored by:
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Permits abandoned prescription medication to be re-dispensed up to one year after original preparation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on June 16, 2016, with amendments.
An Act concerning prescription medications and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. 1a.1 In the event that a pharmacy prepares a prescription medication that is abandoned by a patient, or a long-term care pharmacy does not dispense a prescription medication to a patient in a long-term care facility, the medication 1[shall be held for re-dispensing and used as soon as possible] may be re-dispensed by the pharmacy in a manner consistent with regulations promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy, provided that the medication was maintained under proper storage conditions to ensure its integrity, and has remained under the exclusive control and custody of the pharmacy at all times1. The medication shall not be dispensed to patients later than one year from the date the medication was originally prepared for dispensing. A re-dispensed medication shall be marked with the same use-by date found on the medication when it was originally prepared for dispensing. 1Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify dispensing requirements and practices related to a prescription drug that can only be dispensed to a patient registered with the manufacturer of that drug, in accordance with requirements established by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
b. For purposes of this section, a prescription medication shall be considered to be abandoned when a prescription is prepared and made available for dispensing by the pharmacy but is not dispensed to the patient for whom it was prepared within two weeks.1
2. This act shall take effect immediately.