Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Permits pharmacists to dispense certain drugs in emergency without prescription.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning emergency drug dispensing and supplementing P.L.2003, c.280 (C.45:14-40 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A pharmacist may dispense or sell an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance drug without a current, valid prescription from a practitioner if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) the pharmacy at which the pharmacist is practicing has a record of a prescription for the drug in the name of the patient who is requesting the emergency supply, but the prescription does not provide for a refill or the time permitted for providing the refill has passed;
(2) the pharmacist attempts but is unable to obtain authorization to refill the prescription from the practitioner who issued the prescription or another practitioner responsible for the patient's care;
(3) in the pharmacist's professional judgment, refusal to provide an emergency supply of the drug would endanger the health or welfare of the patient;
(4) the drug is not a controlled dangerous substance;
(5) the amount of the drug dispensed does not exceed a 30-day supply as provided in the most recent prescription or, if the standard unit of dispensing for the drug exceeds a 30-day supply, the amount dispensed does not exceed the standard unit of dispensing;
(6) the pharmacist has not provided an emergency supply of the particular drug pursuant to this subsection to the same patient in the previous 12-month period; and
(7) the pharmacist fulfills all documentation and other requirements for dispensing established by the Board of Pharmacy by regulation.
b. A pharmacist or the pharmacist's employer shall not be held civilly liable for any act or omission in connection with the dispensing of an emergency supply of a drug pursuant to this section unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or willful or wanton misconduct.
c. Nothing in this section shall preclude a pharmacist from dispensing an emergency supply of a drug under other authority granted by regulations promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy.
2. The Board of Pharmacy, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, except that the Board of Pharmacy may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance of the effective date as shall be necessary to implement the act.
STATEMENT
This bill permits a pharmacist to dispense or sell an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance drug without a current, valid prescription from a practitioner, under certain conditions. To dispense or sell an emergency supply of a drug under the bill:
· the pharmacy at which the pharmacist is practicing must have a record of a prescription for the drug in the name of the patient who is requesting the emergency supply, but the prescription does not provide for a refill or the time permitted for providing the refill has passed;
· the pharmacist must attempt but fail to obtain authorization to refill the prescription from the practitioner who issued the prescription or another practitioner responsible for the patient's care;
· the pharmacist must determine, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, that refusal to provide an emergency supply of the drug would endanger the health or welfare of the patient;
· the drug must not be a controlled dangerous substance;
· the amount of the drug dispensed must not exceed a 30-day supply as provided in the most recent prescription or, if the standard unit of dispensing for the drug exceeds a 30-day supply, the amount dispensed must not exceed the standard unit of dispensing;
· the pharmacist may not have provided an emergency supply of the particular drug pursuant to this subsection to the same patient in the previous 12-month period; and
· the pharmacist must fulfill all documentation and other requirements for dispensing established by the Board of Pharmacy by regulation.
The bill provides civil immunity for pharmacists and their employers for acts or omissions in connection with the dispensing of an emergency supply of a drug pursuant to this bill unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or willful or wanton misconduct.
The bill also states that it would not preclude a pharmacist from dispensing an emergency supply of a drug under other authority granted by regulations promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy. Currently, N.J.A.C.13:39-7.4 permits emergency dispensing of a 72-hour supply of a drug, under conditions that are more permissive than the conditions for dispensing a longer-term supply established under this bill.