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2002 SESSION


CHAPTER 411
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-3300, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 54.1-3408.01, 54.1-3412, and 54.1-3420.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the practice of pharmacy.
[H 625]
Approved April 2, 2002

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 54.1-3300, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 54.1-3408.01, 54.1-3412, and 54.1-3420.2 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 54.1-3300. (Effective until July 1, 2004) Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Board" means the Board of Pharmacy.

"Collaborative agreement" means a voluntary, written arrangement between one pharmacist and his designated alternate pharmacists involved directly in patient care at a location where patients receive services and a practitioner of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry and his designated alternate practitioners involved directly in patient care which authorizes cooperative procedures with respect to patients of such practitioners. Collaborative procedures shall be related to treatment using drug therapy, laboratory tests or medical devices, under defined conditions or limitations, for the purpose of improving patient outcomes. A collaborative agreement is not required for the management of patients of an inpatient facility.

"Dispense" means to deliver a drug to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering, packaging, labeling or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for delivery.

"Pharmacist" means a person holding a license issued by the Board to practice pharmacy.

"Pharmacy" means every establishment or institution in which the practice of pharmacy is conducted; drugs, medicines or medicinal chemicals are dispensed or offered for sale, or a sign is displayed bearing the word or words "pharmacist," "pharmacy," "apothecary," "drugstore," "druggist," "drugs," "medicine store," "drug sundries," "prescriptions filled," or any similar words intended to indicate that the practice of pharmacy is being conducted.

"Pharmacy intern" means a student currently enrolled in or a graduate of an approved school of pharmacy who is registered with the Board for the purpose of gaining the practical experience required to apply for licensure as a pharmacist.

"Pharmacy technician" means a person registered with the Board to assist a pharmacist under the pharmacist's supervision.

"Practice of pharmacy" means the personal health service that is concerned with the art and science of selecting, procuring, recommending, administering, preparing, compounding, packaging and dispensing of drugs, medicines and devices used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease, whether compounded or dispensed on a prescription or otherwise legally dispensed or distributed, and shall include the proper and safe storage and distribution of drugs; the maintenance of proper records; the responsibility of providing information concerning drugs and medicines and their therapeutic values and uses in the treatment and prevention of disease; and the management of patient care under the terms of a collaborative agreement as defined in this section.

"Supervision" means the direction and control by a pharmacist of the activities of a pharmacy intern or a pharmacy technician whereby the supervising pharmacist is physically present in the pharmacy or in the facility in which the pharmacy is located when the intern or technician is performing duties restricted to a pharmacy intern or technician, respectively, and is available for immediate oral communication.

Other terms used in the context of this chapter shall be defined as provided in Chapter 34 (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) of this title unless the context requires a different meaning.

§ 54.1-3300. (Effective July 1, 2004) Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Board" means the Board of Pharmacy.

"Dispense" means to deliver a drug to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering, packaging, labeling or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for delivery.

"Pharmacist" means a person holding a license issued by the Board to practice pharmacy.

"Pharmacy" means every establishment or institution in which the practice of pharmacy is conducted; drugs, medicines or medicinal chemicals are dispensed or offered for sale, or a sign is displayed bearing the word or words "pharmacist," "pharmacy," "apothecary," "drugstore," "druggist," "drugs," "medicine store," "drug sundries," "prescriptions filled," or any similar words intended to indicate that the practice of pharmacy is being conducted.

"Pharmacy intern" means a student currently enrolled in or a graduate of an approved school of pharmacy who is registered with the Board for the purpose of gaining the practical experience required to apply for licensure as a pharmacist.

"Pharmacy technician" means a person registered with the Board to assist a pharmacist under the pharmacist's supervision.

"Practice of pharmacy" means the personal health service that is concerned with the art and science of selecting, procuring, recommending, administering, preparing, compounding, packaging and dispensing of drugs, medicines and devices used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease, whether compounded or dispensed on a prescription or otherwise legally dispensed or distributed, and shall include the proper and safe storage and distribution of drugs, the maintenance of proper records and the responsibility of providing information concerning drugs and medicines and their therapeutic values and uses in the treatment and prevention of disease.

"Supervision" means the direction and control by a pharmacist of the activities of a pharmacy intern or a pharmacy technician whereby the supervising pharmacist is physically present in the pharmacy or in the facility in which the pharmacy is located when the intern or technician is performing duties restricted to a pharmacy intern or technician, respectively, and is available for immediate oral communication.

Other terms used in the context of this chapter shall be defined as provided in Chapter 34 of this title unless the context requires a different meaning.

§ 54.1-3408.01. Requirements for prescriptions.

A. The written prescription referred to in § 54.1-3408 shall be written with ink or individually typed or printed. The prescription shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of the prescriber. A prescription for a controlled substance other than one controlled in Schedule VI shall also contain the federal controlled substances registration number assigned to the prescriber. The prescriber's information shall be either preprinted upon the prescription blank, electronically printed, typewritten, rubber stamped, or printed by hand.

The written prescription shall contain the first and last name of the patient for whom the drug is prescribed. The address of the patient shall either be placed upon the written prescription by the prescriber or his agent, or by the dispenser of the prescription. If not otherwise prohibited by law, the dispenser may record the address of the patient in an electronic prescription dispensing record for that patient in lieu of recording it on the prescription. Each written prescription shall be dated as of, and signed by the prescriber on, the day when issued. The prescription may be prepared by an agent for the prescriber's signature.

This section shall not prohibit a prescriber from using preprinted prescriptions for drugs classified in Schedule VI if all requirements concerning dates, signatures, and other information specified above are otherwise fulfilled.

No written prescription order form shall include more than one prescription. However, this provision does shall not apply to the entry of any order on a patient's chart in any hospital or any long-term care facility, as defined in Board regulations, in Virginia to prescriptions written as chart orders for patients in hospitals and long-term-care facilities, patients receiving home infusion services or hospice patients, or to a prescription ordered through a pharmacy operated by or for the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, the central pharmacy of the Department of Health, or the central outpatient pharmacy operated by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.

B. Pursuant to § 32.1-87, any prescription form shall include two boxes, one labeled "Voluntary Formulary Permitted" and the other labeled "Dispense As Written." A prescriber may indicate his permission for the dispensing of a drug product included in the Formulary upon signing a prescription form and marking the box labeled "Voluntary Formulary Permitted." A Voluntary Formulary product shall be dispensed if the prescriber fails to indicate his preference. If no Voluntary Formulary product is immediately available or if the patient objects to the dispensing of a generic drug, the pharmacist may dispense a brand name drug. Printed prescription forms shall provide:

"[  ] Dispense As Written

[  ] Voluntary Formulary Permitted

....................

Signature of prescriber

If neither box is marked, a Voluntary Formulary product must be dispensed."

C. Prescribers' orders, whether written as chart orders or prescriptions, for Schedules II, III, IV and V controlled drugs to be administered to (i) patients or residents of long-term care facilities served by a Virginia pharmacy from a remote location or (ii) patients receiving parenteral, intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous or intraspinal infusion therapy and served by a home infusion pharmacy from a remote location, may be transmitted to that remote pharmacy by an electronic communications device over telephone lines which send the exact image to the receiver in hard copy form, and such facsimile copy shall be treated as a valid original prescription order. If the order is for a radiopharmaceutical, a physician authorized by state or federal law to possess and administer medical radioactive materials may authorize a nuclear medicine technologist to transmit a prescriber's verbal or written orders for radiopharmaceuticals.

D. The oral prescription referred to in subsection A of this section shall be transmitted to the pharmacy of the patient's choice by the prescriber or his authorized agent. For the purposes of this section, an authorized agent of the prescriber shall be an employee of the prescriber who is under his immediate and personal supervision, or if not an employee, an individual who holds a valid license allowing the administration or dispensing of drugs and who is specifically directed by the prescriber.

§ 54.1-3412. Date of dispensing; initials of pharmacist; automated data processing system.

Pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Board, the pharmacist dispensing any prescription shall record the date of dispensing and his initials on the prescription or in (i) an automated data processing system used for the storage and retrieval of dispensing information for prescriptions pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Board or (ii) on another record that is accurate from which dispensing information is retrievable and in which the original prescription and any information maintained in such data processing system concerning such prescription can be found.

§ 54.1-3420.2. Delivery of prescription drug order.

A. Whenever any pharmacy permitted to operate in this Commonwealth or nonresident pharmacy registered to conduct business in the Commonwealth delivers a prescription drug order by mail, common carrier, or delivery service, when the drug order is not personally hand delivered directly, to the patient or his agent at the person's residence or other designated location, the following conditions shall be required:

1. Written notice shall be placed in each shipment alerting the consumer that under certain circumstances chemical degradation of drugs may occur; and

2. Written notice shall be placed in each shipment providing a toll-free or local consumer access telephone number which is designed to respond to consumer questions pertaining to chemical degradation of drugs.

B. If a prescription drug order is not personally hand delivered directly to the patient or the patient's agent, or if the prescription drug order is not delivered to the residence of the patient, the delivery location shall hold a current permit, license, or registration with the Board that authorizes the possession of controlled substances at that location. The Board shall promulgate regulations related to the security, access, required records, accountability, storage, and accuracy of delivery of such drug delivery systems.

2. That the Board of Pharmacy shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act to be effective within 280 days of its enactment.

3. That, notwithstanding the effective date of this act, no prescription shall be delivered to any alternate locations prior to the effective date of the Board of Pharmacy's regulations.