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2004 SESSION

045427448
HOUSE BILL NO. 623
Offered January 14, 2004
Prefiled January 13, 2004
A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3321 of the Code of Virginia, relating to registration of pharmacy technicians in free clinics.
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Patron-- Orrock
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Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 54.1-3321 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 54.1-3321. Registration of pharmacy technicians.

A. No person shall perform the duties of a pharmacy technician without first being registered as a pharmacy technician with the Board. Upon being registered with the Board as a pharmacy technician, the following tasks may be performed:

1. The entry of prescription information and drug history into a data system or other record keeping system;

2. The preparation of prescription labels or patient information;

3. The removal of the drug to be dispensed from inventory;

4. The counting, measuring, or compounding of the drug to be dispensed;

5. The packaging and labeling of the drug to be dispensed and the repackaging thereof;

6. The stocking or loading of automated dispensing devices or other devices used in the dispensing process;

7. The acceptance of refill authorization from a prescriber or his authorized agent, so long as there is no change to the original prescription; and

8. The performance of any other task restricted to pharmacy technicians by the Board's regulations.

B. To be registered as a pharmacy technician, a person shall submit satisfactory evidence that he is of good moral character and has satisfactorily completed a training program and examination that meet the criteria approved by the Board in regulation or that he holds current certification from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.

However, a pharmacy technician who volunteers or otherwise works solely in a free clinic shall be registered by the Board upon satisfactorily completing a training program and examination that covers the criteria approved by the Board except those portions of the training program and examination relating to the compounding of drugs to be dispensed and the stocking or loading of automated dispensing devices or other devices used in the dispensing process. No pharmacy technician who has been registered by the Board to volunteer or otherwise work in a free clinic shall be employed in any other setting without first completing satisfactorily a training program and examination that includes all of the criteria approved by the Board, including compounding of drugs and the stocking or loading of automated dispensing devices or other devices used in the dispensing process.

C. A pharmacy intern may perform the duties set forth for pharmacy technicians in subsection A when registered with the Board for the purpose of gaining the practical experience required to apply for licensure as a pharmacist.

D. In addition, a person enrolled in an approved training program for pharmacy technicians may engage in the acts set forth in subsection A for the purpose of obtaining practical experience required for registration as a pharmacy technician, so long as such activities are directly monitored by a supervising pharmacist.

E. The Board shall promulgate regulations establishing requirements for evidence of continued competency as a condition of renewal of a registration as a pharmacy technician.