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1998 SESSION

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SB 560 Practice of pharmacy; penalties.

Introduced by: Stanley C. Walker | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Practice of pharmacy; penalties. Revises provisions relating to maintenance, storage and transfer of prescription dispensing records, regulatory offenses, and closing and changing ownership of a pharmacy. The bill amends numerous sections relating to patient records to clarify that prescription dispensing records are not to be stored on microfilm or microphotographs, but must be stored or transferred in compliance with the statutes relating to selling and dispensing drugs, refilling prescriptions, and the required dispensing data. This bill also clarifies, to eliminate a possible dual ownership of records, that, when a health care provider is employed by another health care provider, the owner of the medical records is the employer. A prohibition on removing patient records from the premises is modified to refer to the statutes relating to selling and dispensing drugs, refilling prescriptions, and the required dispensing data. The bill modifies the authority to disclose patient records "in the normal course of business in accordance with accepted standards of practice within the health services setting" to note that the maintenance, storage, and disclosure of the mass of prescription dispensing records must be accomplished only in compliance with the statues relating to selling and dispensing drugs, refilling prescriptions, and the required dispensing data. This bill adds as an "unlawful act" refusing to process a request, tendered in accordance with the regulations of the relevant health regulatory board or applicable statutory law, for patient records or prescription dispensing records after the closing of a business or professional practice or the transfer of ownership of a business or professional practice. This statute is also amended to note, however, that the law must not be construed to prohibit or prevent the owner of patient records from retaining copies of his patient records or prescription dispensing records after the closing of a business or professional practice or the transfer of ownership of a business or professional practice or the charging of a reasonable fee, not in excess of the amounts authorized § 8.01-413, for copies of patient records. "Change of ownership" is defined in the Drug Control Act to mean (i) the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the entity or of any corporation that owns or controls the entity; (ii) the creation of a partnership by a sole proprietor, the dissolution of a partnership, or change in partnership composition; (iii) the acquisition or disposal of 50 percent or more of the outstanding shares of voting stock of a corporation owning the entity or of the parent corporation of a wholly owned subsidiary owning the entity, except for a corporation in which the voting stock is actively traded on any securities exchange or in any over-the-counter market; (iv) the merger of a corporation owning the entity or of the parent corporation of a wholly owned subsidiary owning the entity with another business or corporation; or (v) the expiration or forfeiture of a corporation's charter. The pharmacy permitting statute is revised to require information on hours of operation and notice of a change in these hours which is expected to last more than one week. Cessation of the operation of a pharmacy requires the surrender of the pharmacy permit. The Board of Pharmacy is specifically authorized to promulgate regulations defining acquisition of an existing permitted, registered or licensed facility or of any corporation under which the facility is directly or indirectly organized, to provide for the transfer, confidentiality, integrity, and security of the pharmacy's prescription dispensing records, regardless of where located. The Board of Pharmacy will promulgate regulations providing for precise criteria for "closing of a pharmacy" and exceptions to the requirements of the closing statute. Upon any change of ownership of a pharmacy, regardless of how such change may be effectuated, the prescription dispensing records and other patient records for at least two years immediately prior to the change of ownership must be transferred to the new owner in a manner to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of the pharmacy's prescription dispensing records and other patient records and the continuity of pharmacy services at substantially the same level as that offered by the previous owner. Refusing to process a request for the prescription dispensing records and other patient records tendered in accordance with law or regulation will constitute a closing and the requirements of the closing statute will apply. Such refusal may constitute a violation of the general penalty statute (§ 54.1-111), depending on the circumstances. This bill has an emergency clause and an enactment requiring emergency regulations.


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