Senate Bill No. 722
(By Senators Prezioso and Unger)
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[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §30-5-3, §30-5-14 and §30-5-21 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
regulation by the Board of Pharmacy of ambulatory health care
facilities and free clinics who dispense pharmaceuticals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-5-3, §30-5-14 and §30-5-21 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 5. PHARMACISTS, PHARMACY TECHNICIANS, PHARMACY INTERNS
AND PHARMACIES.
§30-5-3. When licensed pharmacist required; person not licensed
pharmacist, pharmacy technician or licensed intern not
to compound prescriptions or dispense poisons or
narcotics; licensure of interns; prohibiting the
dispensing of prescription orders in absence of practitioner-patient relationship.
(a) It is unlawful for any person not a pharmacist, or who
does not employ a pharmacist, to conduct any pharmacy or store for
the purpose of retailing, compounding or dispensing prescription
drugs or prescription devices.
(b) It is unlawful for the proprietor of any store or
pharmacy,
any ambulatory health care facility, as that term is
defined in section one, article five-b, chapter sixteen of this
code, that offers pharmaceutical care or a facility operated to
provide health care or mental health care services free of charge
or at a reduced rate that offers pharmaceutical care to permit any
person not a pharmacist to compound or dispense prescriptions or
prescription refills or to retail or dispense the poisons and
narcotic drugs named in sections two, three and six, article eight,
chapter sixteen of this code:
Provided, That a licensed intern may
compound and dispense prescriptions or prescription refills under
the direct supervision of a pharmacist:
Provided, however, That
registered pharmacy technicians may assist in the preparation and
dispensing of prescriptions or prescription refills including, but
not limited to, reconstitution of liquid medications, typing and
affixing labels under the direct supervision of a licensed
pharmacist.
(c) It is the duty of a pharmacist or employer who employs an
intern to license the intern with the board within ninety days
after employment. The board shall furnish proper forms for this purpose and shall issue a certificate to the intern upon licensure.
(d) The experience requirement for licensure as a pharmacist
shall be computed from the date certified by the supervising
pharmacist as the date of entering the internship. If the
internship is not registered with the Board of Pharmacy, then the
intern shall receive no credit for such experience when he or she
makes application for examination for licensure as a pharmacist:
Provided, That credit may be given for such unregistered experience
if an appeal is made and evidence produced showing experience was
obtained but not registered and that failure to register the
internship experience was not the fault of the intern.
(e) An intern having served part or all of his or her
internship in a pharmacy in another state or foreign country shall
be given credit for the same when the affidavit of his or her
internship is signed by the pharmacist under whom he or she served
and it shows the dates and number of hours served in the internship
and when the affidavit is attested by the secretary of the state
Board of Pharmacy of the state or country where the internship was
served.
(f) Up to one third of the experience requirement for
licensure as a pharmacist may be fulfilled by an internship in a
foreign country.
(g) No pharmacist may compound or dispense any prescription
order when he or she has knowledge that the prescription was issued
by a practitioner without establishing an ongoing practitioner-patient relationship. An online or telephonic
evaluation by questionnaire is inadequate to establish an
appropriate practitioner-patient relationship:
Provided, That this
prohibition does not apply:
(1) In a documented emergency;
(2) In an on-call or cross-coverage situation; or
(3) Where patient care is rendered in consultation with
another practitioner who has an ongoing relationship with the
patient and who has agreed to supervise the patient's treatment,
including the use of any prescribed medications.
§30-5-14. Pharmacies to be registered; permit to operate; fees;
pharmacist to conduct business.
(a) The Board of Pharmacy shall require and provide for the
annual registration of every pharmacy doing business in this state,
including an ambulatory health care facility, as that term is
defined in section one, article five-b, chapter sixteen of this
code, that offers pharmaceutical care or a facility operated to
provide health care or mental health care services free of charge
or at a reduced rate that offers pharmaceutical care. Any person,
firm, corporation or partnership desiring to operate, maintain,
open or establish a pharmacy in this state shall apply to the Board
of Pharmacy for a permit to do so. The application for such permit
shall be made on a form prescribed and furnished by the Board of
Pharmacy which, when properly executed, shall indicate the owner,
manager, trustee, lessee, receiver or other person or persons desiring such permit, as well as the location of such pharmacy,
including street and number, and
any
other information as the Board
of Pharmacy may require. If it is desired to operate, maintain,
open or establish more than one pharmacy, separate application
shall be made and separate permits or licenses shall be issued for
each.
(b) Every initial application for a permit shall be
accompanied by the required fee of one hundred fifty dollars. The
fee for renewal of such permit or license shall be one hundred
dollars annually.
(c) If an application is approved, the Secretary of the Board
of Pharmacy shall issue to the applicant a permit or license for
each pharmacy for which application is made. Permits or licenses
issued under this section shall not be transferable and shall
expire on the thirtieth day of June of each calendar year and if
application for renewal of permit or license is not made on or
before that date, or a new one granted on or before the first day
of August, following, the old permit or license shall lapse and
become null and void and shall require an inspection of the
pharmacy and a fee of one hundred fifty dollars plus one hundred
fifty dollars for the inspection.
(d) Every place of business so registered shall employ a
pharmacist in charge and operate in compliance with the general
provisions governing the practice of pharmacy and the operation of
a pharmacy.
(e) The provisions of this section shall have no application
to the sale of nonprescription drugs which are not required to be
dispensed pursuant to a practitioner's prescription.
§30-5-21. Limitations of article.
(a) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent,
restrict or in any manner interfere with the sale of nonnarcotic
nonprescription drugs which may be lawfully sold without a
prescription in accordance with the United States Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act or the laws of this state, nor shall any rule be
adopted by the board which shall require the sale of
nonprescription drugs by a licensed pharmacist or in a pharmacy or
which shall prevent, restrict or otherwise interfere with the sale
or distribution of such drugs by any retail merchant. The sale or
distribution of nonprescription drugs shall not be deemed to be
improperly engaging in the practice of pharmacy.
(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to interfere
with any legally qualified practitioner of medicine, dentistry or
veterinary medicine, who is not the proprietor of the store for the
dispensing or retailing of drugs and who is not in the employ of
such proprietor, in the compounding of his or her own prescriptions
or to prevent him or her from supplying to his or her patients such
medicines as he or she may deem proper, if such supply is not made
as a sale.
(c) The exception provided in subsection (b) of this section
does not apply to an ambulatory health care facility, as that term is defined in section one, article five-b, chapter sixteen of this
code, that offers pharmaceutical care or a facility operated to
provide health care or mental health care services free of charge
or at a reduced rate that offers pharmaceutical care.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant regulatory power
to the Board of Pharmacy of ambulatory health care facilities and
free clinics who dispense pharmaceuticals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)
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