H. B. 4062
(By Delegates Foster, Perdue and Brown)
[Introduced January 19, 2004; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Government
Organization .]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §30-5-12a, relating
to regulation of pharmaceutical detailers; authorizing the
board of pharmacy to license detailers; providing
qualifications; renewal of licenses; continuing education; and
misdemeanor penalty for violation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-5-12a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5. PHARMACISTS, PHARMACY TECHNICIANS, PHARMACY INTERNS
AND PHARMACIES.
§30-5-12a.
Pharmaceutical detailers license; qualifications;
license renewal; continuing education; misdemeanor
offense.
(a) No person may engage in pharmaceutical detailing, which
for the purposes of this section means "any person acting in an
educational role as the representative of a pharmaceutical
company," unless that person, and the company represented by the
person, has first secured a marketing license from the board.
Lobbyists for pharmaceutical manufacturers are specifically
excluded from the definition of pharmaceutical detailing and the
provisions of this section. A person who violates any provision of
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined to the county or regional jail, fined no
more than five thousand dollars, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) The board of pharmacy shall promulgate, by rule, standards
and procedures necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
(c) The rules shall require, in order to be licensed as a
pharmaceutical detailer within the meaning of this section, a
person must present to the board satisfactory evidence that the
person is a graduate of a recognized institution of higher
education with at least a bachelor's degree in pharmacy or a
chemical or physical or biological science
: Provided, That persons
engaged in pharmaceutical detailing prior to the effective date of
this section are exempt from the education requirements of this
subsection.
(d) The rules shall require each licensee to pay an annual fee
initially on or before the first day of October, two thousand four and then each year thereafter. The annual license fee for persons
engaged in pharmaceutical detailing is one hundred dollars.
(e) The term of the license is one year and an annual renewal
license may not be issued until the pharmaceutical detailer submits
proof to the board of pharmacy that the licensee has satisfactorily
completed ten hours in an accredited program of continuing
professional education during the previous year to assure the
licensee's continued competence to engage in the practice of
pharmaceutical detailer. The board may approve continuing
professional education in activities such as lectures, seminars,
workshops, formal classes, in service programs or correspondence
courses and others as may from time to time be determined.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to regulate pharmaceutical
detailers and to require licensing of these individuals.
This section
is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.