Signed by Governor Michael Dunleavy

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends pharmacy procedures and guidelines for epinephrine prescriptions and administration.

Highlights:

• Requires that one member of the Board of Pharmacy be a pharmacy technician licensed in the state for 2 years immediately preceding appointment (Sec. 1).

• Requires that one member of the Board of Pharmacy be a person with no direct financial interest in the healthcare industry (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the board the ability to (Sec. 2):

• License and regulate the qualifications of entities and individuals engaged in the manufacture or distribution of drugs and related devices;

• Establish standards for the independent prescribing and administration of vaccines and relate emergency medications, including an epinephrine auto-injector training program;

• Require that a licensed pharmacist who dispenses a schedule 2, 3 or 4 controlled substance under federal law to a person in the state register with the controlled substance prescription database;

• License and inspect the facilities of pharmacies and manufacturers;

• License Internet-based pharmacies provide services to residents in the state; and

• And adopt regulations pertaining to retired pharmacist status.

• Authorizes the board to suspend, revoke, deny, or refuse to renew the license of a facility or pharmacy due to dispensing or distributing drugs or devices directly to patients by a wholesale drug distributor other than a pharmacy unless (Sec. 4):

• The drug or device is a dialysate drug composed of fluids, electrolytes, and sugars or a device that is necessary to perform home dialysis, is approved by the FDA, and delivered in its original packaging;

• The wholesale distributor delivers the dialysate drug or device directly to a patient with end-stage renal disease, uses barcode scanning and a verification system confirming the order matches the patient, and has secondary accuracy and delivery checks; and

• A licensed pharmacist serves as a consultant to a wholesale drug distributor in order to conduct a retrospective audit of 10% of the dialysate drug and device orders directly provided to patients every month and perform assessments at least twice a month to ensure quality storage, handling, and distribution.

• Requires that before distributing or delivering a prescription drug to a person in a state or advertising in the state, a pharmacy, manufacturer, wholesale distributor, third-party logistics provider, or outsourcing facility must (Sec. 6):

• Obtain a license;

• Appoint an agent on whom the process can be serves in the state; and

• And authorize inspection of the facility by a designee of the board.

• Authorizes the board the power to inspect a pharmacy or manufacturer’s facility located outside the state if they have applied for a license (Sec. 7).

• Requires that if the executive administrator employed by the board has a pharmacist license, they are entitled to a monthly salary based on the salary classification for pharmacists (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits the use of the word apothecary unless the business has a licensed pharmacist in regular and continuous employment (Sec. 11).

• Authorizes the department to submit fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to obtain a national criminal history record check of the person for the purpose of evaluating a person’s qualifications for licensure as a pharmacist or pharmacy technician (Sec. 12).

• Authorizes a person 18 years or older to obtain a prescription to administer epinephrine to another person with an auto-injector in an emergency situation if they have completed a training approved by the board (Sec. 13).

• Requires that the board adopts standards for the approval of a training program for the use of epinephrine auto-injectors (Sec. 14).

• Prohibits a claim for relief being brought against an individual who completed an auto-injector training program approved by the board due to administering epinephrine to another individual in an emergency situation (Sec. 17).

Full Bill Text