Revision: Dec. 3, 2019, 11 a.m.
HB 1536 - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2591
10/08
HOUSE BILL 1536
SPONSORS: Rep. Merchant, Sull. 4
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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ANALYSIS
This bill modifies the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist-in-charge, clarifies the inspection services provided by the board of pharmacy, and repeals a provision on requirements for written orders for schedule II controlled drugs. The bill also adds disciplinary authority for the pharmacy board in the controlled drug act.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2591
10/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Definition; Dispense; Distribute. Amend RSA 318:1, V and V-a to read as follows:
V. "Dispense" [means to distribute, leave with, give away, dispose of, deliver, or sell one or more doses of a drug that will be administered or taken at a later date, time, or location and shall include the transfer of more than a single dose of a medication from one container to another and the labeling or otherwise identifying a container holding more than a single dose of a drug.] or “dispensing” means the interpretation, evaluation, and implementation of a prescription drug order, including the preparation, final verification, and delivery of a drug or device to a patient or patient’s agent in a suitable container appropriately labeled for subsequent administration to, or use by, a patient.
V-a. “Distribute” or “distribution” means to sell, offer to sell, deliver, offer to deliver, broker, give away, or transfer a drug, whether by passage of title, physical movement, or both. The term does not include:
(1) To dispense or administer;
(2) Delivering or offering to deliver a drug by a common carrier in the usual course of business as a common carrier; or
(3) Providing a drug sample to a patient by a practitioner licensed to prescribe such drug; a health care professional acting at the direction and under the supervision of a practitioner; or the pharmacy of a hospital or of another health care entity that is acting at the direction of such a practitioner and that received such sample in accordance with this chapter and rules on administering or dispensing.
V-b. "Distributor" means a person or persons who supply or facilitate the supply of prescription drugs to persons other than consumers.
2 Definition; Duties; Pharmacist-in-charge. Amend RSA 318:1, X to read as follows:
X. "Pharmacist-in-charge" means the pharmacist who shall be responsible [for the practice of pharmacy in and by a pharmacy, including, but not limited to,] to the board for compliance with all local, state, and federal pharmacy and drug laws[, and who shall be responsible for the operation of the pharmacy in the best interests of the public]. A pharmacist-in-charge may delegate duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist-in-charge to a licensed pharmacy technician.
3 Board of Pharmacy; Inspection and Regulation of Certain Users of Prescription Drugs. Amend RSA 318:8-a to read as follows:
318:8-a Inspection and Regulation of Certain Users of Prescription Drugs. All physicians, veterinarians, dentists, advanced registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, naturopaths, and clinics under contract to the department of health and human services and agricultural, technical, or industrial users of prescription drugs [shall] may be subject to inspection and regulation by the board of pharmacy with regard to the storage, labeling, distribution, and disposal of prescription drugs if requested by the provider, the provider's respective board, or the user of prescription drugs.
4 Board of Pharmacy; Inspectional Services. Amend RSA 318:9-a to read as follows:
318:9-a Inspectional Services. The pharmacy board [shall] may provide inspectional services under this chapter and RSA 318-B:25 to the board of medicine, the board of veterinary medicine, the board of podiatry, the board of registration in optometry, the board of dental examiners, the board of nursing, [and] the naturopathic board of examiners, or other health profession licensing board upon the request of the respective board.
5 New Sections; Controlled Drug Act; Disciplinary Action By the Pharmacy Board; Penalties. Amend RSA 318-B by inserting after section 23 the following new sections:
318-B:23-a Disciplinary Action By the Pharmacy Board.
I. The pharmacy board may undertake disciplinary action against any pharmacist or other board licensee, permittee, registrant, or certificate holder:
(a) Upon its own initiative; or
(b) Upon written complaint of any person which alleges that a pharmacist or other licensee, permittee, registrant, or certificate holder has committed misconduct under paragraph II or IV of this section or any other applicable provision of this chapter, and which specifies the grounds therefor.
II. Misconduct sufficient to support disciplinary proceedings under this section shall include:
(a) The practice of fraud or deceit in procuring or attempting to procure a license, permit, registration, or certificate to practice under this chapter;
(b) Conviction of a felony or any offense involving moral turpitude;
(c) Any dishonest or unprofessional conduct, or gross or repeated negligent conduct in the practice of pharmacy or in performing activities ancillary to the practice of pharmacy or any particular aspect or specialty thereof;
(d) Behavior which demonstrates a clear conflict with the basic knowledge and competence expected of licensed pharmacists or any particular aspect or specialty of the practice of pharmacy, or any intentional act which demonstrates a clear inconsistency with the health and safety of persons making use of the professional services of any person regulated under this chapter;
(e) Addiction to the use of alcohol or other habit-forming drugs to a degree which renders him or her unfit to practice under this chapter;
(f) Mental or physical incompetency to practice under this chapter; or
(g) Willful or repeated violation of any provision of this chapter, any substantive rule of the pharmacy board, or any other federal, state, or local drug or pharmacy-related law, rule, or regulation.
III. The pharmacy board may take disciplinary action in any one or more of the following ways:
(a) By reprimand;
(b) By suspension, limitation or restriction of a license or probation for any period of time deemed reasonable by the board;
(c) By revocation of license;
(d) By assessing administrative fines in amounts established by the board;
(e) By requiring the person to participate in a program of continuing education in the area or areas in which he or she has been found deficient; or
(f) By requiring the person to submit to the care, observation or treatment of a physician, counseling service, health care facility, professional assistance program, or any comparable person or facility approved by the board.
IV. The pharmacy board may, after notice and hearing, suspend or revoke a pharmacy permit, license, or registration for grounds which include, but are not limited to:
(a) The suspension, revocation, or expiration of the pharmacist license of the pharmacist-in-charge.
(b) Termination of the employment of the pharmacist-in-charge with the pharmacy.
(c) Operation of the pharmacy in a manner that is in violation of federal, state, or local drug or pharmacy-related law, rule, or regulation.
(d) Conviction of the pharmacist-in-charge, an owner, a corporate officer, the corporation, or the pharmacy of a felony, a misdemeanor resulting from a violation of any federal, state, or local drug or pharmacy-related law, rule or regulation, or an act involving moral turpitude or gross immorality.
(e) Unsanitary conditions.
(f) Fraud, intentional misrepresentation or perjury in securing the permit, license, or registration or in any hearing before the board.
(g) Unprofessional conduct which includes, but is not limited to, violations of federal, state, or local drug or pharmacy-related laws, rules, or regulations, or other acts or omissions which, in the opinion of the board, pose a threat to the well-being or the safety of the public.
(h) Fee splitting for professional services. This does not prohibit rent payments under a rental or lease agreement for the operation of a pharmacy by a pharmacist or pharmacy to an individual licensed to prescribe medicine.
(i) Any ownership or control of an ownership interest of a pharmacy within the state by an individual licensed to prescribe medicine, or a corporation, professional association or partnership consisting of such prescriber or prescriber's immediate family members, except such corporations as are expressly exempt from income taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. This shall not include ownership of investment securities purchased by the practitioner on terms available to the general public and which are publicly traded. This subparagraph shall not apply to the ownership or control of an ownership interest of an institutional pharmacy operated within the state by or for hospitals, as defined in RSA 151:2, I(a), licensed by the state pursuant to RSA 151.
(j) The sale, rental, trade, transfer, or release of patient identifiable medical information for the purpose of sales or marketing of services or products without written authorization.
318-B:23-b Fines and Imprisonment; Penalties.
I. Any person violating the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.
II. In addition to the penalties under paragraph I, the pharmacy board may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 per violation upon any of its licensees, permittees, registrants, or certificate holders who willfully or repeatedly violate any provision of this chapter.
III. For any order issued in resolution of a disciplinary proceeding before the pharmacy board, the board may require that any licensee, permittee, registrant, or certificate holder found guilty of a charge involving any drug law or rule to pay to the board a sum not to exceed the reasonable cost of investigation and prosecution of the proceeding. The sum shall not exceed $5,000. The costs to be assessed shall be fixed by the board and any sums recovered shall be paid to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund.
6 Repeal. RSA 318-B:7, relative to requirements for written orders for schedule II controlled drugs, is repealed.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.