hb 0126

CHAPTER 282

HB 126-FN - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to the board of pharmacy and the regulation of pharmacists.

SPONSORS: Rep. Millham, Belk 4; Rep. Dyer, Hills 8

This bill clarifies certain definitions, allows graduates of Canadian colleges of pharmacy to directly apply for examination and licensure, and increases the per diem compensation paid to members of the board of pharmacy. This bill also adds rulemaking provisions for pharmacy technicians.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to the board of pharmacy and the regulation of pharmacists.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

282:1 Pharmacists and Pharmacies; Definitions; Pharmacist-in-Charge. Amend RSA 318:1, X to read as follows:

X. "Pharmacist-in-charge" means the pharmacist [~~who registers a pharmacy and~~] who shall be responsible for the practice of pharmacy in and by [~~that~~] a pharmacy, including, but not limited to, 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.

282:2 Pharmacists and Pharmacies; Definitions; Prescription. Amend RSA 318:1, XVI to read as follows:

XVI. "Prescription" means a verbal [or], written, or facsimile or electronically transmitted order for drugs, medicines and devices by a licensed practitioner, to be compounded and dispensed by licensed pharmacists in a duly registered pharmacy, and to be kept on file for a period of 4 years. Prescriptions may also apply to the finished products dispensed by the licensed pharmacist in the registered pharmacy, on order of a licensed practitioner as defined in this section.

282:3 Pharmacists and Pharmacies; Definitions; Prescription Drug. Amend RSA 318:1, XVII to read as follows:

(a) A drug which under federal law is required, prior to being dispensed or delivered, to be labelled with [~~either~~] any of the following statements:

[~~(a)~~] (1) "Caution federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription", or

[~~(b)~~] (2) "Caution federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of the licensed veterinarian"[;], or

(b) A drug which is required by any applicable federal or state law or regulation to be dispensed on prescription only or is restricted to use by practitioners.

282:4 Pharmacists; Examination and Licensure. Amend RSA 318:18, I to read as follows:

I.(a) An applicant for examination and licensure as a pharmacist shall have graduated with the basic, professional pharmacy baccalaureate degree or pharmacy doctor degree from a school of pharmacy, college of pharmacy, or pharmacy department of a university approved by the board including programs accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education [~~and approved by the New Hampshire pharmacy board~~] or the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs or, if a graduate of a foreign school or college of pharmacy other than Canadian, the applicant shall be fully certified by the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee (FPGEC) which shall include passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), with scores approved by the board of pharmacy as set forth in the rules.

(b) In addition to the above, all applicants for examination and licensure as a pharmacist shall:

(3) File proof satisfactory to the board, substantiated by proper affidavits, of a minimum of one year (1,500 hours) internship activity in a community or institutional pharmacy in the United States or Canada or an equivalent program which has been approved by the board of pharmacy; and shall pass the national examination given by the pharmacy board to establish his or her fitness to practice the profession of pharmacy. The internship required in this section shall be service and experience in a community or institutional pharmacy under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist and shall be predominantly related to the selling of drugs and medical supplies; interpreting, compounding, preparing and dispensing of prescriptions; preparing of pharmaceutical products; keeping records and making reports required under federal and state statutes; and otherwise practicing pharmacy under the immediate supervision and direction of a licensed pharmacist.

282:5 Rulemaking; Punctuation Corrected. Amend RSA 318:5-a, VIII and IX to read as follows:

VIII. Procedures for the conduct of hearings consistent with the requirements of due process; [~~and~~]

282:6 Rulemaking; Pharmacy Technicians. RSA 318:5-a, X and XI are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

(b) The duties, functions, and standards of conduct of registered pharmacy technicians;

XI. The establishment of fees for registration of pharmacy technicians, including a fee for renewal of registration.

I. The board shall, upon application and hearing, issue a permit to maintain and operate a pharmacy to such persons, firms, or corporations as they deem qualified to conduct a pharmacy. The permit shall be issued to the pharmacy in the name of the [~~pharmacist designated as the pharmacist-in-charge by~~] corporation or the owner of the pharmacy. This permit, to be known as a pharmacy permit, shall certify that the designated pharmacist-in-charge has accepted the responsibility for the safe, effective operation of a pharmacy and compliance with all pharmacy and drug laws or regulations; that the premises named in the permit are a fit place to practice pharmacy including, but not limited to, the compounding[,] and dispensing of medicines upon prescriptions and for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of drugs, medicines, and poisons; and that such premises and acts shall be under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist. The holder of a pharmacy permit may keep this pharmacy open at all hours for the compounding, dispensing, and sale of drugs and medicines provided that a pharmacist is present and on duty; except that in an institutional setting, in the absence of a pharmacist, a registered nurse, designated by the institution for this purpose, may enter and obtain from an institutional pharmacy such drugs as are needed in an emergency situation or as may otherwise be provided for in this chapter. The applicant for a pharmacy permit or a renewal thereof shall provide the board with all information it deems necessary for determining the applicant's qualifications to own and operate a pharmacy in the public interest.

II. All pharmacy permits shall expire [~~when the pharmacist license of the pharmacist-in-charge expires or is suspended or revoked; when the employment of a pharmacist-in-charge terminates;~~] when there is a change of ownership of the pharmacy[;] or at midnight on December 31 of each year[~~; or whichever occurs first~~]. Every pharmacy that wishes to continue to operate as such shall renew its permit annually as of January 1 or immediately when the permit expires for any other reason. It shall be deemed a violation of the provisions of this chapter for any pharmacy to be open or operated beyond the expiration date of its permit.

282:8 Controlled Drug Act; Definitions; Prescription. Amend RSA 318-B:1, XXVII to read as follows:

XXVIII. "Prescription" means a verbal, written, or [~~oral~~] facsimile or electronically transmitted order for any controlled drug or preparation from a licensed practitioner to a pharmacist for a patient;