Posts Tagged ‘pharmacy law’
New Jersey signs Five-Day Opioid Prescription Bill into Law
Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law Assembly Bill 3, which, among other things: 1. Limits doctors’ ability to issue first-time opioid prescriptions for more than five days; 2. Mandates that doctors create a pain-management treatment plan regarding the use of opioids and review prescriptions every three months; and 3. Requires doctors…
Read MoreAlabama's Proposed Action to Reschedule Seven Controlled Substances
The Alabama Department of Public Health recently filed a “Notice of Intended Action” to amend Alabama’s current Controlled Substance List by rescheduling seven substances to a higher schedule due to the potentials of abuse as recommended by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. The seven substances the Alabama Department of Public Health proposes to reclassify…
Read MoreOhio Pharmacy Law: Expanding the Powers of the Pharmacist
Ohio House Bill 188 (HB 188), which passed last year, greatly expands the role of the Ohio pharmacist by streamlining the collaborative practice agreement paperwork and allowing physicians to enter into an agreement with multiple pharmacists to manage drug therapy for their patients. Under an Ohio collaborative practice agreement, pharmacists can order blood or urine…
Read MoreIn-Home Pharmacist Visits for the Elderly: An Illinois Test Program.
The State of Illinois is testing a new program where pharmacists visit elderly patients at their homes and counsel them on their prescriptions. According to multiple studies, up to two-thirds of medications prescribed by doctors are taken incorrectly. In an effort to address this, the Illinois Department of Aging has partnered with suburban Chicago based…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Pharmacy Law Update: Properly Identifying the Compounding Risk Levels and Notifying the Board
Pharmacies that hold a permit in North Carolina and engage in any type of compounding are required to notify the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy (Board). Pharmacies must report (both on their initial permit application and as part of each annual renewal) the following: Whether they compound; A good-faith estimate of the percentage of the…
Read MoreColorado Senate Bill 16-158: Physician Assistant's Performing Functions Delegated by a Physician
On June 1, 2016, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed Senate Bill 16-158: Concerning the Ability of a Physician Assistant to Perform Functions Delegated by a Physician that are within the Physician Assistant’s Scope of Practice. The bill, which went into effect on August 10, 2016, requires that a physician assistant prescription order meet the…
Read MoreCVS Agrees to Pay Millions to Settle Allegations of Filling Forged Prescriptions
Earlier this year, CVS paid $8 million for alleged violations of the Controlled Substance Act in its Maryland pharmacies. Last week, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that CVS has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle allegations that its pharmacists filled forged prescriptions, mostly for addictive painkillers, between 2011 and…
Read MoreTwo Pharmacists Sentenced to Prison for Adulteration of Drugs
On June 21, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that two Alabama pharmacists were sentenced to prison terms of 12 and 10 months for their roles in the distribution of adulterated drugs. The drugs in question were compounded at the now-defunct compounding pharmacy Advanced Specialty Pharmacy (dba: Meds IV.) Meds IV allegedly compounded numerous drugs…
Read MoreA Texas Compounder, the FDA and the Texas Board of Pharmacy: State or Federal Oversight?
Last month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted health care professionals and patients not to use drug products intended to be sterile that are produced and distributed by IV Specialty of Austin, Texas, due to lack of sterility assurance. The FDA found numerous safety issues during its February 2016 which prompted them to recommend…
Read MoreVeterinary Compounding: Recent State Legislation Updates
State boards of pharmacy continue to have primary responsibility of the day-to-day oversight of state-licensed pharmacies that compound drugs in accordance with Section 503A of the Food and Drug Cosmetic Act (FDCA) while the FDA regulates and inspects registered outsourcing facilities licensed under Section 503B of the FDCA. While the exact definition of compounding may vary…
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