News
Colorado Pharmacy Reaches HIPAA Settlement
Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Cornell Prescription Pharmacy (Cornell Pharmacy) in Denver, Colorado agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). As part of the settlement, Cornell Pharmacy has agreed to pay a $125,000 penalty…
Read MoreAnalyzing Colorado 2014 Prescription Drug Outlet Disciplinary Actions: Repeated Deficiencies
Baer Law recently completed an analysis of thirty-two (32) separate disciplinary actions against Colorado Prescription Drug Outlets (PDOs) by the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy (Board). The Board registers and licenses pharmacy businesses, both in-state and out-of-state, including: Prescription Drug Outlets; Wholesale distributors of prescription drugs; Manufacturers of prescription drugs; Other outlets; and Limited licenses.…
Read MoreAnalyzing Colorado Pharmacist 2014 Disciplinary Actions: Controlled Substances, Red Flags and Pharmacist Corresponding Responsibility
Baer Law recently completed an analysis of thirty-three (33) separate 2014 disciplinary cases against Colorado pharmacists by the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy (Board). Certain cases, especially those involving controlled substance dispensing errors and pharmacists dispensing controlled substances when no valid patient-prescriber relationship existed, should be of particular interest to all licensed Colorado pharmacists. Out…
Read MoreDesigner Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 (H.R. 4771)
In December 2014, President Obama signed into law H.R. 4771, the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act (DASCA) of 2014. The DASCA amends the Controlled Substance Act and adds over 20 specified substances to the list of those included within the definition of “anabolic steroid” and provides that a drug or hormone substance (other than estrogens,…
Read MoreHIPAA Award Upheld After Pharmacist Shared Patient Data
Last week, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a $1.4 million verdict against Walgreens and one of its pharmacists who violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) when she reviewed prescription records of a woman who had once dated her husband. In short, the facts of the case are as follows: The pharmacist…
Read MoreUniversity to Install Prescription Drug Vending Machine on Campus
Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona, is installing a vending machine for prescription medications after the closure of its on-campus pharmacy two months ago. Minneapolis-based InstyMeds will reportedly start dispensing medications in the ASU Health Service Building within a couple of weeks. ASU would be only the second university to get an InstyMeds machine, which…
Read MoreCalifornia Bilingual Prescription Label Update
How often are pharmacy prescription label instructions translated incorrectly? Should pharmacists who are fluent only in English be required to fill prescriptions with instructions in a foreign language? Who counsels the non-English speaking patients regarding their prescription(s) and/or side effects of the medication(s)? Who is ultimately liable for the incorrect translated instructions in the event…
Read MoreGeorgia Board of Pharmacy Requiring Non-Resident Pharmacy Licensure
Until recently, the State of Georgia did not require non-resident pharmacies to obtain a license to ship medications into the State of Georgia. However, at the Georgia Board of Pharmacy’s (GBOP) September 2014 meeting, the GBOP enacted rules requiring non-resident pharmacies to obtain a non-resident pharmacy license before dispensing medications into the State of Georgia.…
Read MorePharmacists Must Ensure Prescription Orders are Issued for a Legitimate Medical Purpose by an Authorized Prescriber and Have a Recognized Medical Utility or Application
As discussed previously on the Baer Law Blog, corresponding responsibility remains one of the most misunderstood or unknown concepts found in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) regulations. The DEA’s regulations (21 CFR 1306.04) regarding corresponding responsibility state: A prescription for a controlled substance to be effective must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an…
Read MoreCountdown to October 6, 2014: Hydrocodone Containing Product Reclassification
As discussed previously here on the Baer Law Blog, after more than a decade of debate, hydrocodone containing products (HCPs) are being reclassified from Schedule III to the more restrictive Schedule II controlled substances category starting October 6, 2014. HCPs are the most prescribed drug in the United States, second only to levothyroxine, a thyroid…
Read More