Idaho News: Legislative Session

June 1, 2007 4:18 pm

Published in the June 2007 Idaho Board of Pharmacy Newsletter

Well, the 2007 legislative session has ended, and as always there has been some interesting outcomes for pharmacy.
The Temporary Rules 265, 267, 268, and 269 authorizing specific pharmacies and pharmacists participating in a Remote Dispensing Pilot Program were approved and will remain in effect as temporary rules until the next legislative session. The Board requested these rules remain temporary for further monitoring; they have been in effect since June 16, 2006.
Rule 464 Filling of a Prescription for a Controlled Substance. On July 31, 2006, specific language was added to this rule and implemented as a temporary rule delineating the positive identification information that pharmacies must keep when dispensing CS prescriptions. The proposed rule changes also specifically set out the standards to be met by the pharmacies with respect to retrieval of the positive identification obtained.
Continuation of this rule was not approved by the legislature and the new language is no longer in effect. However, the original language is still in effect, and persons receiving CS shall be positively identified by staff at the pharmacy at the time any CS is dispensed directly to an individual at the pharmacy.
Rule 142. 02 and Rule 471 Theft Loss Reports. Both rules have similar language. The new language reads as follows:
it is the duty of every Registrant to report any theft or loss of controlled substances to the Board, even if the theft or loss has been accounted for and the employee disciplined internally. The report of the theft or loss required hereunder shall contain all of the information reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as required under 21 CFR 1301.74 (c), which information shall be reported to the Board at the same time it is reported to the DEA. The required reporting time is within twenty-four hours.
House Bill 158 added new language to Idaho Code 54-1727 Confidentiality of Prescriptions and Patient Information. The new language, which was inadvertently omitted in the original bill, addresses the means by which law enforcement may obtain patient information. The new section under (l) reads as follows: “nothing in this section shall prohibit disclosure of patient specific information to law enforcement authorities pursuant to a search warrant, subpoena, or other court order.”
Senate Bill 1184 introduced by Pfizer Inc amends Chapter 17, Title 54 of the Idaho Code by the addition of new sections 54-1751 through 54-1759 and shall be known and may be cited as the “Idaho Wholesale
Drug Distribution Act.” immediate effect on pharmacies but will have an impact on the Board requiring the promulgation and adoption of rules to further clarify the intentions of the bill. It will also have a significant effect on the nearly 700 wholesalers and distributors licensed by the Board. Over the past few
years there have been an increasing number of counterfeit medications that have made their way into the wholesale distribution chain eventually ending up in the hands of patients. This bill, and the ensuing rules to follow, will hopefully have a significant impact on counterfeit, adulterated, and misbranded drugs from entering the distribution chain. This is accomplished, in part, by tightening the requirements in the licensing of wholesalers and posting of bonds and establishes pedigree requirements ensuring the integrity of medications and provides enforcement powers to the Board and imposition of penalties.