North Carolina News: Item 2129 - Pharmacist-Manager Responsibilities in Board Investigations

January 1, 2007 12:43 pm

Reprinted from the January 2007 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Rule .1317(25) states that the pharmacist-manager is “the person who accepts responsibility for the operation of a pharmacy in conformance with all statutes and regulations pertinent to the practice of pharmacy and distribution of drugs by signing the permit application, its renewal or addenda thereto.” In recent months, Board investigators increasingly have had their requests for required pharmacy records met with refusals by pharmacist-managers, who then direct the investigators to contact a district manager or a corporate office. Some district managers and corporate officials have, in turn, increasingly taken the position that Board investigators are not entitled to pharmacy records unless written requests are made or subpoenas issued by the Board. And, even then, requests have been disregarded or met with “legal” objections of highly dubious validity.
 

Pharmacist-managers are reminded that it is not Board investigators’ responsibility to seek required records from district managers, corporate officials, or anyone else. If a pharmacist-manager feels that he or she must reach out to such parties to produce required pharmacy records, it is the responsibility of the pharmacist-manager – and not the Board investigator – to make those efforts. At the end of the day, it is the pharmacist-manager who bears direct, personal responsibility for producing required records in conformance with the laws and rules governing the practice of pharmacy. The Board recognizes that, in some instances, corporations have put into place various record policies, but no corporate policy can supersede the requirements of law. It is the pharmacist’s license that is in jeopardy when Board investigators’ requests are disregarded or stonewalled.
 

The Board appreciates the cooperation of pharmacist-managers in meeting their legal obligations and protecting the public health and safety.