Prescription drug refills: prescriber notifications., the official text

An act to amend Section 4064 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to prescription drugs.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to, among other things, perform certain procedures or functions and furnish specified drugs. Existing law authorizes the refilling of a prescription for a dangerous drug without the authorization of the prescriber if the prescriber is unavailable to authorize the refill and, in the pharmacist’s professional judgment, failure to refill the prescription might interrupt the patient’s ongoing care and have a significant adverse effect on the patient’s well-being. Existing law requires a pharmacist to notify the prescriber, as specified, of any prescription refilled without their authorization.
This bill would only require a pharmacist to provide that notification if a prescriber is identified.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 4064 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
4064.
(a) A prescription for a dangerous drug or dangerous device may be refilled without the prescriber’s authorization if the prescriber is unavailable to authorize the refill and if, in the pharmacist’s professional judgment, failure to refill the prescription might interrupt the patient’s ongoing care and have a significant adverse effect on the patient’s well-being.
(b) The pharmacist shall inform the patient that the prescription was refilled pursuant to this section.
(c) The pharmacist shall inform the prescriber within a reasonable period of time of any refills dispensed pursuant to this section, if a prescriber is identified.
(d) The prescriber shall not incur any liability as the result of a refilling of a prescription pursuant to this section.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 4060 or any other law, a person may possess a dangerous drug or dangerous device furnished without prescription pursuant to this section.