Centralized hospital packaging pharmacies.

Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacies, including hospital pharmacies, by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law prohibits the operation of a pharmacy without a license and a separate license is required for each pharmacy location. Under existing law, a hospital pharmacy, as defined, includes a pharmacy located outside of the hospital in another physical plant. However, as a condition of licensure by the board for these pharmacies, pharmaceutical services may only be provided to registered hospital patients who are on the premises of the same physical plant in which the pharmacy is located. A knowing violation of the Pharmacy Law is a crime. This bill would authorize a centralized hospital packaging pharmacy, as defined, to prepare medications, by performing specified functions, for administration only to inpatients within its own general acute care hospital and one or more general acute care hospitals if the hospitals are under common ownership. The bill would prohibit a person from conducting a centralized hospital packaging pharmacy without a specialty license from the board and would require applicants to apply annually to the board on forms developed by the board. The bill would condition both the issuance and renewal of a specialty license on a board inspection of the centralized hospital packaging pharmacy to ensure that the pharmacy is in compliance with the bill's provisions and regulations established by the board. The bill would impose specified issuance and annual renewal fees for a specialty license and because these fees would be deposited into the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would impose various requirements on centralized hospital packaging pharmacies, including, but not limited to, that the expiration date for drugs prepared in advance of receipt of a patient specific prescription shall not exceed 72 hours, that medications be barcoded to be readable at the inpatient's bedside, and that medication labels contain specified information. The bill would make these pharmacies and pharmacists responsible for the integrity, potency, quality, and labeled strength of any unit dose drug product prepared by the packaging pharmacy. Because a knowing violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.