Pharmacy: dispensing: controlled substances.

The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensing and regulation of pharmacists by the California State Board of Pharmacy, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a person from possessing any controlled substance, except that furnished to a person upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, veterinarian, or another of prescribed healing arts licensees pursuant to existing law. A violation of the Pharmacy Law is a crime. This bill, with certain exceptions, on and after June 30, 2022, would require a pharmacist who dispenses in solid oral dosage form a controlled substance in Schedule II or Schedule IIN of the federal Controlled Substances Act to dispense it in a lockable vial, as defined, provide a specified opioid factsheet, and, if the lockable vial uses an alphanumeric passcode or other code, include the code in any patient notes in the database or other system used by the pharmacy in the dispensing of prescription drugs. The patient, the patient's parent or legal guardian if the patient is a minor or otherwise unable to authorize medical care, or the conservator of the patient if the conservator has been given the power to make health care decisions for the patient, would choose the code, except as specified. The bill would require the manufacturer of a controlled substance to reimburse the pharmacy each month for the cost of lockable vials used by the pharmacy to dispense controlled substances within 30 days of receiving a claim for reimbursement, and would require the manufacturer to pay, among other costs, the net acquisition cost of the lockable vials and dispensing costs. The bill would make the manufacturer subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day the manufacturer is delinquent in reimbursing the pharmacy. The bill would require a vendor that contracts with a pharmacy to provide lockable vials to make available at all times assistance online or through a toll-free phone number for patient use. The bill would make a prescriber not liable for adverse consequences resulting from specified events relating to the lockable vials, except as specified. The bill would authorize the board to adopt regulations to carry out the bill. The bill would require the board to assess a fine for a violation of these provisions by a pharmacist, but would also authorize the board to choose not to take administrative action against a pharmacy if the board determines that compliance with the law would create a financial hardship on the pharmacy or that the pharmacy is temporarily out of stock of lockable vials, as provided. The bill would specify that a violation of these provisions shall not be punishable as a misdemeanor.