(a) A pharmacist dispensing a prescription for a drug product prescribed by its brand name may select any equivalent drug product which meets the following standards:
(1) The manufacturer's name and the distributor's name, if different from the manufacturer's name, shall appear on the label of the stock package;
(2) It shall be manufactured in accordance with current good manufacturing practices;
(3) Effective January 1, 1982, all oral solid dosage forms shall have a logo, or other identification mark, or the product name to identify the manufacturer or distributor;
(4) The manufacturer shall have adequate provisions for drug recall; and
(5) The manufacturer shall have adequate provisions for return of outdated drugs, through his distributor or otherwise.
(b) The pharmacist shall not select an equivalent drug product if the prescriber instructs otherwise by one of the following methods:
(1) A prescription form shall be preprinted or stamped with two signature lines at the bottom of the form which read:
"_______________________ __________________
Product Selection Permitted Dispense as Written"
On this form, the prescriber shall communicate his instructions to the pharmacist by signing the appropriate line.
(2) In the event the preprinted or stamped prescription form specified in (b)(1) is not readily available, the prescriber may handwrite "Dispense as Written" or words or abbreviations of the same meaning on a prescription form.
(3) When ordering a prescription orally, the prescriber shall specify either that the prescribed drug product be dispensed as written or that product selection is permitted. The pharmacist shall note the instructions on the file copy of the prescription and retain the prescription form for the period prescribed by law.
(b1) A prescription for a narrow therapeutic index drug shall be refilled using only the same drug product by the same manufacturer that the pharmacist last dispensed under the prescription, unless the prescriber is notified by the pharmacist prior to the dispensing of another manufacturer's product, and the prescriber and the patient give documented consent to the dispensing of the other manufacturer's product. For purposes of this subsection, the term "refilled" shall include a new prescription written at the expiration of a prescription which continues the patient's therapy on a narrow therapeutic index drug.
(c) The pharmacist shall not select an equivalent drug product unless its price to the purchaser is less than the price of the prescribed drug product. (1979, c. 1017, s. 1; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1188, s. 3; 1997-76, s. 2.)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014