KRS 315.121: Grounds for acting against licensee -- Notification to board of

conviction required -- Petition for reinstatement -- Expungement.

(1) The board may refuse to issue or renew a license, permit, or certificate to, or

may suspend, temporarily suspend, revoke, fine, place on probation,

reprimand, reasonably restrict, or take any combination of these actions

against any licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder for the following

reasons:

(a) Unprofessional or unethical conduct;

(b) Mental or physical incapacity that prevents the licensee, permit holder, or

certificate holder from engaging or assisting in the practice of pharmacy

or the wholesale distribution or manufacturing of drugs with reasonable

skill, competence, and safety to the public;

(c) Being convicted of, or entering an "Alford" plea or plea of nolo contendere

to, irrespective of an order granting probation or suspending imposition of

any sentence imposed following the conviction or entry of such plea, one

(1) or more or the following, if in accordance with KRS Chapter 335B:

1. A crime as defined in KRS 335B.010; or

2. A violation of the pharmacy or drug laws, rules, or administrative

regulations of this state, any other state, or the federal government;

(d) Knowing or having reason to know that a pharmacist, pharmacist intern,

or pharmacy technician is incapable of engaging or assisting in the

practice of pharmacy with reasonable skill, competence, and safety to the

public and failing to report any relevant information to the board;

(e) Knowingly making or causing to be made any false, fraudulent, or forged

statement or misrepresentation of a material fact in securing issuance or

renewal of a license, permit, or certificate;

(f) Engaging in fraud in connection with the practice of pharmacy or the

wholesale distribution or manufacturing of drugs;

(g) Engaging in or aiding and abetting an individual to engage or assist in the

practice of pharmacy without a license or falsely using the title of

"pharmacist," "pharmacist intern," "pharmacy technician," or other term

which might imply that the individual is a pharmacist, pharmacist intern, or

pharmacy technician;

(h) Being found by the board to be in violation of any provision of this

chapter, KRS Chapter 217, KRS Chapter 218A, or the administrative

regulations promulgated pursuant to these chapters;

(i) Violation of any order issued by the board to comply with any applicable

law or administrative regulation;

(j) Knowing or having reason to know that a pharmacist, pharmacist intern,

or pharmacy technician has engaged in or aided and abetted the unlawful

distribution of legend medications, and failing to report any relevant

information to the board;

(k) Failure to notify the board within fourteen (14) days of a change in one's

home address; or

(l) As provided in KRS 311.824(2), being convicted of a violation of KRS

311.823(2).

(2) Unprofessional or unethical conduct includes but is not limited to the following

acts of a pharmacist, pharmacist intern, or pharmacy technician:

(a) Publication or circulation of false, misleading, or deceptive statements

concerning the practice of pharmacy;

(b) Divulging or revealing to unauthorized persons patient information or the

nature of professional services rendered without the patient's express

consent or without order or direction of a court. In addition to members,

inspectors, or agents of the board, the following are considered

authorized persons:

1. The patient, patient's agent, or another pharmacist acting on behalf

of the patient;

2. Certified or licensed health-care personnel who are responsible for

care of the patient;

3. Designated agents of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for

the purposes of enforcing the provisions of KRS Chapter 218A;

4. Any federal, state, or municipal officer whose duty is to enforce the

laws of this state or the United States relating to drugs and who is

engaged in a specific investigation involving a designated person; or

5. An agency of government charged with the responsibility of

providing medical care for the patient, upon written request by an

authorized representative of the agency requesting such

information;

(c) Selling, transferring, or otherwise disposing of accessories, chemicals,

drugs, or devices found in illegal traffic when the pharmacist, pharmacy

intern, or pharmacy technician knows or should have known of their

intended use in illegal activities;

(d) Engaging in conduct likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public,

demonstrating a willful or careless disregard for the health, welfare, or

safety of a patient, or engaging in conduct which substantially departs

from accepted standards of pharmacy practice ordinarily exercised by a

pharmacist or pharmacy intern, with or without established proof of actual

injury;

(e) Engaging in grossly negligent professional conduct, with or without

established proof of actual injury;

(f) Except as provided in KRS 315.500, selling, transferring, dispensing,

ingesting, or administering a drug for which a prescription drug order is

required, without having first received a prescription drug order for the

drug;

(g) Willfully or knowingly failing to maintain complete and accurate records of

all drugs received, dispensed, or disposed of in compliance with federal

and state laws, rules, or administrative regulations;

(h) Obtaining any remuneration by fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;

(i) Accessing or attempting to access confidential patient information for

persons other than those with whom a pharmacist has a current

pharmacist-patient relationship and where such information is necessary

to the pharmacist to provide pharmacy care;

(j) Failing to exercise appropriate professional judgment in determining

whether a prescription drug order is lawful;

(k) Violating KRS 304.39-215; or

(l) Engaging in conduct that is subject to the penalties under KRS

304.99-060(4) or (5).

(3) Any licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder entering an "Alford" plea,

pleading nolo contendere, or who is found guilty of a violation prescribed in

subsection (1)(c) of this section shall within thirty (30) days notify the board of

that plea or conviction. Failure to do so shall be grounds for suspension or

revocation of the license, certificate, or permit.

(4) Any person whose license, permit, or certificate has been revoked in

accordance with the provisions of this section, may petition the board for

reinstatement. The petition shall be made in writing and in a form prescribed by

the board. The board shall investigate all reinstatement petitions, and the board

may reinstate a license, permit, or certificate upon showing that the former

holder has been rehabilitated and is again able to engage in the practice of

pharmacy with reasonable skill, competency, and safety to the public.

Reinstatement may be on the terms and conditions that the board, based on

competent evidence, reasonably believes necessary to protect the health and

welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

(5) Upon exercising the power of revocation provided for in subsection (1) of this

section, the board may reasonably prohibit any petition for reinstatement for a

period up to and including five (5) years.

(6) Any licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder who is disciplined under this

section for a minor violation may request in writing that the board expunge the

minor violation from the licensee's, permit holder's, or certificate holder's

permanent record.

(a) The request for expungement may be filed no sooner than three (3) years

after the date on which the licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder

has completed disciplinary sanctions imposed and if the licensee, permit

holder, or certificate holder has not been disciplined for any subsequent

violation of the same nature within this period of time.

(b) No person may have his or her record expunged under this section more

than once.

The board shall promulgate administrative regulations under KRS Chapter 13A

to establish violations which are minor violations under this subsection. A

violation shall be deemed a minor violation if it does not demonstrate a serious

inability to practice the profession; assist in the practice of pharmacy; provide

home medical equipment and services; adversely affect the public health,

safety, or welfare; or result in economic or physical harm to a person; or create

a significant threat of such harm.