N.Y. Education Law § 6810: Prescriptions

§ 6810. Prescriptions. 1. No drug for which a prescription is required

by the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or by the

commissioner of health shall be distributed or dispensed to any person

except upon a prescription written by a person legally authorized to

issue such prescription. Such drug shall be compounded or dispensed by a

licensed pharmacist, and no such drug shall be dispensed without

affixing to the immediate container in which the drug is sold or

dispensed a label bearing the name and address of the owner of the

establishment in which it was dispensed, the date compounded, the number

of the prescription under which it is recorded in the pharmacist's

prescription files, the name of the prescriber, the name and address of

the patient, and the directions for the use of the drug by the patient

as given upon the prescription. All labels shall conform to such rules

and regulations as promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to section

sixty-eight hundred twenty-nine of this article. The prescribing and

dispensing of a drug which is a controlled substance shall be subject to

additional requirements provided in article thirty-three of the public

health law. The words "drug" and "prescription required drug" within the

meaning of this article shall not be construed to include soft or hard

contact lenses, eyeglasses, or any other device for the aid or

correction of vision. Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent a

pharmacy from furnishing a drug to another pharmacy which does not have

such drug in stock for the purpose of filling a prescription.

1-a. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, at the

prescriber's request, the prescription label for mifepristone or

misoprostol shall include the name or address of the prescribing health

care practice instead of the name of the prescriber.

2. (a) A prescription may not be refilled unless it bears a contrary

instruction and indicates on its face the number of times it may be

refilled. A prescription may not be refilled more times than allowed on

the prescription. The date of each refilling must be indicated on the

original prescription. Prescriptions for controlled substances shall be

refilled only pursuant to article thirty-three of the public health law.

A pharmacy registered with the department pursuant to section

sixty-eight hundred eight or sixty-eight hundred eight-b of this article

may not deliver a new or refilled prescription off premises without the

consent of the patient or an individual authorized to consent on the

patient's behalf. For the purposes of this section, consent may be

obtained in the same manner and process by which consent is deemed

acceptable under the federal Medicare Part D program.

(b) Pharmacy providers who deliver medication without patient or

authorized individual consent will be required to accept the return of

the medication from the patient, provide that patient credit for any

charges they may have paid, and will be required to destroy those

medications sent without consent on delivery in accordance with

applicable state and federal law. Nothing in this section shall be

deemed to interfere with the requirements for refill reminder or

medication adherence programs. Nothing in this section is intended to

apply to long-term care pharmacy dispensing and delivery.

3. A copy of a prescription for a controlled substance shall not be

furnished to the patient but may be furnished to any licensed

practitioner authorized to write such prescription. Copies of other

prescriptions shall be furnished to the patient at his request, but such

copies are issued for the informational purposes of the prescribers

only, and shall be so worded.

4. (a) Oral prescriptions for controlled substances shall be filled

pursuant to article thirty-three of the public health law. A pharmacist

may fill an oral prescription for a drug, other than a controlled

substance, made by a practitioner legally authorized to prescribe drugs.

An oral authorization for the refill of a prescription, other than a

prescription for a controlled substance, may be made by a practitioner

legally authorized to prescribe drugs. The pharmacist receiving such

oral authorization for the refill of a prescription shall write on the

reverse side of the original prescription the date, time, and name of

the practitioner authorizing the refill of the prescription. An oral

prescription or an oral authorization for the refill of a prescription

for the drug, other than a controlled substance, may be communicated by

an employee of the prescribing practitioner; provided, however, the

pharmacist shall:

(i) contemporaneously reduce such prescription to writing;

(ii) dispense the substance in conformity with the labeling

requirements applicable to a written prescription; and

(iii) make a good faith effort to verify the employee's identity if

the employee is unknown to the pharmacist.

(b) Oral prescriptions for patients in general hospitals, nursing

homes, residential health care facilities as defined in section

twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, hospitals as defined

in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or

facilities operated by the office for people with developmental

disabilities, may be communicated to a pharmacist serving as a vendor of

pharmaceutical services based upon a contractual arrangement by an agent

designated by and under the direction of the prescriber or the

institution. Such agent shall be a health care practitioner currently

licensed and registered under this title.

5. Records of all prescriptions filled or refilled shall be maintained

for a period of at least five years and upon request made available for

inspection and copying by a representative of the department. Such

records shall indicate date of filling or refilling, prescriber's name,

patient's name and address and the name or initials of the pharmacist

who prepared, compounded, or dispensed the prescription. Records of

prescriptions for controlled substances shall be maintained pursuant to

requirements of article thirty-three of the public health law.

6. (a) Every prescription written in this state by a person authorized

to issue such prescription shall be on prescription forms containing one

line for the prescriber's signature. The prescriber's signature shall

validate the prescription. Every electronic prescription shall provide

for the prescriber's electronic signature, which shall validate the

electronic prescription. Imprinted conspicuously on every prescription

written in this state in eight point upper case type immediately below

the signature line shall be the words: "THIS PRESCRIPTION WILL BE FILLED

GENERICALLY UNLESS PRESCRIBER WRITES 'd a w' IN THE BOX BELOW". Unless

the prescriber writes d a w in such box in the prescriber's own

handwriting or, in the case of electronic prescriptions, inserts an

electronic direction to dispense the drug as written, the prescriber's

signature or electronic signature shall designate approval of

substitution by a pharmacist of a drug product pursuant to paragraph (o)

of subdivision one of section two hundred six of the public health law.

No other letters or marks in such box shall prohibit substitution. No

prescription forms used or intended to be used by a person authorized to

issue a prescription shall have 'd a w' preprinted in such box. Such box

shall be placed directly under the signature line and shall be

three-quarters inch in length and one-half inch in height, or in

comparable form for an electronic prescription as may be specified by

regulation of the commissioner. Immediately below such box shall be

imprinted in six point type the words "Dispense As Written".

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no state official, agency,

board or other entity shall promulgate any regulation or guideline

modifying those elements of the prescription form's contents specified

in this subdivision. To the extent otherwise permitted by law, a

prescriber may modify only those elements of the prescription form's

contents not specified in this subdivision. Notwithstanding any other

provision of this section or any other law, when a generic drug is not

available and the brand name drug originally prescribed is available and

the pharmacist agrees to dispense the brand name product for a price

that will not exceed the price that would have been charged for the

generic substitute had it been available, substitution of a generic drug

product will not be required. If the generic drug product is not

available and a medical emergency situation, which for purposes of this

section is defined as any condition requiring alleviation of severe pain

or which threatens to cause disability or take life if not promptly

treated, exists, then the pharmacist may dispense the brand name product

at his regular price. In such instances the pharmacist must record the

date, hour and nature of the medical emergency on the back of the

prescription and keep a copy of all such prescriptions.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other

law, when an interchangeable biological product is not available and the

biological product originally prescribed is available and the pharmacist

agrees to dispense the prescribed biological product for a price that

will not exceed the price that would have been charged for the

interchangeable biological substitute had it been available,

substitution of an interchangeable biological product will not be

required. If the interchangeable biological product is not available and

a medical emergency situation, which for purposes of this section is

defined as any condition requiring alleviation of severe pain or which

threatens to cause disability or take life if not promptly treated,

exists, then the pharmacist may dispense the prescribed biological

product at his regular price. In such instances the pharmacist must

record the date, hour and nature of the medical emergency on the back of

the prescription and keep a copy of all such prescriptions.

(c) The prescriber shall inform the patient whether he or she has

prescribed a brand name or its generic equivalent drug product or

interchangeable biological product.

(d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a hospital

as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law.

(e) No prescriber shall be subjected to civil liability arising solely

from authorizing, in accordance with this subdivision, the substitution

by a pharmacist of a drug product pursuant to paragraph (o) of

subdivision one of section two hundred six of the public health law.

7. (a) No prescription for a drug written in this state by a person

authorized to issue such prescription shall be on a prescription form

which authorizes the dispensing or compounding of any other drug. No

drug shall be dispensed by a pharmacist when such prescription form

includes any other drug.

(b) With respect to drugs other than controlled substances, the

provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to pharmacists employed

by or providing services under contract to general hospitals, nursing

homes, residential health care facilities as defined in section

twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, hospitals as defined

in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or

facilities operated by the office for people with developmental

disabilities, who dispense drugs in the course of said employment or in

the course of providing such services under contract. With respect to

such pharmacists, each prescription shall be transcribed on a patient

specific prescription form.

8. Every prescription (whether or not for a controlled substance)

written in this state by a person authorized to issue such prescription

and containing the prescriber's signature shall, in addition to such

signature, be imprinted or stamped legibly and conspicuously with the

printed name of the prescriber who has signed the prescription. The

imprinted or stamped name of the signing prescriber shall appear in an

appropriate location on the prescription form and shall not be entered

in or upon any space or line reserved for the prescriber's signature.

The imprinted or stamped name shall not be employed as a substitute for,

or fulfill any legal requirement otherwise mandating that the

prescription be signed by the prescriber.

9. No person, corporation, association or other entity, not licensed

to issue a prescription pursuant to this title, shall wilfully cause

prescription forms, blanks or facsimiles thereof to be disseminated to

any person other than a person who is licensed to issue a prescription

pursuant to this title. A violation of this subdivision shall be a class

B misdemeanor punishable in accordance with the provisions of the penal

law.

10. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other

law to the contrary, effective three years subsequent to the date on

which regulations establishing standards for electronic prescriptions

are promulgated by the commissioner of health, in consultation with the

commissioner pursuant to subdivision three of section two hundred

eighty-one of the public health law, no practitioner shall issue any

prescription in this state, unless such prescription is made by

electronic prescription from the practitioner to a pharmacy, except for

prescriptions: (a) issued by veterinarians; (b) issued or dispensed in

circumstances where electronic prescribing is not available due to

temporary technological or electrical failure, as set forth in

regulation; (c) issued by practitioners who have received a waiver or a

renewal thereof for a specified period determined by the commissioner of

health, not to exceed one year, from the requirement to use electronic

prescribing, pursuant to a process established in regulation by the

commissioner of health, in consultation with the commissioner due to

economic hardship, technological limitations that are not reasonably

within the control of the practitioner, or other exceptional

circumstance demonstrated by the practitioner; (d) issued by a

practitioner under circumstances where, notwithstanding the

practitioner's present ability to make an electronic prescription as

required by this subdivision, such practitioner reasonably determines

that it would be impractical for the patient to obtain substances

prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner, and such delay

would adversely impact the patient's medical condition, provided that if

such prescription is for a controlled substance, the quantity that does

not exceed a five day supply if the controlled substance was used in

accordance with the directions for use; or (e) issued by a practitioner

to be dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state, as set forth in

regulation.

10-a. A pharmacy that receives an electronic prescription from the

person issuing the prescription may, if the prescription has not been

dispensed and at the request of the patient or a person authorized to

make the request on behalf of the patient, immediately transfer or

forward such prescription to an alternative pharmacy designated by the

requesting party.

11. In the case of a prescription issued by a practitioner under

paragraph (b) of subdivision ten of this section, the practitioner shall

be required to indicate in the patient's health record that the

prescription was issued other than electronically due to temporary

technological or electrical failure.

12. In the case of a prescription issued by a practitioner under

paragraph (d) or (e) of subdivision ten of this section, the

practitioner shall, upon issuing such prescription, indicate in the

patient's health record either that the prescription was issued other

than electronically because it (a) was impractical to issue an

electronic prescription in a timely manner and such delay would have

adversely impacted the patient's medical condition, or (b) was to be

dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state.

13. The waiver process established in regulation pursuant to paragraph

(c) of subdivision ten of this section shall provide that a practitioner

prescribing under a waiver must notify the department of health in

writing promptly upon gaining the capability to use electronic

prescribing, and that a waiver shall terminate within a specified period

of time after the practitioner gains such capability.

14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no

outsourcing facility may distribute or dispense any drug to any person

pursuant to a prescription unless it is also registered as a pharmacy in

this state and meets all other applicable requirements of federal and

state law.

* 15. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or any

other law to the contrary, a practitioner shall not be required to issue

prescriptions electronically if he or she certifies to the department of

health, in a manner specified by the department of health, that he or

she will not issue more than twenty-five prescriptions during a twelve

month period. Prescriptions in both oral and written form for both

controlled substances and non-controlled substances shall be included in

determining whether the practitioner will reach the limit of twenty-five

prescriptions.

(a) A certification shall be submitted in advance of the twelve-month

certification period, except that a twelve-month certification submitted

on or before on July first,two thousand sixteen, may begin March

twenty-seventh, two thousand sixteen.

(b) A practitioner who has made a certification under this subdivision

may submit an additional certification on or before the expiration of

the current twelve-month certification period, for a maximum of three

twelve-month certifications.

(c) A practitioner may make a certification under this subdivision

regardless of whether he or she has previously received a waiver under

paragraphs (c) of subdivision ten of this section.

* NB Repealed June 1, 2029