N.Y. Education Law § 6827: Mandatory continuing education

§ 6827. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed

pharmacist required under article one hundred thirty of this chapter to

register triennially with the department to practice in the state shall

comply with provisions of the mandatory continuing education

requirements prescribed in subdivision two of this section except as set

forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Pharmacists who do

not satisfy the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not

practice until they have met such requirements, and they have been

issued a registration certificate, except that a pharmacist may practice

without having met such requirements if he or she is issued a

conditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of

this section.

(b) In accord with the intent of this section, adjustment to the

mandatory continuing education requirement may be granted by the

department for reasons of health certified by an appropriate health care

professional, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the

United States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department

which may prevent compliance.

(c) A licensed pharmacist not engaged in practice as determined by the

department, shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education

requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring

such status. Any licensee who returns to the practice of pharmacy during

the triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to

reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory education

requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.

* 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for

registration shall complete a minimum of forty-five hours of acceptable

formal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this

section, provided that no more than twenty-two hours of such continuing

education shall consist of self-study courses. Any pharmacist

participating in collaborative drug therapy management pursuant to

section six thousand eight hundred one-a of this article shall complete

at least five hours of acceptable formal continuing education in the

area or areas of practice generally related to any collaborative drug

therapy management protocols to which the pharmacist may be subject. Any

pharmacist whose first registration date following the effective date of

this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but

on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete

continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and

one-quarter hours per month for the period beginning January first,

nineteen hundred ninety-seven up to the first registration date

thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing

education requirements shall not be issued a triennial registration

certificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until a

conditional registration certificate is issued as provided for in

subdivision three of this section. Continuing education hours taken

during one triennium may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.

* NB Effective until July 1, 2030

* 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for

registration shall complete a minimum of forty-five hours of acceptable

formal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this

section, provided that no more than twenty-two hours of such continuing

education shall consist of self-study courses. Any pharmacist whose

first registration date following the effective date of this section

occurs less than three years from such effective date, but on or after

January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete continuing

education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and one-quarter

hours per month for the period beginning January first, nineteen hundred

ninety-seven up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee

who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements

shall not be issued a triennial registration certificate by the

department and shall not practice unless and until a conditional

registration certificate is issued as provided for in subdivision three

of this section. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium

may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.

* NB Effective July 1, 2030

3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional

registration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education

requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who

agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education

which the department may require. The fee for such a conditional

registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the

triennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration

shall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any

licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to

submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing

education and who practices pharmacy without such registration, may be

subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five

hundred ten of this chapter.

4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable formal

continuing education" shall mean formal courses of learning which

contribute to professional practice in pharmacy and which meet the

standards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. The department

may, in its discretion and as needed to contribute to the health and

welfare of the public, require the completion of continuing education

courses in specific subjects. To fulfill this mandatory continuing

education requirement, courses must be taken from a sponsor approved by

the department, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.

5. Pharmacists shall maintain adequate documentation of completion of

acceptable formal continuing education and shall provide such

documentation at the request of the department. Failure to provide such

documentation upon the request of the department shall be an act of

misconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section

sixty-five hundred ten of this chapter.

6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars,

shall be payable on or before the first day of each triennial

registration period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial

registration fee required by section sixty-eight hundred five of this

article.