SECTIONS 4170-4175 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 4170-4175

4170. (a) No prescriber shall dispense drugs or dangerous devices
to patients in his or her office or place of practice unless all of
the following conditions are met:
(1) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are dispensed to the
prescriber's own patient, and the drugs or dangerous devices are not
furnished by a nurse or physician attendant.
(2) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are necessary in the
treatment of the condition for which the prescriber is attending the
patient.
(3) The prescriber does not keep a pharmacy, open shop, or
drugstore, advertised or otherwise, for the retailing of dangerous
drugs, dangerous devices, or poisons.
(4) The prescriber fulfills all of the labeling requirements
imposed upon pharmacists by Section 4076, all of the recordkeeping
requirements of this chapter, and all of the packaging requirements
of good pharmaceutical practice, including the use of childproof
containers.
(5) The prescriber does not use a dispensing device unless he or
she personally owns the device and the contents of the device, and
personally dispenses the dangerous drugs or dangerous devices to the
patient packaged, labeled, and recorded in accordance with paragraph
(4).
(6) The prescriber, prior to dispensing, offers to give a written
prescription to the patient that the patient may elect to have filled
by the prescriber or by any pharmacy.
(7) The prescriber provides the patient with written disclosure
that the patient has a choice between obtaining the prescription from
the dispensing prescriber or obtaining the prescription at a
pharmacy of the patient's choice.
(8) A certified nurse-midwife who functions pursuant to a
standardized procedure or protocol described in Section 2746.51, a
nurse practitioner who functions pursuant to a standardized procedure
described in Section 2836.1, or protocol, a physician assistant who
functions pursuant to Section 3502.1, or a naturopathic doctor who
functions pursuant to Section 3640.5, may hand to a patient of the
supervising physician and surgeon a properly labeled prescription
drug prepackaged by a physician and surgeon, a manufacturer as
defined in this chapter, or a pharmacist.
(b) The Medical Board of California, the State Board of Optometry,
the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine, the Dental Board of California,
the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Board of Registered
Nursing, the Veterinary Medical Board, and the Physician Assistant
Committee shall have authority with the California State Board of
Pharmacy to ensure compliance with this section, and those boards are
specifically charged with the enforcement of this chapter with
respect to their respective licensees.
(c) "Prescriber," as used in this section, means a person, who
holds a physician's and surgeon's certificate, a license to practice
optometry, a license to practice naturopathic medicine, a license to
practice dentistry, a license to practice veterinary medicine, or a
certificate to practice podiatry, and who is duly registered by the
Medical Board of California, the State Board of Optometry, the Bureau
of Naturopathic Medicine, the Dental Board of California, the
Veterinary Medical Board, or the Board of Osteopathic Examiners of
this state.

4170.5. (a) Veterinarians in a veterinary teaching hospital
operated by an accredited veterinary medical school may dispense and
administer dangerous drugs and devices and controlled substances from
a common stock.
(b) The veterinary teaching hospital shall designate a pharmacist
to be responsible for ordering the drugs for the common stock and the
designated pharmacist-in-charge shall be professionally responsible
to insure that inventories, security procedures, training, protocol
development, recordkeeping, packaging, labeling, and dispensing occur
in a manner that is consistent with the promotion and protection of
the health and safety of the public.
(c) The veterinary teaching hospital's pharmacist-in-charge shall
develop policies, procedures, and guidelines that recognize the
unique relationship between the institution's pharmacists and
veterinarians in the control, management, dispensation, and
administration of drugs.
(d) The board may inspect a veterinary teaching hospital
dispensing or administering drugs pursuant to this section.

4171. (a) Section 4170 shall not prohibit the furnishing of a
limited quantity of samples by a prescriber, if the prescriber
dispenses the samples to the patient in the package provided by the
manufacturer, no charge is made to the patient therefor, and an
appropriate record is entered in the patient's chart.
(b) Section 4170 shall not apply to clinics, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 1204 or subdivision (b) or (c) of Section
1206 of the Health and Safety Code, to programs licensed pursuant to
Sections 11876, 11877, and 11877.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or
to a prescriber dispensing parenteral chemotherapeutic agents,
biologicals, or delivery systems used in the treatment of cancer.

4172. A prescriber who dispenses drugs pursuant to Section 4170
shall store all drugs to be dispensed in an area that is secure. The
Medical Board of California shall, by regulation, define the term
"secure" for purposes of this section.

4173. This chapter does not prevent the dispensing of drugs or
devices by registered nurses functioning pursuant to Section 2725.1.

4174. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a pharmacist may
dispense drugs or devices upon the drug order of a nurse practitioner
functioning pursuant to Section 2836.1 or a certified nurse-midwife
functioning pursuant to Section 2746.51, a drug order of a physician
assistant functioning pursuant to Section 3502.1 or a naturopathic
doctor functioning pursuant to Section 3640.5, or the order of a
pharmacist acting under Section 4052.1, 4052.2, or 4052.3.

4175. (a) The California State Board of Pharmacy shall promptly
forward to the appropriate licensing entity, including the Medical
Board of California, the Veterinary Medical Board, the Dental Board
of California, the State Board of Optometry, the Osteopathic Medical
Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Bureau of
Naturopathic Medicine, or the Physician Assistant Committee, all
complaints received related to dangerous drugs or dangerous devices
dispensed by a prescriber, certified nurse-midwife, nurse
practitioner, naturopathic doctor, or physician assistant pursuant to
Section 4170.
(b) All complaints involving serious bodily injury due to
dangerous drugs or dangerous devices dispensed by prescribers,
certified nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, naturopathic doctors,
or physician assistants pursuant to Section 4170 shall be handled by
the Medical Board of California, the Dental Board of California, the
State Board of Optometry, the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California, the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine, the Board of
Registered Nursing, the Veterinary Medical Board, or the Physician
Assistant Committee as a case of greatest potential harm to a
patient.