1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; prohibiting a pharmacist from refusing to dispense a 
1.3 	prescription drug or device except under certain circumstances;proposing coding 
1.4 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 151.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [151.415] PROHIBITION AGAINST REFUSING TO DISPENSE A 
1.7 	LEGEND DRUG OR DEVICE.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Prohibition. No pharmacist licensed under this chapter shall refuse 
1.9 	to dispense a legend drug or device pursuant to a valid prescription or order except under 
1.10 	one of the following circumstances: 
1.11 	(1) based on the pharmacist's professional training and judgment, the pharmacist 
1.12 	determines that according to standard pharmacy practice, dispensing the drug or device 
1.13 	pursuant to the prescription or order would cause a medical problem to the patient 
1.14 	for whom the prescription or order was prescribed due to therapeutic duplications, 
1.15 	drug-disease contraindications, drug interactions, including serious interactions with 
1.16 	other prescription and over-the-counter medications, incorrect dosage or duration of drug 
1.17 	treatment, drug allergy interactions, or drug abuse or misuse; 
1.18 	(2) the legend drug or device is not in stock, in which case, the pharmacist must 
1.19 	offer the patient the following options and perform the option that is chosen by the patient 
1.20 	without delay:
1.21 	(i) the pharmacist will obtain the drug or device under the pharmacy's standard 
1.22 	procedures for expedited ordering of any drug or device not in stock; 
2.1 	(ii) the pharmacist will locate a pharmacy or other health care facility of the patient's 
2.2 	choice that has the drug or device in stock and transfer the prescription under its standard 
2.3 	procedures for transferring prescriptions for drugs or devices; or 
2.4 	(iii) the unfilled prescription will be returned to the patient and the pharmacist will 
2.5 	refer the patient to the nearest pharmacy or other health care facility that has the drug or 
2.6 	device in stock; or 
2.7 	(3) the pharmacist refuses to dispense a drug or device on ethical, moral, or religious 
2.8 	grounds but only if reasonable accommodation of the pharmacist's refusal to dispense 
2.9 	can be made without causing undue hardship to the patient or employer. A pharmacy 
2.10 	shall require employees and prospective employees to notify the pharmacy in writing of 
2.11 	the categories or types of prescriptions that the pharmacist refuses to fill due to one of 
2.12 	these reasons. In determining whether reasonable accommodation can be made without 
2.13 	imposing an undue hardship on the patient or the employer, the following factors shall 
2.14 	be considered: 
2.15 	(i) whether the proposed accommodation would delay the filling of the prescription 
2.16 	such that the pharmacy is not able to fill the prescription in the equivalent time period as 
2.17 	the pharmacy would fill other prescriptions of in-stock drugs or devices; 
2.18 	(ii) the pharmacy's ability to fill the patient's prescription in store; 
2.19 	(iii) the pharmacy's financial costs in implementing the accommodation; and 
2.20 	(iv) the negative impact on the pharmacy's reputation or good will in the community 
2.21 	due to failure to provide timely prescription services.
2.22 		Subd. 2.Payment limitation. This section imposes no duty on a pharmacist 
2.23 	to dispense a legend drug or device without payment for the drug or device, including 
2.24 	payment by the patient or through a third-party payer accepted by the pharmacy or 
2.25 	payment of any required co-payment owed by the patient. 
2.26 		Subd. 3.Penalty. Any pharmacist who violates this section shall be subject to 
2.27 	disciplinary action by the Board of Pharmacy according to this chapter.