SF 2647

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to health; prohibiting a pharmacist from refusing to dispense a
prescription drug or device except under certain circumstances; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 151.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [151.415] PROHIBITION AGAINST REFUSING TO DISPENSE A
LEGEND DRUG OR DEVICE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Prohibition. new text end

new text begin (a) No pharmacist shall refuse to dispense or obstruct a
patient in obtaining a legend drug or device that has been legally prescribed or ordered
for that patient. A violation of this section constitutes unprofessional conduct by the
pharmacist and shall subject the pharmacist to disciplinary action by the Board of
Pharmacy.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a pharmacist shall dispense drugs
and devices pursuant to a lawful order or prescription unless one of the following
circumstances exists:
new text end

new text begin (1) based solely on the pharmacist's professional training and judgment, dispensing
the drug or device pursuant to the prescription or order would adversely affect the known
medical condition of the patient for whom the prescription or order was prescribed due
to therapeutic duplications, drug-disease contraindications, drug interactions, including
serious interactions with other prescription and over-the-counter medications, incorrect
dosage or duration of drug treatment, drug allergy interactions, or drug abuse or misuse;
new text end

new text begin (2) the legend drug or device is not in stock. If an order or prescription cannot be
dispensed because the drug or device is not in stock, the pharmacist shall take one of the
following actions:
new text end

new text begin (i) immediately notify the patient and arrange for the drug or device to be delivered
to the site or directly to the patient in a timely manner;
new text end

new text begin (ii) promptly transfer the prescription to another pharmacy known to stock the drug
or device that is near enough to the site from which the prescription or order is transferred
to ensure the patient has timely access to the drug or device; or
new text end

new text begin (iii) return the prescription to the patient and refer the patient to a pharmacy that
stocks the prescribed drug or device to ensure that the patient has timely access to the
drug or device; or
new text end

new text begin (3) the pharmacist refuses on sincerely held religious beliefs as defined in United
States Code, title 42, section 2000e(j), to dispense a drug or device pursuant to an order or
prescription. A pharmacist may object to dispensing a drug or device on this basis only
if the pharmacist's objection can be reasonably accommodated by the same pharmacy
without imposing an undue hardship on the patient or the employer and the pharmacy has
established protocols that ensure that the patient has timely access to the prescribed drug
or device by the same pharmacy despite the pharmacist's refusal to dispense the order or
prescription. A pharmacy may require employees and prospective employees to notify the
pharmacy in writing of the categories or types of prescriptions that the pharmacist refuses
to dispense due to one of the above-stated grounds. In determining whether reasonable
accommodation can be made without imposing an undue hardship on the patient or the
employer, the following factors may be considered:
new text end

new text begin (i) whether the proposed accommodation ensures that the patient has timely access
to the drug or device as dictated by the patient's needs or known medical condition;
new text end

new text begin (ii) the employer's financial costs in implementing the accommodation; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) the potential impact on the pharmacy's reputation or good will in the community
due to failure to provide timely prescription services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Payment limitation. new text end

new text begin This section imposes no duty on a pharmacist to
dispense a drug or device pursuant to a prescription or order without payment for the
drug or device, including payment directly by the patient or through a third-party payer
accepted by the pharmacist or payment of any required co-payment by the patient.
new text end