Sec. 17753.

(1) A pharmacy may perform centralized prescription processing services or outsource those services to another pharmacy if each of the following conditions is satisfied:

(a) The pharmacies have the same owner or have a written contract outlining the services to be provided and the responsibilities and accountabilities of each pharmacy in fulfilling the terms of the contract in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.

(b) The pharmacies share a common electronic file or have appropriate technology to allow access to sufficient information necessary or required to prepare a prescription drug order.

(c) The pharmacies comply with federal and state laws and regulations.

(2) A pharmacy that performs, or contracts for, centralized prescription processing services shall maintain a policy and procedures manual, along with documentation that implementation is occurring, and each shall be made available to the board for inspection and review upon request and the manual shall include, but is not limited to, a detailed description of how the pharmacies will do all of the following:

(a) Maintain appropriate records to identify the responsible pharmacist, or pharmacists, in the various stages of the drug product preparation, dispensing, and counseling process.

(b) Track the prescription drug order during each step in the drug product preparation, dispensing, and counseling process.

(c) Identify on the prescription label each pharmacy involved in the preparation and dispensing of the prescription drug order.

(d) Provide adequate security to protect the confidentiality and integrity of a patient's protected health information.

(e) Implement and maintain a quality improvement program for pharmacy services designed to objectively and systematically monitor and evaluate the quality and appropriateness of patient care, pursue opportunities to improve patient care, and resolve identified problems.

(3) As used in this section, "centralized prescription processing" means the processing by a pharmacy of a request from another pharmacy to fill or refill a prescription drug order or to perform processing functions such as dispensing, performing drug utilization review, completing claims adjudication, obtaining refill authorizations, initiating therapeutic interventions, and other functions related to the practice of pharmacy.

History: Add. 2005, Act 72, Imd. Eff. July 19, 2005 Popular Name: Act 368