Sec. 17766d.

(1) Notwithstanding section 17766(f), a pharmacy operated by the department of corrections or under contract with the department of corrections or a county jail may accept for the purpose of resale or redispensing a prescription drug that has been dispensed and has left the control of the pharmacist if the prescription drug is being returned by a state correctional facility or a county jail that has a licensed physician's assistant, a registered professional nurse, or a licensed practical nurse, who is responsible for the security, handling, and administration of prescription drugs within that state correctional facility or county jail and if all of the following are met:

(a) The pharmacist is satisfied that the conditions under which the prescription drug has been delivered, stored, and handled before and during its return were such as to prevent damage, deterioration, or contamination that would adversely affect the identity, strength, quality, purity, stability, integrity, or effectiveness of the prescription drug.

(b) The pharmacist is satisfied that the prescription drug did not leave the control of the registered professional nurse or licensed practical nurse responsible for the security, handling, and administration of that prescription drug and that the prescription drug did not come into the physical possession of the individual for whom it was prescribed.

(c) The pharmacist is satisfied that the labeling and packaging of the prescription drug are accurate, have not been altered, defaced, or tampered with, and include the identity, strength, expiration date, and lot number of the prescription drug.

(d) The prescription drug was dispensed in a unit dose package or unit of issue package.

(2) A pharmacy operated by the department of corrections or under contract with the department of corrections or a county jail shall not accept for return prescription drugs as provided under this section until the pharmacist in charge develops a written set of protocols for accepting, returning to stock, repackaging, labeling, and redispensing prescription drugs. The written protocols shall be maintained on the premises and shall be readily accessible to each pharmacist on duty. The written protocols shall include, at a minimum, each of the following:

(a) Methods to ensure that damage, deterioration, or contamination has not occurred during the delivery, handling, storage, and return of the prescription drugs which would adversely affect the identity, strength, quality, purity, stability, integrity, or effectiveness of those prescription drugs or otherwise render those drugs unfit for distribution.

(b) Methods for accepting, returning to stock, repackaging, labeling, and redispensing the prescription drugs returned under this section.

(c) A uniform system of recording and tracking prescription drugs that are returned to stock, repackaged, labeled, and redistributed under this section.

(3) If the integrity of a prescription drug and its package is maintained, a prescription drug returned under this section shall be returned to stock and redistributed as follows:

(a) A prescription drug that was originally dispensed in the manufacturer's unit dose package or unit of issue package and is returned in that same package may be returned to stock, repackaged, and redispensed as needed.

(b) A prescription drug that is repackaged into a unit dose package or a unit of issue package by the pharmacy, dispensed, and returned to that pharmacy in that unit dose package or unit of issue package may be returned to stock, but it shall not be repackaged. A unit dose package or unit of issue package prepared by the pharmacist and returned to stock shall only be redispensed in that same unit dose package or unit of issue package and shall only be redispensed once. A pharmacist shall not add unit dose package drugs to a partially used unit of issue package.

(4) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(a) A controlled substance.

(b) A prescription drug that is dispensed as part of a customized patient medication package.

(c) A prescription drug that is not dispensed as a unit dose package or a unit of issue package.

(d) A prescription drug that is not properly labeled with the identity, strength, lot number, and expiration date.

(e) A prescription drug that is dispensed in a medical institution and returned to stock for redistribution in accordance with R 338.486 of the Michigan administrative code.

(5) As used in this section:

(a) "County jail" means a facility operated by a county for the physical detention and correction of persons charged with, or convicted of, criminal offenses or ordinance violations or persons found guilty of civil or criminal contempt.

(b) "Customized patient medication package" means a package that is prepared by a pharmacist for a specific patient that contains 2 or more prescribed solid oral dosage forms.

(c) "Repackage" means a process by which the pharmacy prepares a unit dose package, unit of issue package, or customized patient medication package for immediate dispensing pursuant to a current prescription.

(d) "State correctional facility" means a facility or institution that houses a prisoner population under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections.

(e) "Unit dose package" means a package that contains a single dose drug with the name, strength, control number, and expiration date of that drug on the label.

(f) "Unit of issue package" means a package that provides multiple doses of the same drug, but each drug is individually separated and includes the name, lot number, and expiration date.

History: Add. 2004, Act 329, Imd. Eff. Sept. 23, 2004 Popular Name: Act 368