Sec. 483.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Board" means the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.

(2) "Dangerous drug" means a device or a drug that is unsafe for self-medication and that is not included in Schedules I through V or Penalty Groups 1 through 4 of Chapter 481 (Texas Controlled Substances Act). The term includes a device or a drug that bears or is required to bear the legend:

(A) "Caution: federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription" or "Rx only" or another legend that complies with federal law; or

(B) "Caution: federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian."

(3) "Deliver" means to sell, dispense, give away, or supply in any other manner.

(4) "Designated agent" means:

(A) a licensed nurse, physician assistant, pharmacist, or other individual designated by a practitioner to communicate prescription drug orders to a pharmacist;

(B) a licensed nurse, physician assistant, or pharmacist employed in a health care facility to whom the practitioner communicates a prescription drug order; or

(C) a registered nurse or physician assistant authorized by a practitioner to carry out a prescription drug order for dangerous drugs under Subchapter B, Chapter 157, Occupations Code.

(5) "Dispense" means to prepare, package, compound, or label a dangerous drug in the course of professional practice for delivery under the lawful order of a practitioner to an ultimate user or the user's agent.

(6) "Manufacturer" means a person, other than a pharmacist, who manufactures dangerous drugs. The term includes a person who prepares dangerous drugs in dosage form by mixing, compounding, encapsulating, entableting, or any other process.

(7) "Patient" means:

(A) an individual for whom a dangerous drug is prescribed or to whom a dangerous drug is administered; or

(B) an owner or the agent of an owner of an animal for which a dangerous drug is prescribed or to which a dangerous drug is administered.

(8) "Person" includes an individual, corporation, partnership, and association.

(9) "Pharmacist" means a person licensed by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy to practice pharmacy.

(10) "Pharmacy" means a facility where prescription drug or medication orders are received, processed, dispensed, or distributed under this chapter, Chapter 481 of this code, and Subtitle J, Title 3, Occupations Code. The term does not include a narcotic drug treatment program that is regulated by Chapter 466, Health and Safety Code.

(11) "Practice of pharmacy" means:

(A) provision of those acts or services necessary to provide pharmaceutical care;

(B) interpretation and evaluation of prescription drug orders or medication orders;

(C) participation in drug and device selection as authorized by law, drug administration, drug regimen review, or drug or drug-related research;

(D) provision of patient counseling;

(E) responsibility for:

(i) dispensing of prescription drug orders or distribution of medication orders in the patient's best interest;

(ii) compounding and labeling of drugs and devices, except labeling by a manufacturer, repackager, or distributor of nonprescription drugs and commercially packaged prescription drugs and devices;

(iii) proper and safe storage of drugs and devices; or

(iv) maintenance of proper records for drugs and devices. In this subdivision, "device" has the meaning assigned by Subtitle J, Title 3, Occupations Code; or

(F) performance of a specific act of drug therapy management for a patient delegated to a pharmacist by a written protocol from a physician licensed by the state under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code.

(12) "Practitioner" means:

(A) a person licensed by:

(i) the Texas Medical Board, State Board of Dental Examiners, Texas Optometry Board, or State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners to prescribe and administer dangerous drugs; or

(ii) the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with respect to podiatry, to prescribe and administer dangerous drugs;

(B) a person licensed by another state in a health field in which, under the laws of this state, a licensee may legally prescribe dangerous drugs;

(C) a person licensed in Canada or Mexico in a health field in which, under the laws of this state, a licensee may legally prescribe dangerous drugs; or

(D) an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant to whom a physician has delegated the authority to prescribe or order a drug or device under Section 157.0511, 157.0512, or 157.054, Occupations Code.

(13) "Prescription" means an order from a practitioner, or an agent of the practitioner designated in writing as authorized to communicate prescriptions, or an order made in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 157, Occupations Code, or Section 203.353, Occupations Code, to a pharmacist for a dangerous drug to be dispensed that states:

(A) the date of the order's issue;

(B) the name and address of the patient;

(C) if the drug is prescribed for an animal, the species of the animal;

(D) the name and quantity of the drug prescribed;

(E) the directions for the use of the drug;

(F) the intended use of the drug unless the practitioner determines the furnishing of this information is not in the best interest of the patient;

(G) the name, address, and telephone number of the practitioner at the practitioner's usual place of business, legibly printed or stamped; and

(H) the name, address, and telephone number of the licensed midwife, registered nurse, or physician assistant, legibly printed or stamped, if signed by a licensed midwife, registered nurse, or physician assistant.

(14) "Warehouseman" means a person who stores dangerous drugs for others and who has no control over the disposition of the drugs except for the purpose of storage.

(15) "Wholesaler" means a person engaged in the business of distributing dangerous drugs to a person listed in Sections 483.041(c)(1)-(6).

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1100, Sec. 5.03(h), 5.04(b), eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 200, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 237, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 588, Sec. 26, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 351, Sec. 29, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 789, Sec. 18, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 965, Sec. 6, 82, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1095, Sec. 18, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1180, Sec. 22, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 112, Sec. 6, eff. May 11, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1254, Sec. 11, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 14.795, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 88, Sec. 10, eff. May 20, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1240 (H.B. 1535), Sec. 54, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 418 (S.B. 406), Sec. 24, eff. November 1, 2013.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 467 (H.B. 4170), Sec. 19.010, eff. September 1, 2019.