Senate Bill No. 347
(By Senators Wiedebusch, Minard and Bailey)
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[Introduced February 15, 1994; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article three, chapter sixty-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto nine new sections, designated
sections three hundred nine, three hundred ten, three
hundred eleven, three hundred twelve, three hundred
thirteen, three hundred fourteen, three hundred fifteen,
three hundred sixteen and three hundred seventeen, relating
to the regulation of the manufacture, distribution and
dispensing of controlled substances generally; requiring
prescriptions to be written in ink or indelible pencil;
requiring a record of Schedule II and Schedule III
substances dispensed in certain health care facilities;
requiring prescription blanks to be issued by the board of
pharmacy; limiting the number of prescription blanks
distributed by the board to any person; making possession of
alternative prescription forms a misdemeanor; providing a
penalty; reports of lost or stolen prescription forms;
providing for the type of paper to be used for prescription
forms; limiting blanks issued; requiring retention of a
prescription book by a prescriber; requiring confidentiality
of prescription books; allowing access to certain inspectors
and law-enforcement officers; providing for the filing of
the original and copies of prescriptions; and requiring
certain labels to be affixed to packages with prescriptions
for controlled substances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter sixty-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto nine new sections, designated sections
three hundred nine, three hundred ten, three hundred eleven,
three hundred twelve, three hundred thirteen, three hundred
fourteen, three hundred fifteen, three hundred sixteen and three
hundred seventeen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. REGULATION OF MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION AND
DISPENSING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.
§60A-3-309. Form and contents of prescription.
No person may write a prescription and no person may fill,
compound or dispense a prescription for a controlled substance in
either Schedule II or Schedule III unless it is wholly written in
ink or indelible pencil in the handwriting of the prescriber,
signed and dated by the prescriber as of the date on which it is
written, contains the name and address of the person for whom
prescribed, and states the name and quantity of the Schedule IIor Schedule III substance prescribed.
§60A-3-310. Use in hospital; form of order; record; nursing
home, extended care facility.
An order for Schedule II or Schedule III substance for use
by a patient in a county or licensed hospital, or in a licensed
nursing home or extended care facility employing a unit dose
distribution system, shall be exempt from all requirements of
this article with reference to the writing of prescriptions on
official triplicate blanks, but shall be in writing on the
patient's record, signed by the prescriber, dated, and shall
state the name, strength and dosage schedule of the drug ordered.
A direct copy of this order will be furnished within seventy-two
hours to the pharmacist supplying the medication. The record of
the orders and the administration record shall be maintained as
a record in the hospital, nursing home or extended care facility
for a minimum of three years and shall be available for
inspection by all inspectors of the board.
§60A-3-311. Prescription blanks; possession; cost of blanks;
report when lost or stolen.
Prescription blanks shall be issued by the board of pharmacy
in increments of twenty-five serially numbered forms, each in
triplicate, and shall be furnished to any person authorized to
write a prescription, and such prescription blanks shall not be
transferable. Any person possessing any such blank otherwise
than as herein provided is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollarsnor more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county
or regional jail not more than one year or both fined and
imprisoned. The board shall charge the licensee a reasonable
amount for each series of triplicate prescription forms issued,
and no less than twenty-five and no more than one hundred forms
may be issued at one time to any licensee.
Prescription blanks or drugs lost or stolen must be
immediately reported to the board.
§60A-3-312. Paper for prescription blanks; numbering.
The prescription blanks shall be printed on distinctive
paper, serial number of the group being shown on each form, and
also each form being serially numbered.
§60A-3-313. One group of blanks issued at a time.
Not more than one such prescription group shall in any case
be issued or furnished by the board to the same prescriber at one
time.
§60A-3-314. Retention of prescription book by prescriber.
The prescription book containing the prescriber's copies of
prescriptions issued shall be retained by the prescriber which
shall be preserved for three years.
§60A-3-315. Prescription book open for inspection.
The prescription book shall be confidential and shall be
open to inspection by inspectors and agents of the board, members
of the division of public safety in the course of an
investigation, duly authorized members of relevant licensing
boards and persons with an enforceable court order.
§60A-3-316. Filling prescriptions; disposition of original and
copy.
The original and one copy of the prescription shall be
delivered to the person filling the prescription. The duplicate
shall be properly endorsed by the pharmacist filling the
prescription at the time such prescription is filled. The
original shall be retained by the person filling the prescription
and at the end of each month in which the prescription is filled,
the duplicate shall be returned to the board.
§60A-3-317. Information required on label.
(a) The practitioner dispensing a controlled substance
listed in Schedule II or Schedule III shall affix to the package
a label showing date of dispensing, the dispenser's name and
address, the serial number of the prescription if applicable, the
name of the patient, the name of the prescribing practitioner and
directions for use and cautionary statements, if any, contained
in such prescription as required by law.
(b) The practitioner dispensing controlled substances listed
in Schedule IV shall affix to the package a label showing the
dispenser's name and address, the serial number if applicable,
and date of initial dispensing, the name of the patient, the name
of the practitioner issuing the prescription, and directions for
use and cautionary statements, if any, contained in such
prescription as required by law.
(c) The practitioner dispensing a controlled substance
listed in Schedule V pursuant to a prescription shall affix tothe package a label showing the dispenser's name and address, the
serial number if applicable, and the date of dispensing, the name
of the patient, the name of the practitioner issuing the
prescription, the directions for use and cautionary statements,
if any, contained in such prescription as required by law.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for
prescription drug monitoring by the board of pharmacy. The bill
requires prescriptions to be written in ink or indelible pencil
and it requires prescription blanks to be issued by the board of
pharmacy. Under the bill, the number of prescription blanks
distributed by the board to any practitioner is limited.
Possession of alternative prescription blanks is a misdemeanor
offense under the bill. The board of pharmacy is given
responsibility for ensuring distribution of prescription forms
and for maintaining a copy of prescriptions for certain
controlled substances. Practitioners are required to maintain a
a confidential prescription book available only to certain
inspectors and law-enforcement officers.
§§60A-3-309 through 317 are new; therefore, strike-throughs
and underscoring have been omitted.