S 1138 General Bill, By Giese
 A Bill to amend Section 40-43-150, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina,
 1976, relating to the sale of prescription drugs, so as to also require a
 prescription for the sale of certain devices used in diagnosis and treatment
 and to provide requirements for an emergency refill of a prescription drug.

   01/14/92  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-40
   01/14/92  Senate Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs SJ-40
   04/28/92  Senate Committee report: Majority favorable with amend.,
                     minority unfavorable Medical Affairs SJ-31
   04/29/92  Senate  Minority report withdrawn by unanimous consent
   04/29/92  Senate Amended SJ-311
   04/29/92  Senate Read second time SJ-312
   04/29/92  Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
                     amendments SJ-312
   04/30/92  Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-28
   05/05/92  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-12
   05/05/92  House  Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
                     Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-12

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ADOPTED

AMENDED

April 29, 1992

S. 1138

S. Printed 4/29/92--S.

Read the first time January 14, 1992.

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 40-43-150, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SALE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, SO AS TO ALSO REQUIRE A PRESCRIPTION FOR THE SALE OF CERTAIN DEVICES USED IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT AND TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR AN EMERGENCY REFILL OF A PRESCRIPTION DRUG.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 40-43-150 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 548 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"Section 40-43-150. (A) Except as provided by Chapters 37 and 38 of Title 40, it is unlawful for any a person to sell, give away, barter, exchange, distribute, or possess in the State, except on a prescription of a licensed medical or osteopathic physician, medical or osteopathic, podiatrist, dentist, nurse practitioner or veterinarian any a drug or device, other than contact lenses, as defined in Section 39-23-20 bearing on its manufacturer's or distributor's original commercial container the legend, `CAUTION: Federal law prohibits dispensing without a prescription' and those which, in the discretion of the Board of Pharmacy, are classified as `dangerous drugs' within the meaning of this section.

(B) The prescription must be compounded or prepared only by a licensed pharmacist, licensed assistant pharmacist, or under the direct personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist. No prescription may be refilled except upon the authorization of a licensed medical or osteopathic physician, medical or osteopathic, podiatrist, dentist, nurse practitioner, or veterinarian who prescribed it, except that if a pharmacist receives a request for a prescription refill and the pharmacist is unable to obtain refill authorization from the prescriber, the pharmacist may dispense a one-time emergency refill of up to a seventy-two hour supply of the prescribed medication if:

(1) the prescription is not for a controlled substance;

(2) the medication is essential to the maintenance of life or to the continuation of therapy;

(3) in the pharmacist's professional judgment, the interruption of therapy reasonably may produce undesirable health consequences or may cause physical or mental discomfort;

(4) the pharmacist properly records the dispensing; and

(5) the dispensing pharmacist notifies the prescriber of the emergency dispensing within seventy-two hours after the one-time emergency refill dispensing.

No prescription marked `PRN' or for another nonspecific number of refills may be refilled more than two years beyond the date it was written originally. Nothing in this subsection abridges the right of a pharmacist to refuse to fill or refill a prescription.

(C) The provisions of This section do does not apply to the sale at wholesale by recognized drug jobbers or wholesalers or drug manufacturers to pharmacists or drug outlets or licensed medical or osteopathic physicians, medical or osteopathic, podiatrists, dentists, or veterinarians qualified to practice their professions according to the laws of this State, nor to the sale by pharmacists in drug outlets to one another. The provisions of This section apply applies to the sale by any a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer to any a person other than those legally qualified and authorized to purchase and hold them for resale in this State."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.