South Carolina General Assembly
110th Session, 1993-1994

Bill 622


                    Current Status
 
Introducing Body:               Senate
Bill Number:                    622
Ratification Number:            163
Act Number:                     124
Primary Sponsor:                Bryan
Type of Legislation:            GB
Subject:                        Physicians' assistants
Companion Bill Number:          4051
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:   19930525
Computer Document Number:       436/11193AC.93
Governor's Action:              S
Date of Governor's Action:      19930614
Introduced Date:                19930331
Date of Last Amendment:         19930520
Last History Body:              ------
Last History Date:              19930614
Last History Type:              Act No. 124
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   Bryan
Type of Legislation:            General Bill

History

 Bill  Body    Date          Action Description              CMN  Leg Involved
 ----  ------  ------------  ------------------------------  ---  ------------
622    ------  19930614      Act No. 124
622    ------  19930614      Signed by Governor
622    ------  19930610      Ratified R 163
622    Senate  19930525      Concurred in House amendment,
                             enrolled for ratification
622    House   19930521      Read third time, returned to
                             Senate with amendment
622    House   19930520      Amended, read second time,
                             unanimous consent for third
                             reading on Friday, May 21,
                             1993
622    House   19930506      Committee Report: Favorable     27
                             with amendment
622    House   19930427      Introduced, read first time,    27
                             referred to Committee
622    Senate  19930422      Read third time, sent to House
622    Senate  19930421      Read second time
622    Senate  19930420      Polled out of Committee:        13
                             Favorable
622    Senate  19930331      Introduced, read first time,    13
                             referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A124, R163, S622)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 40-43-150, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CERTAIN DRUGS THAT ONLY MAY BE SOLD ON PRESCRIPTION, SO AS TO INCLUDE THERAPEUTICALLY CERTIFIED OPTOMETRISTS AND PHYSICIANS' ASSISTANTS AMONG THOSE PROFESSIONALS WHO MAY PRESCRIBE MEDICATIONS, AND TO AUTHORIZE EMERGENCY REFILLS WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO AMEND SECTION 40-47-25, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PHYSICIANS' ASSISTANTS, SO AS TO DELETE PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE NUMBER OF ASSISTANTS A PHYSICIAN MAY SUPERVISE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 44-53-290, RELATING TO REGISTRATION FOR MANUFACTURING, DISTRIBUTING, OR DISPENSING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO ISSUE REGISTRATIONS TO NURSE PRACTITIONERS AND PHYSICIANS' ASSISTANTS FOR PRESCRIBING SCHEDULE V CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

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

Professionals authorized to prescribe drugs; emergency refills without a prescription

SECTION 1. Section 40-43-150 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 303 of 1992, is further amended to read:

"Section 40-43-150. (A) Except as provided in Section 40-43-155, it is unlawful for 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, podiatrist, dentist, nurse practitioner, therapeutically certified optometrist, physician's assistant, or veterinarian 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, podiatrist, dentist, nurse practitioner, therapeutically certified optometrist, physician's assistant, 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) This section 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, podiatrists, dentists, diagnostically or therapeutically certified optometrists, 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. This section applies to the sale by a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer to a person other than those legally qualified and authorized to purchase and hold them for resale in this State."

Physicians' assistants

SECTION 2. Section 40-47-25 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 124 of 1987, is further amended to read:

"Section 40-47-25. (A) A representative of the South Carolina Academy of Physicians' Assistants has the privilege of attendance at all meetings of the State Board of Medical Examiners (board) and must be permitted to speak to matters affecting physicians' assistants. However, this representative is not a member of the board and is not entitled to vote.

(B) The board shall explore the possibility of administering its own examination for purposes of determining a physician's assistant's competency before issuing a temporary or permanent certificate. The board may impose an examination fee to cover the costs and expenses of administering this examination."

Registration of nurses and physicians' assistants for prescribing Schedule V controlled substances

SECTION 3. Section 44-53-290 of the 1976 Code, is amended by adding an appropriately lettered subsection to read:

"(j) Pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 44-53-300, the department may issue a registration in Schedule V to a nurse practitioner certified to prescribe Schedule V controlled substances by the State Board of Nursing for South Carolina and to a physician's assistant certified to prescribe Schedule V controlled substances by the State Board of Medical Examiners. A nurse practitioner or a physicians' assistant registered by the department pursuant to this subsection may not acquire, possess, or dispense, other than by prescription, a controlled substance except as provided by law."

Time effective

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 14th day of June, 1993.