Sponsored by:
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Permits abandoned prescription medication to be re-dispensed up to one year after original preparation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning prescription medications and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In the event that a pharmacy prepares a prescription medication that is abandoned by a patient, or a long-term care pharmacy does not dispense a prescription medication to a patient in a long-term care facility, the medication shall be held for re-dispensing and used as soon as possible. The medication shall not be dispensed to patients later than one year from the date the medication was originally prepared for dispensing. A re-dispensed medication shall be marked with the same use-by date found on the medication when it was originally prepared for dispensing.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would provide that, in the event that a pharmacy prepares a prescription medication that is abandoned by a patient, or a long-term care pharmacy does not dispense a prescription medication to a patient in a long-term care facility, the medication would be held for re-dispensing and used as soon as possible. The medication would not be dispensed to patients later than one year from the date the medication was originally prepared for dispensing. A re-dispensed medication would be marked with the same use-by date found on the medication when it was originally prepared for dispensing.
This bill would revise a practice currently governed by N.J.A.C.13:39-7.16, which provides that a medication held for re-dispensing shall not be dispensed to patients later than six months from the date the medication was originally prepared for dispensing. It is the sponsor’s opinion that an extension to one year will cut costs for pharmacies but still maintain safety for patients.