SB 137

Under current law, a pharmacy has a duty to dispense lawfully prescribed contraceptive drugs and devices without delay unless certain factors apply, including that the prescription contains an obvious or known error or contains inadequate instructions, the prescription is contraindicated for the patient, the prescription is incompatible with another drug or device prescribed for the patient, or the prescription is potentially fraudulent. This bill expands that duty to require pharmacies to dispense any lawfully prescribed drug or device without delay. However, if any pharmacist at a pharmacy refuses to dispense a drug or device for reasons of conscience such that the pharmacy cannot fulfill the prescription order without delay, then the bill requires the pharmacy to transfer the prescription order to a different pharmacy, at the direction of the patient, that will dispense the prescribed drug or device without delay. The bill also specifies that a pharmacy may not dispense a lawfully prescribed drug or device if there is an absolute contraindication for the prescribed drug or device, rather than just a contraindication. Under the bill, “absolute contraindication” is defined to mean any condition present in a patient that makes a particular drug or device inadvisable under any circumstances.

Further, the bill prohibits a pharmacy benefit manager from penalizing in any way a pharmacy or pharmacist from dispensing a prescribed drug or device that is prescribed for a use other than a use approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration if the prescribed drug or device is dispensed pursuant to a valid prescription order.