MississippiHB 8562025 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

Pharmacy Practice Act; extend repealer on and make various changes to.

Sponsored By: Samuel Creekmore IV (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Public Health and Human ServicesPublic Health and Welfare

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

16 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 5 costs, 8 mixed.

Retailers get free cold medicine tracking

Mississippi pharmacies and retailers get free access to the required tracking system for over-the-counter pseudoephedrine and ephedrine sales. They can use the National Precursor Log Exchange or its successor. The system must be available without charge.

Mississippi pharmacy rules continue through 2029

The law moves the Pharmacy Practice Act's repeal date from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2029. This keeps Mississippi's pharmacy oversight system in place. The Pharmacy Board can delegate duties to its executive director. Further delegation to Board officers or employees requires Board approval.

State drug tracking rule mandate ends

The Board no longer has to create rules for a state drug-tracking document or electronic file. That mandate covered wholesale distributors, chain pharmacy warehouses, and repackagers tracking distribution, returns, transfers, and sales. The repeal removes this specific state rulemaking duty; it does not repeal federal drug-tracking requirements.

Drug return businesses face tighter rules

Businesses helping pharmacies return outdated drugs must register, obtain a permit, and administer manufacturers' return policies. Manufacturers with repurchase programs in place on January 1, 2008, lose their exemption from outdated-drug return requirements. Manufacturers that break return rules can face additional penalties. The Board can make their products ineligible for product selection in state drug assistance programs.

Drug suppliers face broader oversight

Drug supply-chain businesses and covered device handlers must register; Mississippi businesses providing pharmacy services must also obtain required permits. Board oversight also covers pharmacy benefit managers and organizations that handle business services for pharmacies. Licensing rules can require ownership details, background checks, home-state licenses, bonds, and information not previously submitted. Outside agencies can accredit anyone the Board licenses or permits. Inspectors must show credentials and explain their purpose; reasonable-hours inspections can include federally required drug-tracking records.

More pharmacy activities fall under regulation

The law broadens which products, locations, and activities fall under pharmacy rules. Devices include articles that require a prescription, even when a pharmacist need not dispense them. Dispensing includes delivery to a patient, and pharmacies include any location where pharmacists provide pharmacy-related services. Manufacturing includes packaging, repackaging, labeling, and relabeling drugs or devices for resale, beyond promotion and marketing.

Pharmacy businesses face broader penalty exposure

The Board can fine registered facilities or businesses up to $50,000 per violation, not just wholesalers and manufacturers. The law removes the $300 minimum for these penalties. Operating without a required license, registration, or permit can bring penalties of up to $1,000 per day. Daily penalties can run from the first date of Mississippi business. These amounts are maximums, not automatic charges.

More home equipment providers need permits

Home medical equipment permit rules cover entities that supply or coordinate equipment delivered to patients at home. This applies when the patient or a third-party payer is billed. Covered out-of-state providers offering equipment, prescription devices, or medical gas to Mississippi patients also need permits. Initial fees cannot exceed $300, and annual renewals cannot exceed $175; community pharmacies and specified health-care providers are exempt. Renewal is due June 30, with a $100 late penalty before September 30; unrenewed permits become void after September 30.

Charity pharmacy immunity limits patient claims

Civil liability protection is limited to nonprofit pharmacies operated solely to supply free, charitable pharmaceutical products. The nonprofit must qualify, or be eligible to qualify, under federal nonprofit tax law. To claim protection, the pharmacy must post a notice beside prescription pickup explaining patients' limited legal recourse. It must measure at least 11 by 14 inches, use at least 36-point type, and have a one-inch solid black border. Protection excludes gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, and product manufacturers or designers.

Pharmacy investigations get stronger privacy shields

Pharmacy Board investigation records, including complaints, are confidential and cannot be obtained through discovery or subpoena. Review committee meetings and minutes are exempt from open-meeting and public-records laws. Two Board members review investigations in rotations lasting no more than three consecutive months, with executive director and legal counsel advice. Investigators report to that committee, and members who review complaints cannot join the related discipline case. After finding insufficient cause, the Board may destroy records if no discipline case begins within five years.

Pharmacy Board gains faster enforcement tools

Evidence of immediate public danger lets the Board suspend a license, registration, or facility permit without a prior hearing. It must file a complaint and hearing notice at once, with a hearing within 20 days. Ordinary discipline procedures now cover registrants, requiring sworn charges and at least 30 days' written notice before a hearing. Through its executive director, the Board can demand records relevant to investigations. It can seek enforcement and contempt sanctions in chancery court.

Lower pharmacy fines, appeal limits remain

The law removes minimum fines under the general pharmacy discipline rules. Maximums remain $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for later violations. Appealing a monetary penalty pauses that penalty while the appeal is pending. The appellant must still obey the Board's disciplinary order, including restrictions on pharmacy practice or other regulated work.

Prescribers and pharmacists have less paperwork

Prescription forms no longer need separate signature lines for allowing substitution or requiring the prescribed product. The law also removes the handwritten 'dispense as written' requirement for forms without those lines. Pharmacists no longer face the specific five-business-day duty to record the biological product dispensed and notify the prescriber. This reduces paperwork but removes that required product-specific communication.

Prescription monitoring adds registration and records

Mississippi's prescription monitoring program supports safe drug use, addiction treatment, investigations, and public education about drug-use trends. Licensed practitioners with active Drug Enforcement Administration numbers must register, as must all licensed pharmacists. The Bureau of Narcotics director or a designee can access records to investigate possible illegal activity involving monitored substances. Data remains confidential, and further sharing is limited by law. The Board must keep required medical cannabis dispensing data, but these records are not prescriptions under pharmacy or controlled-substance laws.

Older pharmacy licensing provisions are repealed

The law repeals an older licensing provision tied to University of Mississippi pharmacy graduation before a specified date. It also repeals the section that abolished the assistant pharmacist license. These repeals do not themselves create a new license or licensing pathway.

Longer pharmacy permits, higher fee caps

The Board can issue covered permits for one, two, or three years. Original and renewal permit fees are capped at $1,500, up from $1,000, including for nonresident pharmacies. Out-of-state pharmacies serving Mississippi residents or businesses must get a nonresident permit. Their inspection reports can come from the home-state regulator or a Board-approved inspection entity. Organizations that handle business services for pharmacies face an initial license fee set by the Board, capped at $500.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Samuel Creekmore IV
Republican • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 328 • No: 2

House vote • 4/1/2025

Conference Report Adopted

Yes: 114 • No: 0

Senate vote • 4/1/2025