Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

“Telepharmacy” means a system that is used by a supervising pharmacy for the purpose of monitoring the dispensing of prescription drugs by a remote dispensing site pharmacy and provides for related drug regimen review and patient counseling by an electronic method, including, but…

“Third-party logistics provider” means an entity that provides or coordinates warehousing or other logistics services for a dangerous drug or dangerous device in intrastate or interstate commerce on behalf of a manufacturer, wholesaler, or dispenser of the dangerous drug or dange…

“Surplus medication collection and distribution intermediary” means a firm, association, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, state governmental agency, or political subdivision that performs the functions specified in Section 4169.5 for the purpose of a program e…

(a) For the purposes of this section, “state agency” includes every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, authority, and commission. (b) In recognition of and consistent with the decisions of the appellate courts of this state, the Legislature hereby declare…

(a) For the purposes of this section, “accepted standard of care” means the degree of care a prudent and reasonable pharmacist licensed pursuant to this chapter, with similar education, training, experience, resources, and setting, would exercise in a similar situation. (b) Excep…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a pharmacist may do all of the following: (1) Furnish a reasonable quantity of compounded drug product to a prescriber for office use by the prescriber. (2) Transmit a valid prescription to another pharmacist. (3) Administer drugs and biological…

(a) In addition to the authority provided in Section 4052, a pharmacist may furnish COVID-19 oral therapeutics following a positive test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. (b) Prior to furnishing COVID-19 oral therapeutics pursuant to subdivision (a), a pharmacist sh…

A pharmacist may independently initiate and administer an immunization that, on January 1, 2025, had in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regardless of whether the immunization …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a pharmacist may perform the following procedures or functions in a licensed health care facility in accordance with policies, procedures, or protocols developed by health professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, and regist…

(a) A pharmacist may dispense a Schedule II controlled substance, as listed in Section 11055 of the Health and Safety Code, as a partial fill if requested by the patient or the prescriber. (b) If a pharmacist dispenses a partial fill on a prescription pursuant to this section, th…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a pharmacist may perform the following procedures or functions as part of the care provided by a health care facility, a licensed home health agency, licensed correctional clinic, a licensed clinic in which there is physician oversight, a provid…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 2038 or any other provision of law, a pharmacist may perform skin puncture in the course of performing routine patient assessment procedures or in the course of performing any procedure authorized under Section 1206.5 or 1206.6. For purposes of this se…

(a) In addition to the authority allowed under Section 4073, a pharmacist filling a prescription order for a drug product may select a different form of medication with the same active chemical ingredients of equivalent strength and duration of therapy as the prescribed drug prod…

(a) A pharmacist recognized by the board as an advanced pharmacist practitioner may do all of the following: (1) Perform patient assessments. (2) Order and interpret drug therapy-related tests. (3) Refer patients to other health care providers. (4) Participate in the evaluation a…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 4051, the board may issue a license as a designated representative to provide sufficient and qualified supervision in a wholesaler or veterinary food-animal drug retailer. The designated representative shall protect the public health and safety in the …

(a) Notwithstanding Section 4051, the board may issue a license to a qualified individual as a designated representative-3PL to provide sufficient and qualified supervision of a third-party logistics provider’s place of business. The designated representative-3PL shall protect th…

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 4051 and 4053, the board may issue a designated representative-reverse distributor license to a qualified individual who shall provide sufficient and qualified supervision over a licensed wholesaler that only acts as a reverse distributor. The designa…

Section 4051 shall not apply to a manufacturer or wholesaler that provides dialysis drugs and devices directly to patients.

Nothing in this chapter, nor any other law, shall prohibit the sale of devices to clinics that have been issued a clinic license pursuant to Article 13 (commencing with Section 4180) of this chapter, or to skilled nursing facilities or intermediate care facilities licensed pursua…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, a licensed hospital that contains 100 beds or fewer, and that does not employ a full-time pharmacist, may purchase drugs at wholesale for administration, under the direction of a physician, or for dispensation by a physician, to …

(a) Except as provided in Section 4006, subdivision (d) of Section 4081, Section 4240, subdivisions (t) and (u) of Section 4301, and Section 4342, this chapter does not apply to the retail sale of nonprescription drugs that are not subject to Section 4022 and that are packaged or…

Every person holding a license issued under this chapter to operate a premises shall display the original license and current renewal license upon the licensed premises in a place where it may be clearly read by the public.

(a) A person may not furnish any dangerous drug, except upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, veterinarian, or naturopathic doctor pursuant to Section 3640.7. A person may not furnish any dangerous device, except upon the prescription of a physic…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, dangerous drugs or dangerous devices may only be ordered by an entity licensed by the board and shall be delivered to the licensed premises and signed for and received by a pharmacist. Where a licensee is permitted to operate thro…

A person shall not possess any controlled substance, except that furnished to a person upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, veterinarian, nurse practitioner practicing pursuant to Section 2837.103 or 2837.104, or naturopathic doctor pursuant to …

(a) No manufacturer’s sales representative shall distribute any dangerous drug or dangerous device as a complimentary sample without the written request of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, veterinarian, nurse practitioner practicing pursuant to Section 2837.103 or 2…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 4059 or any other law, a pharmacist or a clinic licensed and acting under Section 4180 may, in good faith, furnish a dangerous drug or dangerous device in reasonable quantities without a prescription during a federal, state, or local emergency, to furt…

No prescription for any dangerous drug or dangerous device may be refilled except upon authorization of the prescriber. The authorization may be given orally or at the time of giving the original prescription. No prescription for any dangerous drug that is a controlled substance …

(a) A prescription for a dangerous drug or dangerous device may be refilled without the prescriber’s authorization if the prescriber is unavailable to authorize the refill and if, in the pharmacist’s professional judgment, failure to refill the prescription might interrupt the pa…

(a) A pharmacist may dispense not more than a 90-day supply of a dangerous drug other than a controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity of less than a 90-day supply followed by periodic refills of that amount if all of the following r…

(a) “Injection card system,” as used in this section, means a system that enables a facility to authorize an outpatient to receive injections of controlled substances at the facility pursuant to a prior written order by a physician, through the use of a card that is maintained at…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 4059, a wholesaler or pharmacy may furnish dangerous drugs to the master or first officer of an ocean vessel, pursuant to a written prescription. The requisition shall be on the vessel’s official stationery, signed by the vessel’s first officer. The dr…

(a) No person or entity shall dispense or furnish, or cause to be dispensed or furnished, dangerous drugs or dangerous devices, as defined in Section 4022, on the internet for delivery to any person in this state without a prescription issued pursuant to an appropriate prior exam…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, except as provided in subdivision (b), a prescriber may dispense a dangerous drug, including a controlled substance, to an emergency room patient if all of the following apply: (1) The hospital pharmacy is closed and there is no …

A pharmacist who dispenses or furnishes a dangerous drug, as defined in Section 4022, pursuant to a veterinary prescription shall include, as part of the consultation, the option for a representative of an animal patient to also receive drug documentation specifically designed fo…

(a) Except as provided in Section 4019 and subdivision (b), an oral or an electronic data transmission prescription as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 4040 shall as soon as practicable be reduced to writing by the pharmacist and shall be filled by, or under the direction of…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a prescriber may authorize his or her agent on his or her behalf to orally or electronically transmit a prescription to the furnisher. The furnisher shall make a reasonable effort to determine that the person who transmits the prescript…

(a) A prescriber, a prescriber’s authorized agent, or a pharmacist may electronically enter a prescription or an order, as defined in Section 4019, into a pharmacy’s or hospital’s computer from any location outside of the pharmacy or hospital with the permission of the pharmacy o…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a pharmacist, registered nurse, licensed vocational nurse, licensed psychiatric technician, or other healing arts licentiate, if so authorized by administrative regulation, who is employed by or serves as a consultant for a licensed…

(a) A pharmacist filling a prescription order for a drug product prescribed by its trade or brand name may select another drug product with the same active chemical ingredients of the same strength, quantity, and dosage form, and of the same generic drug name as determined by the…

(a) A pharmacist filling a prescription order for a prescribed biological product may select an alternative biological product only if all of the following: (1) The alternative biological product is interchangeable. (2) The prescriber does not personally indicate “Do not substitu…

(a) A pharmacist shall inform a patient orally or in writing of the harmful effects of a drug dispensed by prescription if both of the following apply: (1) The drug poses substantial risk to the person consuming the drug when taken in combination with alcohol or the drug may impa…

No prescription for a controlled substance transmitted by means of an oral or electronically transmitted order shall be furnished to any person unknown and unable to properly establish his or her identity. The board may by regulation establish procedures to prevent unauthorized p…

(a) A pharmacist shall not dispense a prescription except in a container that meets the requirements of state and federal law and is correctly labeled with all of the following: (1) Except when the prescriber or the certified nurse-midwife who functions pursuant to a standardized…

(a) The board shall promulgate regulations that require, on or before January 1, 2011, a standardized, patient-centered, prescription drug label on all prescription medicine dispensed to patients in California. (b) To ensure maximum public comment, the board shall hold public mee…

(a) Upon the request of a patient or patient’s representative, a dispenser shall provide translated directions for use, which shall be printed on the prescription container, label, or on a supplemental document. If translated directions for use appear on a prescription container …

In addition to the requirements of Sections 4076 and 4076.5, whenever a prescription drug containing an opioid is dispensed to a patient for outpatient use, the pharmacy or practitioner dispensing the drug shall prominently display on the label or container, by means of a flag or…

(a) If a person informs a pharmacy that the person identifies as a person who is blind, has low-vision, or is otherwise print disabled, the dispenser shall provide to the person or their authorized representative, at no additional cost, an accessible prescription label affixed to…

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), no person shall dispense any dangerous drug upon prescription except in a container correctly labeled with the information required by Section 4076. (b) Physicians, dentists, podiatrists, and veterinarians may personally furnish…

(a) (1) No person shall place a false or misleading label on a prescription. (2) No prescriber shall direct that a prescription be labeled with any information that is false or misleading. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person may label a prescription, or a prescriber may…