AN ACT Relating to the board of pharmacy; and adding new sections to chapter 18.64 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds and declares that the practice of pharmacy is a dynamic, patient-oriented health service that applies a scientific body of knowledge to improve and promote patient health by means of appropriate drug use and drug related therapy.

(2) The legislature recognizes that with the proliferation of alternate methods of health delivery, there has arisen among third-party payers and insurance companies the desire to control the cost and utilization of pharmacy services through a variety of mechanisms, including the use of mail order pharmacies located outside the state of Washington.

(3) As a result, the legislature finds and declares that to continue to protect the Washington consumer-patient, all out-of-state pharmacies that provide service to Washington residents shall be registered with the board, disclose specific information about their services, and provide pharmacy services at a high level of protection and competence.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Any pharmacy located outside this state that ships, mail, or delivers, in any manner, controlled substances, legend drugs, or devices into this state is a nonresident pharmacy, shall be registered with the board, and shall disclose to the board the following:

(a) The location, names, and titles of all principal corporate officers and all pharmacists employed by the pharmacy who are dispensing controlled substances, legend drugs, or devices to residents of this state. A report containing this information shall be made on an annual basis and within thirty days after any change of location, corporate officer, or pharmacist;

(b) That it complies with all lawful directions and requests for information from the regulatory or licensing agency of the state in which it is licensed as well as with all requests for information made by the board under this section. The nonresident pharmacy shall maintain, at all times, a valid unexpired license, permit, or registration to operate the pharmacy in compliance with the laws of the state in which it is a resident. As a prerequisite to registering with the board, the nonresident pharmacy shall submit a copy of the most recent inspection report issued by the regulatory licensing agency of the state in which it is located;

(c) That it maintains its records of controlled substances, legend drugs, or devices dispensed to patients in this state so that the records are readily retrievable from the records of other drugs dispensed.

(2) Any pharmacy subject to this section shall, during its regular hours of operation, but not less than six days per week, and for a minimum of forty hours per week, provide a toll-free telephone service to facilitate communication between patients in this state and a pharmacist at the pharmacy who has access to the patient's records. This toll-free number shall be disclosed on the label affixed to each container of drugs dispensed to patients in this state.

(3) A pharmacy subject to this section shall comply with board rules regarding the maintenance and use of patient medication record systems and the provision of drug utilization information to the patient.

(4) The registration fee specified by the board shall not exceed the fee charged to a pharmacy located in this state.

(5) The registration requirements of this section apply to nonresident pharmacies that ship, mail, or deliver controlled substances, legend drugs, and devices into this state only pursuant to a prescription.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) A pharmacy doing business in this state that has not obtained a registration from the board and sells or distributes drugs in this state through (a) any person or media other than a wholesaler who has a certificate, license, permit, or registration under the provisions of this chapter, or (b) through a selling or distribution outlet licensed as a wholesaler under the provisions of this chapter, shall not conduct the business of selling or distributing drugs in this state without registering as a nonresident pharmacy.

(2) Applications for an out-of-state drug distributor's license or a nonresident pharmacy registration under this section shall be made on a form furnished by the board. The board may require such information as the board deems is reasonably necessary to carry out the purpose of this section.

(3) The nonresident pharmacy registration shall be renewed annually on a date to be established by the board by rule.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A nonresident pharmacy shall:

(1) Submit to the board, upon request, information acceptable to the board concerning controlled substances shipped, mailed, or delivered to a Washington resident.

(2) Submit to on-site inspection by the board of the nonresident pharmacy's prescription records if the information in subsection (1) cannot be provided to the board.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The board may deny, revoke, or suspend a nonresident pharmacy registration for failure to comply with any requirement of this act.

(2) The board may deny, revoke, or suspend a nonresident pharmacy registration for conduct which causes serious bodily or psychological injury to a resident of this state if the board has referred the matter to the regulatory or licensing agency in the state in which the pharmacy is located and that regulatory or licensing agency fails to initiate an investigation within forty-five days of the referrals under this subsection or any action taken thereon.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. It is unlawful for:

(1) Any nonresident pharmacy that is not registered under section 2 of this act to advertise its services in this state; or

(2) Any resident of this state to advertise the pharmaceutical services of a nonresident pharmacy that has not registered with the board, with the knowledge that the advertisement will or is likely to induce persons in this state to use the pharmacy to fill prescriptions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The board is authorized to adopt rules to implement the provisions of this act, consistent with state law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act are each added to chapter 18.64 RCW.