H-4873              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 3029

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives Cole and Brooks

Read first time 3/8/90 and referred to Committee on Health Care.

AN ACT Relating to legend drugs; adding a new section to chapter 69.41 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that significant identification errors occur in the hospitals and physicians' and dentists' offices in this state in the use of medication packaged in ampules, vials, or prefilled syringes.  These errors pose serious health hazards to the public, and subject manufacturers, dispensers, prescribers, and users to allegations of negligence.  Misidentification errors occur, in large part, because individuals have difficulty in distinguishing among the various medications due to the lack of consistent, systematic markings or colors on the containers.

          The legislature requires appropriate imprinting and labeling of both prescription and nonprescription solid medications to reduce error in their usage.  The legislature finds that, in order to minimize error in the use of medications that are furnished in ampules, vials, or prefilled syringes, it is also necessary to mandate identification and labeling for these medication forms.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 69.41 RCW to read as follows:

          (1)  On or before January 1, 1993, all medications intended for use for either humans or animals that are furnished in ampules, vials, or prefilled syringes shall be labeled as follows:

          (a)  The trade name, generic name, and the dosage or concentration of the drug or drugs shall be printed in accordance with rules adopted by the department of health.  The department shall consider nationally accepted standards for labeling in adopting the rules and shall require the medication name to be recognizable at arm's length under lighting conditions of twenty-foot candle power.

          (b)  Other labeling requirements that exist on the effective date of this section shall be retained but may be updated from time to time by the department.

          (c)  To the extent possible, the tips of ampules, the caps of vials, and bands or labels on prefilled syringes shall be color- coded to aid in accurate and quick identification.

          (d)  All ampules, vials, and prefilled syringes that contain medication that is to be diluted before use shall have a black cap, label, or band placed on the container and shall have the phrase, "dilute before use," conspicuously printed on the container, cap, label, or band.

          (2)  The board of pharmacy shall consult with the professional associations for hospitals, pharmacists, and other involved health care professionals, then prepare and distribute illustrative material for display at all sites where ampules, vials, and prefilled syringes are likely to be used.

         (3)  After January 1, 1994, to the extent feasible, the board of pharmacy shall keep records of all errors that involve the misidentification of medications in ampules, vials, and prefilled syringes.