2011 California Code
Business and Professions Code
DIVISION 2. HEALING ARTS [500 - 4999.122]
ARTICLE 12. Prescriber Dispensing
Section 4170

(a) No prescriber shall dispense drugs or dangerous devices to patients in his or her office or place of practice unless all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are dispensed to the prescriber s own patient, and the drugs or dangerous devices are not furnished by a nurse or physician attendant.

(2) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are necessary in the treatment of the condition for which the prescriber is attending the patient.

(3) The prescriber does not keep a pharmacy, open shop, or drugstore, advertised or otherwise, for the retailing of dangerous drugs, dangerous devices, or poisons.

(4) The prescriber fulfills all of the labeling requirements imposed upon pharmacists by Section 4076, all of the recordkeeping requirements of this chapter, and all of the packaging requirements of good pharmaceutical practice, including the use of childproof containers.

(5) The prescriber does not use a dispensing device unless he or she personally owns the device and the contents of the device, and personally dispenses the dangerous drugs or dangerous devices to the patient packaged, labeled, and recorded in accordance with paragraph (4).

(6) The prescriber, prior to dispensing, offers to give a written prescription to the patient that the patient may elect to have filled by the prescriber or by any pharmacy.

(7) The prescriber provides the patient with written disclosure that the patient has a choice between obtaining the prescription from the dispensing prescriber or obtaining the prescription at a pharmacy of the patient s choice.

(8) A certified nurse-midwife who functions pursuant to a standardized procedure or protocol described in Section 2746.51, a nurse practitioner who functions pursuant to a standardized procedure described in Section 2836.1, or protocol, a physician assistant who functions pursuant to Section 3502.1, or a naturopathic doctor who functions pursuant to Section 3640.5, may hand to a patient of the supervising physician and surgeon a properly labeled prescription drug prepackaged by a physician and surgeon, a manufacturer as defined in this chapter, or a pharmacist.

(b) The Medical Board of California, the State Board of Optometry, the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine, the Dental Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Veterinary Medical Board, and the Physician Assistant Committee shall have authority with the California State Board of Pharmacy to ensure compliance with this section, and those boards are specifically charged with the enforcement of this chapter with respect to their respective licensees.

(c) Prescriber, as used in this section, means a person, who holds a physician s and surgeon s certificate, a license to practice optometry, a license to practice naturopathic medicine, a license to practice dentistry, a license to practice veterinary medicine, or a certificate to practice podiatry, and who is duly registered by the Medical Board of California, the State Board of Optometry, the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine, the Dental Board of California, the Veterinary Medical Board, or the Board of Osteopathic Examiners of this state.

(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 506, Sec. 16. Effective October 4, 2005.)