2012 New York Consolidated Laws
PBH - Public Health
Article 2-A - PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
Title 2 - (278 - 280) PRESCRIPTION DRUGS; VARIOUS PROVISIONS
278 - Prescription drug retail price lists.

 
    §  278.  Prescription drug retail price lists. 1. The department shall
  make prescription drug retail price lists of pharmacies, with  the  name
  and  address  of each pharmacy, available to the public in a database on
  its website at all times. The website shall enable consumers  to  search
  the  database  for drug retail prices of pharmacies selected by zip code
  of the  pharmacy  and  other  appropriate  factors,  including  enabling
  consumers  to  display and compare prices for one or more selected drugs
  as well as for the full list. The  website  shall  enable  consumers  to
  download  and print displayed information. The website shall accommodate
  reasonably anticipated and  actual  public  use  of  the  database.  The
  database  shall display drug retail prices for the compendium of the one
  hundred  fifty  most  frequently  prescribed  drugs  received   by   the
  department  from  the  department of education under section sixty-eight
  hundred twenty-six of the education law.
    2. The department shall extract  pharmacy  retail  price  information,
  showing  the  actual  price  to  be  paid  to  the  pharmacy by a retail
  purchaser for any listed drug at  the  listed  dosage,  from  usual  and
  customary  price  data collected by the medical assistance program under
  title eleven of article five  of  the  social  services  law.  Provided,
  however,  that  any  pharmacy  participating  in  the medical assistance
  program shall provide the usual and customary price  data  for  the  one
  hundred fifty most frequently prescribed drugs under section sixty-eight
  hundred  twenty-six  of  the education law to the department through the
  same mechanism that the usual and customary price data is received under
  the medical assistance program. If the department is unable  to  process
  such  data,  the  pharmacy  shall  fax or electronically transmit to the
  department the usual and customary price data for the one hundred  fifty
  most  frequently  prescribed  drugs  under  section  sixty-eight hundred
  twenty-six of the education law. The prescription drug retail price list
  database shall be subject to  and  conform  with  applicable  state  and
  federal    requirements,    including    those    concerning    privacy,
  confidentiality and use of information. The commissioner  shall  seek  a
  waiver   of  any  federal  requirement  necessary  for  development  and
  implementation of the database under this section.  Upon  implementation
  of  this  system,  this section shall apply in place of any inconsistent
  provision of section sixty-eight hundred  twenty-six  of  the  education
  law.   The   prescription   drug  retail  price  list  database  on  the
  department's website shall list a pharmacy's price information extracted
  under this subdivision as the pharmacy's retail price for each drug. The
  department shall update the prescription drug retail price list at least
  weekly using the most  recent  retail  price  for  each  drug  for  each
  pharmacy as reasonably practicable.
    2-a. Pharmacies which do not provide usual and customary price data in
  the  manner  specified in subdivision two of this section shall transmit
  the drug retail price list  compiled  pursuant  to  section  sixty-eight
  hundred  twenty-six  of  the education law to the department in a manner
  and frequency prescribed by the  department  and  the  department  shall
  extract  the  usual  and customary price data information from such drug
  retail price  list;  provided  that  the  commissioner  may  exempt  any
  category  of  pharmacy  not  required  to  compile such list pursuant to
  section sixty-eight hundred twenty-six of the education law.
    3.  The  prescription  drug  retail  price  list   database   on   the
  department's   website  shall  contain  an  advisory  statement  by  the
  department alerting consumers of the need  to  tell  their  health  care
  practitioner and pharmacist about all the medications they may be taking
  and  to ask them how to avoid harmful interactions between the drugs, if
  any. A  pharmacy  may  submit  to  the  department  a  brief  statement,
  acceptable  to  the  department,  to  be  included  on  the  website  in

  conjunction  with  the  pharmacy's  prescription   drug   retail   price
  information: (a) concerning discounts from its listed retail prices that
  may  be available to consumers and (b) any limitations that the pharmacy
  may have as to what group or groups of customers it serves.
    4.  In  developing and implementing the prescription drug retail price
  list database system, the department may  seek  and  shall  receive  the
  assistance of the departments of education and law.
    5.   The   commissioner  shall  provide  an  interim  progress  report
  concerning efforts to develop and implement the  database  system  under
  this  section not later than January thirty-first, two thousand six. The
  report shall include a  projected  completion  date,  a  description  of
  obstacles  to development and implementation of the database system, and
  an estimate of the costs to complete the implementation of the  database
  system.
    6.  As used in this section, "pharmacy" means any place in which drugs
  or prescriptions are possessed for the purpose of retailing, or in which
  drugs or prescriptions are retailed, or in which drugs or  prescriptions
  are by advertising or otherwise offered for sale at retail.