2006 Utah Code - 58-17b-605 — Drug product equivalents.

     58-17b-605.   Drug product equivalents.
     (1) A pharmacist or pharmacy intern dispensing a prescription order for a specific drug by brand or proprietary name may substitute another drug product equivalent if:
     (a) the purchaser specifically requests or consents to the substitution of a drug product equivalent;
     (b) the substituted drug product equivalent is of the same generic type and is designated the therapeutic equivalent in the approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence evaluations prepared by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the Federal Food and Drug Administration;
     (c) the substituted drug product is permitted to move in interstate commerce;
     (d) the pharmacist or pharmacy intern counsels the patient on the use and the expected response to the prescribed drug, whether a substitute or not, and the substitution is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter;
     (e) the prescribing practitioner has not indicated that an equivalent drug product is not to be substituted as provided in Subsection (5); and
     (f) the substitution is not otherwise prohibited by law.
     (2) (a) Each out-of-state mail service pharmacy dispensing a substituted drug product into this state shall notify the patient of substitution either by telephone or in writing.
     (b) Each out-of-state mail service pharmacy shall comply with the requirements of this chapter with respect to drugs which may be substituted, including labeling and record keeping, when dispensing substituted drug products.
     (3) Pharmacists or pharmacy interns may not substitute without the prescriber's authorization on trade name drug product prescriptions unless the product is currently categorized in the approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence evaluations prepared by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the Federal Food and Drug Administration as a drug product considered to be therapeutically equivalent to another drug product.
     (4) A pharmacist or pharmacy intern who dispenses a prescription with a drug product equivalent under this section assumes no greater liability than would be incurred had the pharmacist or pharmacy intern dispensed the prescription with the drug product prescribed.
     (5) (a) If, in the opinion of the practitioner, it is in the best interest of the patient that an equivalent drug product not be substituted, the practitioner may indicate a prohibition on substitution either by writing "dispense as written" or may sign in the appropriate space where two lines have been preprinted on a prescription order and captioned "dispense as written" or "substitution permitted".
     (b) If the prescription is communicated orally by the practitioner to the pharmacist or pharmacy intern, the practitioner shall indicate the prohibition on substitution and that indication shall be noted in writing by the pharmacist or pharmacy intern with the name of the practitioner and the words "orally by" and the initials of the pharmacy practitioner written after it.
     (6) The substitution, if any, shall be communicated to the purchaser. The container shall be labeled with the name of the drug dispensed and the pharmacist, pharmacy intern, or pharmacy technician shall indicate on the file copy of the prescription both the name of the prescribed drug and the name of the drug dispensed in its place.
     (7) Failure of a licensed medical practitioner to specify that no substitution is authorized does not constitute evidence of negligence.

Enacted by Chapter 280, 2004 General Session