Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 247 CMR - BOARD OF REGISTRATION IN PHARMACY › Title 247 CMR 9.00 - Code Of Professional Conduct; Professional Standards For Registered Pharmacists, Pharmacies And Pharmacy Departments › Section 9.01 - Code of Professional Conduct for Registered Pharmacists, Pharmacies and Pharmacy Departments

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) A registered pharmacist shall at all times conduct professional activities in conformity with federal, state and municipal laws, ordinances and/or regulations, including the regulations of the Board.
(2) A pharmacist shall not dispense drugs, devices, or other substances in a manner which is intended, either directly or indirectly, to circumvent the law.
(3) A pharmacist shall observe the standards of the current United States Pharmacopoeia.
(4) Unless otherwise permitted by law, a pharmacist shall not redispense any medication which has been previously dispensed.
(5) While on duty, a pharmacist shall be responsible for the proper preservation and security of all drugs in the pharmacy or pharmacy department, including the proper refrigeration and storage of said drugs.
(6) A pharmacist shall not engage in any fraudulent or deceptive act.
(7) A pharmacist shall not enter into an agreement or arrangement with any person for the purpose of dispensing drugs which have been ordered by coded prescriptions.
(8) A pharmacist, pharmacy or pharmacy department shall not promise to any person who owns, operates, manages or is an employee of a hospital, nursing home or other health care facility, or to any authorized practitioner, any rebate, refund, discount, commission or other valuable consideration for, or on account of, or based upon income received or resulting from, the sale, or furnishing of any such pharmacist, pharmacy, or pharmacy department, of drugs devices or services to patients of such persons, organizations or facilities.
(9) A pharmacist shall not in any way aid or abet the unlawful practice of pharmacy.
(10) A pharmacist shall not dispense or distribute expired, outdated or otherwise substandard drugs or devices or counterfeit drugs or devices to any person or entity who is not licensed or legally authorized to receive such drugs or devices.
(11) A pharmacist may dispense prescription drugs by mail or common carrier in a manner consistent with federal and state laws and regulations, including the regulations of the Board. All pharmacists shall have available sufficient information to contact the patient and the prescribing practitioner.
(12) Unless otherwise permitted by law, a pharmacist connected with, or employed by, a hospital or clinic shall not dispense drugs to any person other than inpatients or outpatients, or to employees of said hospital or clinic, or to said employees' spouses and children who live in the same household with said employees.
(13) A pharmacist, pharmacy, pharmacy department, pharmaceutical organization or pharmacy corporation shall not provide any practitioner with prescription blanks which refer to any pharmacist, pharmacy or pharmacy department.
(14) A pharmacist shall keep a perpetual inventory of each controlled substance in Schedules II which the pharmacist has received, dispensed or disposed of in accordance with the law. This inventory must be reconciled at least once every ten days.
(15) Unless otherwise provided for by law, a pharmacist shall not limit his or her services to a particular segment or segments of the general public.
(16) A pharmacist shall not refuse to compound customary pharmaceutical preparations except upon extenuating circumstances.
(17) A pharmacist shall not purchase drug samples for the purpose of compounding, dispensing, or in any way reselling these samples.
(18) A pharmacist shall comply with the mandatory counseling provisions contained in M.G.L. c. 94C, § 21A.
(19) A pharmacist shall maintain patient confidentiality at all times. Confidential information shall include information maintained by the pharmacist in the patient's records or information which is communicated to the patient as part of patient counseling, which is privileged and may be released only to the patient or to those practitioners and other pharmacists where, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, such release is necessary to protect the patient's health and well being; and to such other persons or governmental agencies authorized by law to receive such confidential information.