A N A C T
RELATING TO BUSINESSESS AND PROFESSIONS -- PHARMACY
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 5-19-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-19 entitled "Pharmacy" is hereby amended to read as follows:
5-19-20. Store license -- Supervision by pharmacist -- (a) No person, co-partnership, or corporation shall conduct and maintain any open shop or store for the purpose of retailing, compounding, or dispensing drugs, medicines or poisons, without first obtaining and having in force from the board of pharmacy a license to do so. That license is issued to the pharmacist registered by the board of pharmacy at that open shop or store, or as having supervision over that shop or store or shops or stores. If a person, co-partnership, or corporation conduct and maintain more than one shop or store, he, she or it shall employ at least one registered pharmacist and shall have a separate registered pharmacist or registered assistant pharmacist at each shop or store at all times when open.
(b) Pharmacies operated by a person, co-partnership or corporation license pursuant to this chapter may refill prescriptions previously dispensed by another pharmacy, provided that prior to dispensing a refill the pharmacy refilling the prescription verifies the appropriateness of the refill through a centralized database.
(c) Disclosure of prescription information to any other person(s), other than agents of properly licensed pharmacies pursuant to subsection (b), is prohibited.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, for the purposes of disclosure of prescription information, a patient's employer is expressly prohibited from obtaining from a pharmacy, health insurer or other third party such information without the prior written authorization of the employee patient, which authorization shall specify the purpose for which the records are being sought.
(e) Any violation of subsection (c) or (d) shall be subject to the penalties provided by chaper 37.3 of title 5, the Confidentiality of Health Care Communications and Information Act.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.