BILL NUMBER: AB 847 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Sections 4190 and 4195 of, and to amend the
heading of Article 14 (commencing with Section 4190) of Chapter 9 of
Division 2 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to
pharmacy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 847, as introduced, Bonnie Lowenthal. Pharmacy: clinics.
Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and
regulation of the practice of pharmacy by the California State Board
of Pharmacy and makes a knowing violation of its provisions a crime.
Existing law authorizes a surgical clinic, as defined, to purchase
drugs at wholesale for administration or dispensing, under the
direction of a physician and surgeon, to patients registered for care
at the surgical clinic. Existing law requires these surgical clinics
to obtain a license from the board and to comply with various
regulatory requirements, and requires a surgical clinic to maintain
specified records. Existing law authorizes the board to inspect a
surgical clinic at any time in order to determine whether a surgical
clinic is operating in compliance with certain requirements.
This bill would expand these provisions to additionally authorize
an outpatient setting or an ambulatory surgical center, as specified,
to purchase drugs at wholesale for administration or dispensing,
subject to the requirements applicable to surgical clinics. The bill
would delete the requirement that a clinic operating under these
provisions be licensed by the California State Board of Pharmacy and
would make that licensure optional. The bill would specify that the
board is authorized to inspect only a clinic that is licensed by the
board.
Because a knowing violation of these requirements by outpatient
settings and ambulatory surgical centers would be a crime, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Article 14 (commencing with Section
4190) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:
Article 14. Surgical Clinics
SEC. 2. Section 4190 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4190. (a) For the purposes of this article, "clinic" means a
surgical clinic licensed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code, an outpatient
setting accredited by an accreditation agency, as defined in Section
1248 of the Health and Safety Code, or an ambulatory surgical center
certified to participate in the Medicare Program under Title XVIII of
the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1395 et seq.).
(a)
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, a
surgical clinic, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code
clinic may purchase drugs at wholesale for administration or
dispensing, under the direction of a physician and surgeon
, to patients registered for care at the clinic, as provided in
subdivision (b). (c). The clinic shall
keep records of the kind and amounts of drugs purchased,
administered, and dispensed, and the records shall be available and
maintained for a minimum of three years for inspection by all
properly authorized personnel.
(b)
(c) The drug distribution service of a
surgical clinic shall be limited to the use of drugs for
administration to the patients of the surgical
clinic and to the dispensing of drugs for the control of pain and
nausea for patients of the clinic. Drugs shall not be dispensed in an
amount greater than that required to meet the patient's needs for 72
hours. Drugs for administration shall be those drugs directly
applied, whether by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other
means, to the body of a patient for his or her immediate needs.
(c) No surgical clinic shall operate without a license issued by
the board nor shall it be entitled to the benefits of this section
until it has obtained a license from the board. A
(d) A clinic may, at its option, apply for a license issued by the
board pursuant to this section.
(e) If a clinic elects to obtain a
license purs uant to subdivision (d), a separate
license shall be required for each clinic location. A clinic
licensed by the board shall notify the board of any change in
the clinic's address on a form furnished by the board.
(d) Any
(f) If a clinic is licensed by the
board, any proposed change in ownership or beneficial interest
in the licensee shall be reported to the board, on a form to be
furnished by the board, at least 30 days prior to the execution of
any agreement to purchase, sell, exchange, gift or otherwise transfer
any ownership or beneficial interest or prior to any transfer of
ownership or beneficial interest, whichever occurs earlier.
(g) Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of a
physician and surgeon or a group medical practice to prescribe,
dispense, administer, or furnish drugs at a clinic or surgical clinic
as provided in Sections 2241.5, 2242, and 4170.
SEC. 3. Section 4195 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4195. The board shall have the authority to inspect a clinic
that is licensed pursuant to this article at any time in order
to determine whether a the clinic is,
or is not, operating in compliance with this article and all other
provisions of the law.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.