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Measure

AB 447

Authors

Mark González

Subject

Emergency room patient prescriptions.

Relating To

relating to healing arts.

Title

An act to amend Sections 4068 and 4427.2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

Last Action Dt

2025-10-06

State

Chaptered

Status

Chaptered

Active?

Vote Required

Majority

Appropriation

Fiscal Committee

Yes

Local Program

Substantive Changes

None

Urgency

Tax Levy

Leginfo Link

Bill

Actions

2025-10-06		Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 363, Statutes of 2025.
2025-10-06		Approved by the Governor.
2025-09-02		Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
2025-08-26		In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
2025-08-25		Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 2250.).
2025-08-20		Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
2025-08-19		From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.
2025-07-03		From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2025-06-23		From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
2025-06-11		In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
2025-06-04		Referred to Coms. on B. P. & E.D. and HEALTH.
2025-05-23		In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
2025-05-23		Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 71. Noes 0. Page 1662.)
2025-05-15		Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
2025-05-14		From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
2025-05-05		Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2025-05-01		Read second time and amended.
2025-04-30		From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 29).
2025-04-10		Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
2025-04-09		Read second time and amended.
2025-04-08		From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 8).
2025-04-01		Re-referred to Com. on B. & P.
2025-03-28		From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on B. & P. Read second time and amended.
2025-03-03		Referred to Coms. on B. & P. and HEALTH.
2025-02-07		From printer. May be heard in committee March 9.
2025-02-06		Read first time. To print.

Keywords

Tags

Versions

Chaptered		2025-10-06
Enrolled		2025-08-27
Amended Assembly		2025-05-01
Amended Assembly		2025-04-09
Amended Assembly		2025-03-28
Introduced		2025-02-06

Last Version Text

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		<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Mark González</ns0:AuthorText>
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		<ns0:Title> An act to amend Sections 4068 and 4427.2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts. </ns0:Title>
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			<html:p>This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, authorize a prescriber to dispense an unused portion of a dangerous drug acquired by the hospital pharmacy to an emergency room patient upon discharge if certain conditions are satisfied, including that
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			<html:p>Existing law requires an automated drug delivery system (ADDS) that is installed, leased, owned, or operated in California to be licensed by the board. Existing law exempts an automated unit dose system (AUDS), a type of ADDS, from licensure if the AUDS is used solely to provide doses administered to patients while in a licensed general acute care hospital facility or a licensed acute psychiatric hospital facility if the licensed hospital pharmacy owns or leases the AUDS and owns the dangerous drugs and dangerous devices in the AUDS.</html:p>
			<html:p>This bill would also exempt from licensure an AUDS that is used to
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				Section 4068 of the 
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								(a)
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								Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, except as provided in subdivision (b), a prescriber may dispense a dangerous drug, including a controlled substance, to an emergency room patient if all of the following apply:
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								(1)
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								The hospital pharmacy is closed and there is no pharmacist available in the hospital.
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								(2)
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								The dangerous drug is acquired by the hospital pharmacy.
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								(3)
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								The dispensing information is recorded and provided to the
						pharmacy when the pharmacy reopens.
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								The hospital pharmacy retains the dispensing information and, if the drug is a schedule II, schedule III, or schedule IV controlled substance, reports the dispensing information to the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 11165 of the Health and Safety Code.
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								(5)
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								The prescriber determines that it is in the best interest of the patient that a particular drug regimen be immediately commenced or continued, and the prescriber reasonably believes that a pharmacy located outside the hospital is not available and accessible at the time of dispensing to the patient.
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								(6)
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								The quantity of drugs dispensed to any patient pursuant to this section are limited to that amount
						necessary to maintain uninterrupted therapy during the period when pharmacy services outside the hospital are not readily available or accessible, but shall not exceed a 72-hour supply.
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								(7)
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								The prescriber shall ensure that the label on the drug contains all the information required by Section 4076.
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								(b)
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								Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, including subdivision (a), a prescriber may dispense an unused portion of a dangerous drug acquired by the hospital pharmacy to an emergency room patient upon discharge under all of the following conditions:
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								(1)
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								The dangerous drug is not a controlled substance.
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								(2)
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								The dangerous drug has been ordered and administered to the emergency room patient.
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								(3)
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								The dangerous drug was administered from single patient use multidose packaging and can be self-administered by the patient, including, but not limited to, an inhaler, eye drop, ear drop, nose drop or spray, topical product, or liquid product. 
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								Dispensing the unused portion of the dangerous drug is required to continue treatment of the emergency room patient. 
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								(5)
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								The prescriber shall ensure that
						the label on the drug contains all of the information required by Section 4076.
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								(c)
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								The prescriber shall be responsible for any error or omission related to the drugs dispensed.
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				Section 4427.2 of the 
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								(a)
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								An ADDS installed, leased, owned, or operated in California shall be licensed by the board.
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								(b)
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								An ADDS license shall only be issued to the holder of a current, valid, and active pharmacy license of a pharmacy located and licensed in California.
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								(c)
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								A separate application and license shall be required for each ADDS.
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								(d)
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								An ADDS license shall only be issued when the following conditions are met:
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								Use of the ADDS is consistent with legal requirements.
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								(2)
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								The proposed location for installation of the ADDS meets the requirements of Section 4427.3 and the ADDS is secure from access and removal by unauthorized individuals.
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								(3)
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								The pharmacy’s policies and procedures related to the ADDS include appropriate security measures and monitoring of the inventory to prevent theft and diversion.
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								(4)
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								The pharmacy’s policies and procedures include provisions for reporting to the board drug losses from the ADDS inventory, as required by law.
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								(e)
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								Prior to issuance of the license, the board shall conduct a prelicensure inspection, within 30 days of a completed application for an ADDS license, at the proposed location of the ADDS. Relocation of the ADDS shall require a new
						application for licensure. Replacement of an ADDS shall require notification to the board within 30 days.
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								(f)
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								The ADDS license shall be canceled by operation of law if the underlying pharmacy license is not current, valid, and active. Upon reissuance or reinstatement of the underlying pharmacy license, a new application for an ADDS license may be submitted to the board.
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								(g)
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								The holder of an ADDS license shall advise the board in writing within 30 days if use of the ADDS is discontinued.
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								(h)
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								The ADDS license shall be renewed annually, and the renewal date shall be the same as the underlying pharmacy license.
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								(i)
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								An AUDS operated by a licensed hospital pharmacy, as defined
						in Section 4029, and used solely to provide doses administered to patients while in a licensed general acute care hospital facility, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, to patients while in a licensed acute psychiatric hospital facility, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, or dispensed to patients pursuant to Section 4068 shall be exempt from the requirement of obtaining an ADDS license pursuant to this section if the licensed hospital pharmacy owns or leases the AUDS and owns the dangerous drugs and dangerous devices in the AUDS. The AUDS shall comply with all other requirements for an ADDS in this article. The licensed
						hospital pharmacy shall maintain a list of the locations of each AUDS it operates and shall make the list available to the board upon request.
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								(j)
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								An ADDS license is not required for technology, installed within the secured licensed premises area of a pharmacy, used in the selecting, counting, packaging, and labeling of dangerous drugs and dangerous devices.
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Last Version Text Digest

Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, establishes the California State Board of Pharmacy for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacies. Existing law authorizes a prescriber to dispense a dangerous drug, including a controlled substance, to an emergency room patient if specified requirements are met, including that the dangerous drug is acquired by the hospital pharmacy. This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, authorize a prescriber to dispense an unused portion of a dangerous drug acquired by the hospital pharmacy to an emergency room patient upon discharge if certain conditions are satisfied, including that the dangerous drug is not a controlled substance and that dispensing the unused portion of the dangerous drug is required to continue treatment of the patient. Existing law requires an automated drug delivery system (ADDS) that is installed, leased, owned, or operated in California to be licensed by the board. Existing law exempts an automated unit dose system (AUDS), a type of ADDS, from licensure if the AUDS is used solely to provide doses administered to patients while in a licensed general acute care hospital facility or a licensed acute psychiatric hospital facility if the licensed hospital pharmacy owns or leases the AUDS and owns the dangerous drugs and dangerous devices in the AUDS. This bill would also exempt from licensure an AUDS that is used to dispense dangerous drugs to emergency room patients in accordance with specified requirements.