Rule 24.174.823 - CENTRALIZED FILLING AND REMOTE ORDER PROCESSING OF PRESCRIPTIONS IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES(1) Central or remote prescription processing services may be utilized by a licensed pharmacy if the following conditions have been met: (a) remote licensed staff must be licensed in Montana as a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician or, if located out-of-state, be licensed in their home state and work under the authority of a pharmacy licensed in Montana pursuant to (8); and(b) policies and procedures must be in place for remote licensed staff working off-site to process prescriptions or other applicable duties to ensure appropriate tasks, security, and privacy provisions are met. The policies and procedures shall: (i) be reviewed and documented annually;(ii) include a continuous quality improvement program;(iii) comply with federal and state statutes and regulations; and(iv) be available for inspection by the board.(2) A pharmacy that outsources prescription filling or processing to another pharmacy shall, prior to outsourcing a prescription: (a) notify the patient or the patient's agent that prescription filling or processing may be outsourced to another pharmacy and accommodate patient choice not to have the prescription outsourced;(b) provide the name of the pharmacy that will be filling or processing the prescription or, if the pharmacy is part of a network of pharmacies under common ownership and any of the network pharmacies may fill or process the prescription, the patient shall be notified of this fact; and(c) clearly show the name, address, and telephone number of the delivering pharmacy on the prescription container.(3) Each pharmacy engaging in centralized prescription processing shall be jointly responsible for properly filling the prescription.(4) The delivering pharmacy is responsible for providing patient counseling. All central filling of prescriptions must be completed in a licensed pharmacy.
(5) Pharmacies providing central processing or central filling services to pharmacies in the state of Montana must be licensed in Montana.(6) An out-of-state pharmacy providing central processing or central filling services to pharmacies in the state of Montana must be registered as an out-of-state mail service pharmacy and comply with all Montana statutes and rules.(7) Policies and procedures relating to centralized filling or processing activities shall be maintained at all pharmacies involved in centralized filling or processing and shall be available for inspection by the board. The policies and procedures shall: (a) include the annual review of the competencies of pharmacists providing remote and/or centralized prescription processing or filling services;(b) be reviewed and documented annually;(c) include a continuous quality improvement program;(d) comply with federal and state statutes and regulations; and(e) be available for inspection by the board.Mont. Admin. r. 24.174.823
NEW, 2007 MAR p. 1936, Eff. 11/22/07; AMD, 2024 MAR p. 2219, Eff. 9/21/2024AUTH: 37-7-201, MCA; IMP: 37-7-201, 37-7-321, MCA