Public Act 0237 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1790 Enrolled LRB100 09035 SMS 19183 b

Public Act 100-0237

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Pharmacy Practice Act is amended by adding Section 15.3 as follows:

(225 ILCS 85/15.3 new)

Sec. 15.3. Emergency prescription refills.

(a) A pharmacist may exercise professional judgment to dispense an emergency supply of medication for a chronic disease or condition if the pharmacist is unable to obtain refill authorization from the prescriber when:

(1) in the pharmacist's professional judgment, interruption of therapy might reasonably produce undesirable consequences or cause patient suffering;

(2) the pharmacy previously dispensed or refilled a prescription from the prescriber for the same patient and medication;

(3) the prescription is not for a controlled substance;

(4) the pharmacist informs the patient or the patient's agent at the time of dispensing that prescriber authorization is required for future refills; notification may be made verbally, electronically, or in writing; and

(5) the emergency dispensing is documented in the patient's prescription record and the pharmacist informs the prescriber of the emergency refill.

(b) The emergency supply must be limited to the amount needed for the emergency period as determined by the pharmacist within his or her professional judgment. However, the total amount dispensed shall not exceed a 30-day supply.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.