Section 1330.740  Multi-Med Dispensing Standards for Community Pharmacies

a)         In lieu of dispensing 2 or more prescribed drug products in separate containers, a pharmacist may, with the consent of the patient, the patient's caregiver, or a prescriber, provide a customized patient medication package (patient med pak).

b)         A patient med pak is a package prepared by a pharmacist for a specific patient comprising a series of containers and containing 2 or more prescribed solid oral dosage forms.  The patient med pak is designed, or each container is labeled, to indicate the day and time or period of time when the contents within each container are to be taken.

1)         The patient med pak shall include information stating:

A)        The name of the patient;

B)        A serial number for the patient med pak itself and a separate identifying serial number for each of the prescription orders for each of the drug products contained in the med pak;

C)        The name, strength, physical description or identification, and total quantity of each drug product contained in the med pak;

D)        The directions for use and cautionary statements, if any, contained in the prescription order for each drug product contained in the med pak;

E)        Any storage instructions;

F)         The name of the prescriber of each drug product;

G)        The date of preparation of the patient med pak; and

H)        The name, address and telephone number of the pharmacist and any other registrant involved in dispensing.

2)         Once a med pak has been delivered to an institution, a patient, or a patient's agent, the drugs in the med pak can be accepted for return by the pharmacy only when a medication must be added or removed, or when drug therapy is discontinued. Med paks returned to the pharmacy can only be re-dispensed for the same patient. Medications removed from the med pak shall not be reused and must be disposed of properly. The revised med pak shall be given a new serial number.

3)         When a pharmacist utilizes drugs dispensed from another pharmacy in creating an initial med pack, that pharmacist shall bear full responsibility for the drugs as if dispensed from that pharmacy; otherwise, a pharmacy is prohibited from creating a patient med pak utilizing drugs dispensed from a different pharmacy.

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 6267, effective April 23, 2015)