The Florida Senate

465.0276  Dispensing practitioner.--

(1)  A person may not dispense medicinal drugs unless licensed as a pharmacist or otherwise authorized under this chapter to do so, except that a practitioner authorized by law to prescribe drugs may dispense such drugs to her or his patients in the regular course of her or his practice in compliance with this section.

(2)  A practitioner who dispenses medicinal drugs for human consumption for fee or remuneration of any kind, whether direct or indirect, must:

(a)  Register with her or his professional licensing board as a dispensing practitioner and pay a fee not to exceed $100 at the time of such registration and upon each renewal of her or his license. Each appropriate board shall establish such fee by rule.

(b)  Comply with and be subject to all laws and rules applicable to pharmacists and pharmacies, including, but not limited to, this chapter and chapters 499 and 893 and all federal laws and federal regulations.

(c)  Before dispensing any drug, give the patient a written prescription and orally or in writing advise the patient that the prescription may be filled in the practitioner's office or at any pharmacy.

(3)  The department shall inspect any facility where a practitioner dispenses medicinal drugs pursuant to subsection (2) in the same manner and with the same frequency as it inspects pharmacies for the purpose of determining whether the practitioner is in compliance with all statutes and rules applicable to her or his dispensing practice.

(4)  The registration of any practitioner who has been found by her or his respective board to have dispensed medicinal drugs in violation of this chapter shall be subject to suspension or revocation.

(5)  A practitioner who confines her or his activities to the dispensing of complimentary packages of medicinal drugs to the practitioner's own patients in the regular course of her or his practice, without the payment of fee or remuneration of any kind, whether direct or indirect, and who herself or himself dispenses such drugs is not required to register pursuant to this section. The practitioner must dispense such drugs in the manufacturer's labeled package with the practitioner's name, patient's name, and date dispensed, or, if such drugs are not dispensed in the manufacturer's labeled package, they must be dispensed in a container which bears the following information:

(a)  Practitioner's name;

(b)  Patient's name;

(c)  Date dispensed;

(d)  Name and strength of drug; and

(e)  Directions for use.

History.--ss. 20, 27, ch. 86-256; s. 1, ch. 88-159; s. 59, ch. 91-137; s. 6, ch. 91-156; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 95, ch. 92-149; s. 248, ch. 97-103.