1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to the practice of pharmacy; amending s.

3

465.0075, F.S.; revising provisions governing licensure by

4

endorsement; amending s. 465.014, F.S.; providing for the

5

registration of pharmacy technicians; requiring the Board

6

of Pharmacy to set fees and rules to register pharmacy

7

technicians; providing qualification requirements;

8

providing a limitation; exempting pharmacy technician

9

students and licensed pharmacy interns from certain

10

registration requirements; providing continuing education

11

requirements for registration renewal; requiring the board

12

to adopt rules; providing grounds for denial, suspension,

13

or revocation of registration or other disciplinary

14

action; authorizing the board to impose certain penalties;

15

requiring the board to adopt rules requiring a pharmacy to

16

notify the board when employing technicians; requiring the

17

board to maintain a directory of technicians and publish

18

the directory on the Internet; amending s. 465.015, F.S.;

19

prohibiting a person who is not registered as a pharmacy

20

technician from performing certain functions or holding

21

himself or herself out to others as a pharmacy technician;

22

amending s. 465.019, F.S., relating to institutional

23

pharmacies; conforming a reference; providing effective

24

dates.

25

26

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

27

28

     Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 465.0075, Florida

29

Statutes, is amended to read:

30

     465.0075  Licensure by endorsement; requirements; fee.--

31

     (1)  The department shall issue a license by endorsement to

32

any applicant who applies to the department and remits a

33

nonrefundable fee of not more than $100, as set by the board, and

34

whom the board certifies:

35

     (a)  Has met the qualifications for licensure in s.

36

465.007(1)(b) and (c);

37

     (b)  Has obtained a passing score, as established by rule of

38

the board, on the licensure examination of the National

39

Association of Boards of Pharmacy or a similar nationally

40

recognized examination, if the board certifies that the applicant

41

has taken the required examination not more than 12 years prior

42

to application;

43

     (c)1.  Has submitted evidence of the active licensed

44

practice of pharmacy, including practice in community or public

45

health by persons employed by a governmental entity, in another

46

jurisdiction for at least 2 of the immediately preceding 5 years

47

or evidence of successful completion of board-approved

48

postgraduate training or a board-approved clinical competency

49

examination within the year immediately preceding application for

50

licensure; or

51

     2.  Has completed an internship meeting the requirements of

52

s. 465.007(1)(c) within the 2 years immediately preceding

53

application; and

54

     (d)  Has obtained a passing score on the pharmacy

55

jurisprudence portions of the licensure examination, as required

56

by board rule.

57

     Section 2.  Effective January 1, 2010, section 465.014,

58

Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

59

     465.014  Pharmacy technician.--

60

     (1) A No person other than a licensed pharmacist or

61

pharmacy intern may not engage in the practice of the profession

62

of pharmacy, except that a licensed pharmacist may delegate to

63

nonlicensed pharmacy technicians registered pursuant to this

64

section those duties, tasks, and functions which do not fall

65

within the purview of s. 465.003(13). All such delegated acts

66

shall be performed under the direct supervision of a licensed

67

pharmacist who shall be responsible for all such acts performed

68

by persons under his or her supervision. A registered pharmacy

69

technician, under the supervision of a pharmacist, may initiate

70

or receive communications with a practitioner or his or her

71

agent, on behalf of a patient, regarding refill authorization

72

requests. A No licensed pharmacist may not shall supervise more

73

than one registered pharmacy technician unless otherwise

74

permitted by the guidelines adopted by the board. The board shall

75

establish guidelines to be followed by licensees or permittees in

76

determining the circumstances under which a licensed pharmacist

77

may supervise up to four registered more than one but not more

78

than three pharmacy technicians. When a pharmacist supervises

79

four registered technicians under the guidelines of the board, at

80

least one of the four must be certified by the Pharmacy

81

Technician Certification Board or any other nationally accredited

82

certifying body approved by the board.

83

     (2) Any person who wishes to work as a pharmacy technician

84

in this state must register by filing an application with the

85

board on a form adopted by rule of the board. The board shall

86

register each applicant who has remitted a registration fee set

87

by the board, not to exceed $50 biennially; has completed the

88

application form and remitted a nonrefundable application fee set

89

by the board, not to exceed $50; and is at least 16 years of age.

90

     (3) A person whose license to practice pharmacy has been

91

denied, suspended, or restricted for disciplinary purposes is not

92

eligible to be registered as a pharmacy technician.

93

     (4) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section or any

94

other provision of law, a pharmacy technician student may be

95

placed in a pharmacy for the purpose of obtaining practical

96

training required by the body accrediting the pharmacy technician

97

training program. A pharmacy technician student shall wear

98

identification that indicates his or her student status when

99

performing the functions of a pharmacy technician, and

100

registration under this section is not required.

101

     (5) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section or any

102

other provision of law, a person licensed by the state as a

103

pharmacy intern may be employed as a registered pharmacy

104

technician without paying a registration fee or filing an

105

application with the board to register as a pharmacy technician.

106

     (6) As a condition of registration renewal, a pharmacy

107

technician shall complete 20 hours biennially of continuing

108

education courses approved by the board or the Accreditation

109

Council for Pharmaceutical Education, of which 4 hours must be

110

via live presentation and 2 hours must be related to the

111

prevention of medication errors and pharmacy law.

112

     (7) The board shall adopt rules that require each

113

registration issued by the board under this section to be

114

displayed in such a manner as to make it available to the public

115

and to facilitate inspection by the department and such other

116

rules as necessary to administer the provisions of this section.

117

     (8) If the board finds that an applicant for registration

118

as a pharmacy technician or that a registered pharmacy technician

119

has committed an act that constitutes grounds for discipline as

120

set forth in s. 456.072(1) or has committed an act that

121

constitutes grounds for denial of a license or disciplinary

122

action as set forth in this chapter, including an act that

123

constitutes a substantial violation of s. 456.072(1) or a

124

violation of this chapter which occurred before the applicant or

125

registrant was registered as a pharmacy technician, the board may

126

enter an order imposing any of the penalties specified in s.

127

456.072(2) against the applicant or registrant.

128

     (9) The board shall adopt rules requiring and specifying

129

the manner in which a pharmacy shall notify the board when a

130

registered technician is employed or ceases employment with the

131

pharmacy.

132

     (10) The board shall maintain a current directory of

133

registered pharmacy technicians indicating their place of

134

employment and which must be published on the Internet.

135

     Section 3.  Effective January 1, 2010, paragraph (d) is

136

added to subsection (3) of section 465.015, Florida Statutes, to

137

read:

138

     465.015  Violations and penalties.--

139

     (3)

140

     (d) It is unlawful for a person who is not registered as a

141

pharmacy technician under this chapter, or who is not otherwise

142

exempt from the requirement to register as a pharmacy technician,

143

to perform the functions of a registered pharmacy technician or

144

hold himself or herself out to others as a person who is

145

registered to perform the functions of a registered pharmacy

146

technician in this state.

147

     Section 4.  Effective January 1, 2010, subsection (5) of

148

section 465.019, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

149

     465.019  Institutional pharmacies; permits.--

150

     (5)  All institutional pharmacies shall be under the

151

professional supervision of a consultant pharmacist, and the

152

compounding and dispensing of medicinal drugs shall be done only

153

by a licensed pharmacist. Every institutional pharmacy that

154

employs or otherwise utilizes registered pharmacy technicians

155

shall have a written policy and procedures manual specifying

156

those duties, tasks, and functions which a pharmacy technician is

157

allowed to perform.

158

     Section 5.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in this

159

act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.