California Law Question

I'm from out of state too but worked in Cali as an intern so from my understanding:

11207. Only Pharmacist or Intern Authorized to Fill Prescription
(a) No person other than a pharmacist as defined in Section 4036 of the Business and Professions Code or an intern pharmacist, as defined in Section 4030 of the Business and Professions Code, who is under the personal supervision of a pharmacist, shall compound, prepare, fill or dispense a prescription for a controlled substance.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a pharmacy technician may perform those tasks (packaging, manipulative, repetitive, or other nondiscretionary tasks, only while assisting, and while under the direct supervision and control of a pharmacist) permitted by Section 4115 of the Business and Professions Code when assisting a pharmacist dispensing a prescription for a controlled substance.

....which apparently doesn't include filling. Confusing, yes? The techs aren't supposed to be filling any of the controlled meds so some of the pharmacists either won't let them (waste of time) or will do the final count before the prescription gets dispensed (which is typically what I've seen done).

read "The Scripts" on the CA BOP's website; it even suggested in the PSI handbook that they mailed to you

I attended a lecture given by Dr. Weissman himself and he said YES, TECHS can fill for CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, including CII's. It is sometimes the company policy to only have the pharmacist handle CII's, but it is NOT THE LAW in CA.

Hi, I am planning on taking the California Pharmacist exam and graduated in 2009. I also have not worked as a pharmacist since Dec 2011 at a hospital pharmacy. Any advice on what books, materials, website to use to help me prepare for the exam? Thank you

This is a clerk not a tech. clerks can't pull meds

So pharm techs can handle CIII-CV but just can't fill???
@FarmDee09 confused me with that lecture

youngsoo1269 said:

So pharm techs can handle CIII-CV but just can't fill???
@FarmDee09 confused me with that lecture

Click to expand...

Finally found the answer after an hour of searching. I feel like an idiot though because this should have taken me 10 minutes if I had done my search correctly. I was really wreaking my brain trying to find a more concrete answer.

So Short answer: YES, PHARMACY TECHS CAN FILL CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES!!!!

Here's why (I bolded the important parts):

11207. (a) No person other than a pharmacist as defined in Section
4036 of the Business and Professions Code or an intern pharmacist, as
defined in Section 4030 of the Business and Professions Code, who is
under the personal supervision of a pharmacist, shall compound,
prepare, fill or dispense a prescription for a controlled substance.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a pharmacy technician may
perform those tasks permitted by Section 4115 of the Business and
Professions Code when assisting a pharmacist dispensing a
prescription for a controlled substance.

TL;DR: Techncians can perform tasks (as stated in Section 4115) when it comes to dispensing controlled substances.

4115. (a) A pharmacy technician may perform packaging,
manipulative, repetitive, or other nondiscretionary tasks only while
assisting, and while under the direct supervision and control of, a
pharmacist. The pharmacist shall be responsible for the duties
performed under his or her supervision by a technician.
(b) This section does not authorize the performance of any tasks
specified in subdivision (a) by a pharmacy technician without a
pharmacist on duty.

Note: There's more to Section 4115, but it's too long to list and it's not relevant here.

So what are the nondiscretiionary tasks for pharmacy technicians? I did some searching and found a section under "Duties of Pharmacy Technicians" that further clarify this.

16 CCR § 1793.2
§ 1793.2. Duties of a Pharmacy Technician.
“Nondiscretionary tasks” as used in Business and Professions Code section 4115, include:
(a) removing the drug or drugs from stock;
(b) counting, pouring, or mixing pharmaceuticals;
(c) placing the product into a container;
(d) affixing the label or labels to the container;
(e) packaging and repackaging.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code.

Note: So basically, this section describes "filling". This basically means technicians may handle controlled substances as it pertains to their duties (pulling, filling, labeling etc....)

Reference:
1. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=hsc&group=11001-12000&file=11205-11209
2. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=04001-05000&file=4110-4126.5
3. https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Do...egoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default)&bhcp=1

I hope this helps!

According to California regulation if there is an error or omission (drug, strength, quantity, etc, not including signature and date) on a C2 script, the Rph can call the doctor to make changes on the script and dispense with the new correction notated by the Rph. A new script not required.

This conflicts with a statement released by the DEA in the Federal Register (FR) final rule in 2007: "the essential elements of the [Schedule II] prescription written by the prescriber (such as the name of the controlled substance, strength, dosage form, and quantity prescribed) ... may not be modified orally."

Can someone shed some light on what a pharmacist can and can't do in this situation? Usually it's safe to go with what's more stringent, but I've seen the former still practiced.

RaspberryPharm said:

According to California regulation if there is an error or omission (drug, strength, quantity, etc, not including signature and date) on a C2 script, the Rph can call the doctor to make changes on the script and dispense with the new correction notated by the Rph. A new script not required.

This conflicts with a statement released by the DEA in the Federal Register (FR) final rule in 2007: "the essential elements of the [Schedule II] prescription written by the prescriber (such as the name of the controlled substance, strength, dosage form, and quantity prescribed) ... may not be modified orally."

Can someone shed some light on what a pharmacist can and can't do in this situation? Usually it's safe to go with what's more stringent, but I've seen the former still practiced.

Click to expand...

I did some searching and found a thread on SDN that answers this very question:

TL;DR: DEA had two rulings. One ruling (before 2007) that says RPh can make the same changes to CII prescriptions as they do for CIII-CV. The other ruling (in 2007) states that essential information on CII prescriptions cannot be modified orally (what you wrote). Then they also released a statement saying that this may be confusing so they will make a future ruling (has not happened yet to my knowledge) on this matter and that until then, use your professional judgement and knowledge of state and federal law to make a decision. What I understand from this is that you're OK if you go with your state's regulation on modifying CII prescriptions. In the case of California; this means you're allowed to modify a CII prescription (with the exception of a doctor's signature and dating the prescription) without having to get a new prescription. Either way; I'd probably CMA and just have the patient request a new CII script via E-Rx or getting a new physical copy themselves (if possible).

Thread that clarified the answer:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/schedule-ii-script-what-can-be-changed.752715/

Edit: Can a practicing pharmacist chime in and let us know what you've done in the past for a situation like this? I'll probably ask my PIC when I get a chance to see him to ask this same question and report back. Thanks!