Contacting state board of pharmacy with questions?

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SeekerofTruth

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For the state of NJ, is it possible to ask the board of pharmacy legal questions and get an answer?

I feel like the contact us section is more for application based questions.

Can you fill a control medication for a greater day supply than 30 or 90?
I had a phentermine RX recently that called for 1/2 tablet three times a week, quantity 30. That comes up as a 140 day supply. can you dispense that entire quantity legally?

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I don’t have a NJ license, but my home state welcomes law questions. I’ve called once and know many others who have also. The board office has been very helpful.

Call, that’s part of the reason why they exist.
 
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I don’t have a NJ license, but my home state welcomes law questions. I’ve called once and know many others who have also. The board office has been very helpful.

Call, that’s part of the reason why they exist.
Interesting. I was at a Florida Board of Pharmacy meeting once where a pharmacist made a point to say that he contacted the board to ask a question and they replied that they weren't there to give legal advice.

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Interesting. I was at a Florida Board of Pharmacy meeting once where a pharmacist made a point to say that he contacted the board to ask a question and they replied that they weren't there to give legal advice.

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Well that’s poor.

My call was really minutiae: something related to notification about change of employment when a pharmacy was sold but I remained. Just a boring detail question.

But all these questions we see regularly here about things like CDS dispensing, etc...I know of people contacting the board over these kinds of things and getting legit answers.
 
My BOP will not answer law questions. I emailed them and they just sent me a link to the law book.
 
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The board should answer questions about regulations they enforce 100%. On issues enforced by other agencies, it makes sense that they may not be willing to answer legal questions.
 
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The attitude of my BOP is pretty much "Do what you think is right according to the law, but remember everything you do is your professional responsibility, "
 
Based off my experiences they will not give a straight answer. They will refer you to the law documents on their website. Also often times you have to leave a voice message and wait for them to call back.
 
Perhaps you should contact the BOP and ask?

California BOP does let you ask inspectors questions but it has been hit and miss in my experience. Some straight shooters some just citing board regulation word for word without actually clarifying an issue
 
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Why should they answer questions you can look up yourself? Every pharmacist should know how to reference their state regulations.


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Why should they answer questions you can look up yourself? Every pharmacist should know how to reference their state regulations.


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wow really. some things are easily interpreted in different ways. is it too much to ask when we have a question that we can ask our governing body. oh wait no they can’t be bothered im sure they’re just too busy
 
wow really. some things are easily interpreted in different ways. is it too much to ask when we have a question that we can ask our governing body. oh wait no they can’t be bothered im sure they’re just too busy

Have you ever worked for the state board of pharmacy? I wouldn't be so quick to judge. Some of them are hanging by a thread.
 
You need to talk to the state board when they have stuff in the law like "cs rx must be presented to the pharmacy within 90d of the date it's written".

They had to claify that yes, it's presented (and quoted a dictionary definition). "To offer for observation, examination or consideration; show or display"

Let a pharmacist look at the c2 script on day 89 and its valid forever (they dont address expiration dates and the DEA has no limit on c2s).
 
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Have you ever worked for the state board of pharmacy? I wouldn't be so quick to judge. Some of them are hanging by a thread.
cmon with that nonsense, most of us in retail on any day are “hanging on by a thread”. we still get it done .
 
Olde tyme English is not always clear to interpret. I swear to God, in one of my law books, the author has to define the difference between "shall" & "may".
Not all scenarios are clearly defined in the regulations (package size circumstances/day supply/product availability/throw insurance limitations into the mix, etc.).
 
TSBP is extremely helpful with law questions, provided you get past the P4 and "front desk"people
 
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For the state of NJ, is it possible to ask the board of pharmacy legal questions and get an answer?

I feel like the contact us section is more for application based questions.

Can you fill a control medication for a greater day supply than 30 or 90?
I had a phentermine RX recently that called for 1/2 tablet three times a week, quantity 30. That comes up as a 140 day supply. can you dispense that entire quantity legally?

I’m not licensed in NJ but licensed in two other states. One BOP will not answer any questions. “We are not here to interpret the law for you”. So in that state I’ve called their pharmacist association/society. They’re been helpful.

The other state will just refer you to their website and newsletter. You can leave a message but it takes a LONG time to get a call back.

There’s no federal limit. If your state does not address it then federal applies. You’re usually limited by insurance coverage but phentermine is unlikely to get covered. I’d think you’re good to go. You could run a PDMP query and see where else that person filled and call that pharmacy and ask. No shame in asking.
 
I have contacted the AZ BOP several times on law questions and always received a specific answer. If someone wasn't available, I always got a call back the same day. For example, I had a patient that could only afford her controlled substance once a week. I called and asked if I could only refill the RX a total of 5 times. I was quickly transferred to an RPh that let me know that I am able refill the RX as many times as requested as long as it was within the 6 month expiration, even if I had to assign it a new RX #.
I have never received an answer using the web form. Always call for a law question.
 
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