By: Deuell S.B. No. 546
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the dispensing of certain drugs by physicians.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 158.001, Occupations Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a physician may
dispense dangerous drugs to the physician's patients and charge the
patients a reasonable fee for dispensing the drugs [This section
does not permit a physician to operate a retail pharmacy] without
complying with Chapter 558. Before dispensing a dangerous drug,
the physician must notify the patient that the prescription for the
dangerous drug may be filled at a pharmacy. A physician may not
under this section dispense a Schedule II-V controlled substance as
specified under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code. The board
shall adopt rules to establish a procedure for the dispensing of
dangerous drugs by a physician.
(d) Subsection (b) does not apply to workers' compensation
insurance coverage as defined by Section 401.011, Labor Code.
SECTION 2. Chapter 158, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Section 158.0011 to read as follows:
Sec. 158.0011. DISPENSING OF DANGEROUS DRUGS FOR WORKERS'
COMPENSATION INSURANCE COVERAGE IN CERTAIN RURAL AREAS. (a) In
this section, "reimbursement for cost" means an additional charge,
separate from that imposed for the physician's professional
services, that includes the cost of the drug product and all other
actual costs to the physician incidental to providing the
dispensing service. The term does not include a separate fee
imposed for the act of dispensing the drug itself.
(b) This section applies to an area located in a county with
a population of 5,000 or less, or in a municipality or an
unincorporated town with a population of less than 2,500, that is
within a 15-mile radius of the physician's office and in which a
pharmacy is not located. This section does not apply to a
municipality or an unincorporated town that is adjacent to a
municipality with a population of 2,500 or more.
(c) A physician who practices medicine in an area described
by Subsection (b) may:
(1) maintain a supply of dangerous drugs in the
physician's office to be dispensed in the course of treating the
physician's patients; and
(2) be reimbursed for the cost of supplying those
drugs without obtaining a license under Chapter 558.
(d) A physician who dispenses dangerous drugs under
Subsection (c) shall:
(1) comply with each labeling provision under Subtitle
J applicable to that class of drugs; and
(2) oversee compliance with packaging and
recordkeeping provisions applicable to that class of drugs.
(e) A physician who desires to dispense dangerous drugs
under this section shall notify both the Texas State Board of
Pharmacy and the board that the physician practices in an area
described by Subsection (b). The physician may continue to
dispense dangerous drugs in the area until the Texas State Board of
Pharmacy determines, after notice and hearing, that the physician
no longer practices in an area described by Subsection (b).
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 551.004, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) This subtitle does not prevent a practitioner from:
(1) administering a drug to a patient of the
practitioner; or
(2) supplying dangerous drugs to a patient as provided
by Section 158.001(b).
SECTION 4. Section 158.003, Occupations Code, is repealed.
SECTION 5. (a) The Texas Medical Board shall adopt rules
to implement Subsection (b), Section 158.001, Occupations Code, as
amended by this Act, not later than December 1, 2011.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply to the
dispensing of a dangerous drug by a physician on or after December
1, 2011. The dispensing of a dangerous drug before December 1,
2011, is governed by the law in effect at the time the drug was
dispensed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.