Connecticut General Statutes 20-633d – Medical protocol standing order for dispensing of opioid antagonists by licensed pharmacists. Regulations
(a) A prescribing practitioner, as defined in section 20-14c, who is authorized to prescribe an opioid antagonist, as defined in section 17a-714a, and a pharmacy may enter into an agreement for a medical protocol standing order at such pharmacy allowing a pharmacist licensed under part II of this chapter to dispense an opioid antagonist that is (1) administered by an intranasal application delivery system or an auto-injection delivery system, (2) approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, and (3) dispensed to any person at risk of experiencing an overdose of an opioid drug, as defined in 42 C.F.R. § 8.2, or to a family member, friend or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of experiencing an overdose of an opioid drug.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 20-633d
- Administration: means the direct application of a drug or device to the body of a patient or research subject by injection, inhalation, ingestion or any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Department: means the Department of Consumer Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Dispense: means those acts of processing a drug or device for delivery or for administration for a patient pursuant to a prescription consisting of: (A) Comparing the directions on the label with the directions on the prescription to determine accuracy. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Drug: means (A) an article recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States or official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them, (B) an article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in humans or other animals, (C) an article, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or any other animal, and (D) an article intended for use as a component of any article specified in this subdivision, but does not include a device. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate trust, partnership, association, joint venture or any other legal or commercial entity. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Pharmacist: means an individual who is licensed to practice pharmacy under the provisions of section 20-590, 20-591, 20-592 or 20-593, and who is thereby recognized as a health care provider by the state of Connecticut. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Pharmacy: means a place of business where drugs and devices may be sold at retail and for which a pharmacy license has been issued to an applicant under the provisions of section 20-594. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
- Prescribing practitioner: means an individual licensed by the state of Connecticut, any other state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States who is authorized to issue a prescription within the scope of the individual's practice. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-571
(b) Any such medical protocol standing order shall be deemed issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of the prescribing practitioner’s professional practice. The pharmacy shall provide the Department of Consumer Protection with a copy of every medical protocol standing order agreement entered into with a prescribing practitioner under this section.
(c) A pharmacist may only dispense an opioid antagonist pursuant to a medical protocol standing order if the pharmacist has been trained and certified as part of a program approved by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection.
(d) A pharmacist who dispenses an opioid antagonist pursuant to a medical protocol standing order shall (1) provide appropriate training regarding the administration of such opioid antagonist to the person to whom the opioid antagonist is dispensed, (2) maintain a record of such dispensing and the training required pursuant to this chapter, and (3) send a copy of the record of such dispensing to the prescribing practitioner who entered into an agreement for a medical protocol standing order with the pharmacy.
(e) A pharmacist who dispenses an opioid antagonist in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be deemed not to have violated any standard of care for a pharmacist.
(f) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section.