I. Unless instructed otherwise by the person receiving the drug pursuant to the prescription, a pharmacist filling a prescription for a drug product prescribed by its trade or brand name may select an equivalent drug product listed in “Approved Prescription Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations” as published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
II. The pharmacist shall not select an equivalent drug product if the prescriber handwrites “medically necessary” on the written prescription, or when ordering a prescription orally the prescriber specifies that the prescribed drug product is medically necessary. The designation of medical necessity shall not be preprinted or stamped on the prescription. This paragraph shall not preclude a reminder of the procedure required to prohibit selection of an equivalent drug product from being preprinted on the prescription.
III. The pharmacist shall not select an equivalent drug product unless its price to the purchaser is less than the price of the prescribed drug product.
IV. The pharmacist or the pharmacist’s agent, assistant or employee shall inform the person receiving the drug pursuant to the prescription of the selection of a lower-cost equivalent drug product and of the person’s right to refuse the product selected.