1. a. There is established the “New Jersey Prescription Drug Retail Price Registry” in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety for the purpose of making retail price information for the 150 most frequently prescribed prescription drugs in the State and opioid antidotes readily available to consumers.

(1) For the purpose of establishing the registry, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, in consultation with the Commissioners of Human Services and Health and Senior Services, shall obtain drug retail price information for these prescription drugs, which indicates the actual price to be paid to a pharmacy by a retail purchaser for a listed drug at the listed dosage, from data collected by the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services or other available sources that includes the charge for the cost of the medication and the dispensing fee, and does not exceed the usual and customary or posted or advertised charge by the pharmacy. The establishment of the registry shall be subject to any federal approval that may be required to effectuate the purposes of this act and shall conform with any requirements of State or federal law regarding the confidentiality and use of the information contained therein.

(2) The registry shall include the information obtained by the director pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, and shall be updated by the division at least weekly to reflect the most current information obtained by the director.

(3) The registry shall be organized by the director in a format that is conducive to review and comparison by consumers of prescription drug retail prices charged by pharmacies in each zip code within the State, and shall include the name and address of each pharmacy.

b. The division shall make available electronically on its Internet website in English and Spanish the information contained in the registry, and shall provide the information to consumers upon request by means of a toll-free telephone service operated by the division.

The information made available on the Internet website shall:

(1) be organized to meet the requirements of paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section and be designed so that the consumer may download and print the displayed information;

(2) include Internet web links to other governmental information resources that provide information relating to the regulation of prescription drugs and State and federal health care coverage and pharmaceutical assistance programs;

(3) include an advisory statement by the division alerting consumers of the need to tell their health care practitioner and pharmacist about all the medications they may be taking and to ask them how to avoid harmful interactions between those drugs, if any; and

(4) contain clearly understandable language that is designed to assist consumers in understanding the content of, and how to access, the information made available on the website pursuant to this section.

c. The director may require each pharmacy practice site in the State to furnish to the director such information as the director deems necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.

d. The division may contract with a public or private entity for the purpose of developing, administering, and maintaining the registry established pursuant to this section. The contract shall specify the duties and responsibilities of the entity with respect to the development, administration, and maintenance of the registry. The division shall monitor the work of the entity to ensure that the registry is developed, administered, and maintained pursuant to the requirements of this act.

L.2006, c.84, s.1; amended 2021, c.155, s.1.