Iowa Admin. Code r. 657-8.11 - [Rescinded effective 7/16/2025] Unethical conduct or practice
The provisions of this rule apply to licensed pharmacies, licensed pharmacists, registered pharmacy technicians, registered pharmacy support persons, and registered pharmacist-interns.
(1)
Misrepresentative deeds.
A pharmacy, pharmacist, technician, support person, or pharmacist-intern shall
not make any statement intended to deceive, misrepresent or mislead anyone, or
be a party to or an accessory to any fraudulent or deceitful practice or
transaction in pharmacy or in the operation or conduct of a pharmacy.
(2)
Unethical conduct.
a. A pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacist-intern,
technician, or support person shall not participate in any of the following
types of unethical conduct:
(1) Any activity
that negates a patient's freedom of choice of pharmacy services.
(2) Providing prescription blanks or forms
bearing the pharmacy's name or other means of identification to any person
authorized to prescribe, except that a hospital may make prescription blanks or
forms bearing the hospital pharmacy's name or other means of identification
available to hospital staff prescribers, emergency department prescribers, and
prescribers granted hospital privileges for the prescribers' use during
practice at or in the hospital.
(3)
Any financial arrangement or transaction that would violate federal healthcare
fraud, waste, and abuse laws, including but not limited to the Stark Law, the
False Claims Act, and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
b. A purchasing pharmacist or pharmacy shall
not engage in any activity or include in any agreement with a selling
pharmacist or pharmacy any provision that would prevent or prohibit the prior
notifications required in subrule 8.35(7).
(3)
Discrimination. A
pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacist-intern, technician, or pharmacy support person
shall not discriminate between patients or groups of patients for reasons of
religion, race, creed, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation,
marital status, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, or disease
state when providing pharmaceutical services.
(4)
Unprofessional conduct or
behavior. A pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacist-intern, technician, or
pharmacy support person shall not engage in unprofessional behavior in
connection with the practice of pharmacy. Unprofessional behavior shall
include, but not be limited to, the following acts: verbal abuse, coercion,
intimidation, harassment, sexual advances, threats, degradation of character,
indecent or obscene conduct, theft, and the refusal to provide reasonable
information or answer reasonable questions for the benefit of the
patient.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
The provisions of this rule apply to licensed pharmacies, licensed pharmacists, registered pharmacy technicians, registered pharmacy support persons, and registered pharmacist-interns.
(1) Misrepresentative deeds. A pharmacy, pharmacist, technician, support person, or pharmacist-intern shall not make any statement intended to deceive, misrepresent or mislead anyone, or be a party to or an accessory to any fraudulent or deceitful practice or transaction in pharmacy or in the operation or conduct of a pharmacy.
(2) Unethical conduct.
a. A pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacist-intern, technician, or support person shall not participate in any of the following types of unethical conduct:
(1) Any activity that negates a patient's freedom of choice of pharmacy services.
(2) Providing prescription blanks or forms bearing the pharmacy's name or other means of identification to any person authorized to prescribe, except that a hospital may make prescription blanks or forms bearing the hospital pharmacy's name or other means of identification available to hospital staff prescribers, emergency department prescribers, and prescribers granted hospital privileges for the preservers' use during practice at or in the hospital.
(3) Any financial arrangement or transaction that would violate federal healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse laws, including but not limited to the Stark Law, the False Claims Act, and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
b. A purchasing pharmacist or pharmacy shall not engage in any activity or include in any agreement with a selling pharmacist or pharmacy any provision that would prevent or prohibit the prior notifications required in subrule 8.35(7).
(3) Discrimination. A pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacist-intern, technician, or pharmacy support person shall not discriminate between patients or groups of patients for reasons of religion, race, creed, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, or disease state when providing pharmaceutical services.
(4) Unprofessional conduct or behavior. A pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacist-intern, technician, or pharmacy support person shall not engage in unprofessional behavior in connection with the practice of pharmacy. Unprofessional behavior shall include, but not be limited to, the following acts: verbal abuse, coercion, intimidation, harassment, sexual advances, threats, degradation of character, indecent or obscene conduct, theft, and the refusal to provide reasonable information or answer reasonable questions for the benefit of the patient.