22 Tex. Admin. Code § 281.7 - Grounds for Discipline for a Pharmacist License
(a) For the purposes of the Act, §
565.001(a)(2), "unprofessional conduct" is defined as engaging in behavior or
committing an act that fails to conform with the standards of the pharmacy
profession, including, but not limited to, criminal activity or activity
involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption. This conduct shall
include, but not be limited to:
(1)
dispensing a prescription drug pursuant to a forged, altered, or fraudulent
prescription;
(2) dispensing a
prescription drug order pursuant to a prescription from a practitioner as
follows:
(A) the dispensing of a prescription
drug order not issued for a legitimate medical purpose or in the usual course
of professional practice shall include the following:
(i) dispensing controlled substances or
dangerous drugs to an individual or individuals in quantities, dosages, or for
periods of time which grossly exceed standards of practice, approved labeling
of the federal Food and Drug Administration, or the guidelines published in
professional literature; or
(ii)
dispensing controlled substances or dangerous drugs when the pharmacist knows
or reasonably should have known that the controlled substances or dangerous
drugs are not necessary or required for the patient's valid medical needs or
for a valid therapeutic purpose;
(B) the provisions of subparagraph (A)(i) and
(ii) of this paragraph are not applicable for prescriptions dispensed to
persons with intractable pain in accordance with the requirements of the
Intractable Pain Treatment Act, or to a narcotic drug dependent person in
accordance with the requirements of
Title 21, Code of Federal
Regulations, §
1306.07, and the
Regulation of Narcotic Drug Treatment Programs Act;
(3) delivering or offering to deliver a
prescription drug or device in violation of this Act, the Controlled Substances
Act, the Dangerous Drug Act, or rules promulgated pursuant to these
Acts;
(4) acquiring or possessing
or attempting to acquire or possess prescription drugs in violation of this
Act, the Controlled Substances Act, the Dangerous Drug Act, or rules adopted
pursuant to these Acts;
(5)
distributing prescription drugs or devices to a practitioner or a pharmacy not
in the course of professional practice or in violation of this Act, the
Controlled Substances Act, Dangerous Drug Act, or rules adopted pursuant to
these Acts;
(6) refusing or failing
to keep, maintain or furnish any record, notification or information required
by this Act, the Controlled Substances Act, the Dangerous Drug Act, or rules
adopted pursuant to these Acts;
(7)
refusing an entry into any pharmacy for any inspection authorized by the
Act;
(8) making false or fraudulent
claims to third parties for reimbursement for pharmacy services;
(9) operating a pharmacy in an unsanitary
manner;
(10) making false or
fraudulent claims concerning any drug;
(11) persistently and flagrantly overcharging
for the dispensing of controlled substances;
(12) dispensing controlled substances or
dangerous drugs in a manner not consistent with the public health or
welfare;
(13) failing to practice
pharmacy in an acceptable manner consistent with the public health and
welfare;
(14) refilling a
prescription upon which there is authorized "prn" refills or words of similar
meaning, for a period of time in excess of one year from the date of issuance
of such prescription;
(15) engaging
in any act, acting in concert with another, or engaging in any conspiracy
resulting in a restraint of trade, coercion, or a monopoly in the practice of
pharmacy;
(16) sharing or offering
to share with a practitioner compensation received from an individual provided
pharmacy services by a pharmacist;
(17) obstructing a board employee in the
lawful performance of his or her duties of enforcing the Act;
(18) engaging in conduct that subverts or
attempts to subvert any examination or examination process required for a
license to practice pharmacy. Conduct that subverts or attempts to subvert the
pharmacist licensing examination process includes, but is not limited to:
(A) copying, retaining, repeating, or
transmitting in any manner the questions contained in any examination
administered by the board or questions contained in a question pool of any
examination administered by the board;
(B) copying or attempting to copy another
candidate's answers to any questions on any examination required for a license
to practice pharmacy;
(C) obtaining
or attempting to obtain confidential examination materials compiled by testing
services or the board;
(D)
impersonating or acting as a proxy for another in any examination required for
a license to practice pharmacy;
(E)
requesting or allowing another to impersonate or act as a proxy in any
examination required for a license to practice pharmacy; or
(F) violating or attempting to violate the
security of examination materials or the examination process in any
manner;
(19) violating
the provisions of an agreed board order or board order;
(20) dispensing a prescription drug while not
acting in the usual course of professional pharmacy practice;
(21) failing to provide or providing false or
fraudulent information on any application, notification, or other document
required under this Act, the Dangerous Drug Act, the Controlled Substances Act,
or rules adopted pursuant to those Acts;
(22) using abusive, intimidating, or
threatening behavior toward a board member or employee during the performance
of such member's or employee's lawful duties;
(23) failing to establish or maintain
effective controls against the diversion or loss of controlled substances or
dangerous drugs, loss of controlled substance or dangerous drug records, or
failing to ensure that controlled substances or dangerous drugs are dispensed
in compliance with state and federal laws or rules, by a pharmacist who is:
(A) a pharmacist-in-charge of a
pharmacy;
(B) a sole proprietor or
individual owner of a pharmacy;
(C)
a partner in the ownership of a pharmacy; or
(D) a managing officer of a corporation,
association, or joint-stock company owning a pharmacy. A pharmacist, as set out
in subparagraphs (B) - (D) of this paragraph, is equally responsible with an
individual designated as pharmacist-in-charge of such pharmacy to ensure that
employee pharmacists and the pharmacy are in compliance with all state and
federal laws or rules relating to controlled substances or dangerous
drugs;
(24) failing to
correct the issues identified in a warning notice by the specified
time;
(25) being the subject of
civil fines imposed by a federal or state court as a result of violating the
Controlled Substances Act or the Dangerous Drug Act;
(26) selling, purchasing, or trading or
offering to sell, purchase, or trade prescription drug samples; provided,
however, this paragraph does not apply to:
(A) prescription drugs provided by a
manufacturer as starter prescriptions or as replacement for such manufacturer's
out-dated drugs;
(B) prescription
drugs provided by a manufacturer in replacement for such manufacturer's drugs
that were dispensed pursuant to written starter prescriptions; or
(C) prescription drug samples possessed by a
pharmacy of a health care entity which provides health care primarily to
indigent or low income patients at no or reduced cost and if:
(i) the samples are possessed in compliance
with the Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987;
(ii) the pharmacy is owned by a charitable
organization described in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, § 501(c)(3),
or by a city, state or county government; and
(iii) the samples are for dispensing or
provision at no charge to patients of such health care entity;
(27) selling,
purchasing, or trading or offering to sell, purchase, or trade prescription
drugs:
(A) sold for export use
only;
(B) purchased by a public or
private hospital or other health care entity; or
(C) donated or supplied at a reduced price to
a charitable organization described in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
§501(c)(3);
(D) provided that
subparagraphs (A) - (C) of this paragraph do not apply to:
(i) the purchase or other acquisition by a
hospital or other health care entity which is a member of a group purchasing
organization or from other hospitals or health care entities which are members
of such organization;
(ii) the
sale, purchase, or trade of a drug or an offer to sell, purchase, or trade a
drug by an organization described in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph to a
nonprofit affiliate of the organization to the extent otherwise permitted by
law;
(iii) the sale, purchase or
trade of a drug or an offer to sell, purchase, or trade a drug among hospitals
or other health care entities which are under common control;
(iv) the sale, purchase, or trade of a drug
or an offer to sell, purchase, or trade a drug for emergency medical reasons
including the transfer of a drug between pharmacies to alleviate temporary
shortages of the drug arising from delays in or interruptions of regular
distribution schedules; or
(v) the
dispensing of a prescription drug pursuant to a valid prescription drug order
to the extent otherwise permitted by law;
(28) selling, purchasing, or trading, or
offering to sell, purchase, or trade:
(A)
misbranded prescription drugs; or
(B) prescription drugs beyond the
manufacturer's expiration date;
(29) failing to respond and to provide all
requested records within the time specified in an audit of continuing education
records under §
295.8 of this title (relating to
Continuing Education Requirements); or
(30) allowing an individual whose license to
practice pharmacy, either as a pharmacist or a pharmacist-intern, or a pharmacy
technician/trainee whose registration has been disciplined by the board,
resulting in the license or registration being revoked, canceled, retired,
surrendered, denied or suspended, to have access to prescription drugs in a
pharmacy.
(b) For the
purposes of the Act, § 565.001(a)(3), the term "gross immorality" shall
include, but not be limited to:
(1) conduct
which is willful, flagrant, and shameless, and which shows a moral indifference
to standards of the community;
(2)
engaging in an act which is a felony;
(3) engaging in an act that constitutes
sexually deviant behavior; or
(4)
being required to register with the Department of Public Safety as a sex
offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(c) For the purposes of the Act,
§565.001(a)(5), the terms "fraud," "deceit," or "misrepresentation" in the
practice of pharmacy or in seeking a license to act as a pharmacist shall be
defined as follows:
(1) "Fraud" means an
intentional perversion of truth for the purpose of inducing another in reliance
upon it to part with some valuable thing belonging to him, or to surrender a
legal right, or to issue a license; a false representation of a matter of fact,
whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by
concealment of that which should have been disclosed, which deceives or is
intended to deceive another.
(2)
"Deceit" means the assertion, as a fact, of that which is not true by any means
whatsoever to deceive or defraud another.
(3) "Misrepresentation" means a manifestation
by words or other conduct which is a false representation of a matter of
fact.
Notes
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