§ 6810 — Prescriptions

§ 6810. Prescriptions. 1. No drug for which a prescription is required\nby the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or by the\ncommissioner of health shall be distributed or dispensed to any person\nexcept upon a prescription written by a person legally authorized to\nissue such prescription. Such drug shall be compounded or dispensed by a\nlicensed pharmacist, and no such drug shall be dispensed without\naffixing to the immediate container in which the drug is sold or\ndispensed a label bearing the name and address of the owner of the\nestablishment in which it was dispensed, the date compounded, the number\nof the prescription under which it is recorded in the pharmacist's\nprescription files, the name of the prescriber, the name and address of\nthe patient, and the directions for the use of the drug by the patient\nas given upon the prescription. All labels shall conform to such rules\nand regulations as promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to section\nsixty-eight hundred twenty-nine of this article. The prescribing and\ndispensing of a drug which is a controlled substance shall be subject to\nadditional requirements provided in article thirty-three of the public\nhealth law. The words "drug" and "prescription required drug" within the\nmeaning of this article shall not be construed to include soft or hard\ncontact lenses, eyeglasses, or any other device for the aid or\ncorrection of vision. Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent a\npharmacy from furnishing a drug to another pharmacy which does not have\nsuch drug in stock for the purpose of filling a prescription.\n 1-a. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, at the\nprescriber's request, the prescription label for mifepristone or\nmisoprostol shall include the name or address of the prescribing health\ncare practice instead of the name of the prescriber.\n 2. (a) A prescription may not be refilled unless it bears a contrary\ninstruction and indicates on its face the number of times it may be\nrefilled. A prescription may not be refilled more times than allowed on\nthe prescription. The date of each refilling must be indicated on the\noriginal prescription. Prescriptions for controlled substances shall be\nrefilled only pursuant to article thirty-three of the public health law.\n A pharmacy registered with the department pursuant to section\nsixty-eight hundred eight or sixty-eight hundred eight-b of this article\nmay not deliver a new or refilled prescription off premises without the\nconsent of the patient or an individual authorized to consent on the\npatient's behalf. For the purposes of this section, consent may be\nobtained in the same manner and process by which consent is deemed\nacceptable under the federal Medicare Part D program.\n (b) Pharmacy providers who deliver medication without patient or\nauthorized individual consent will be required to accept the return of\nthe medication from the patient, provide that patient credit for any\ncharges they may have paid, and will be required to destroy those\nmedications sent without consent on delivery in accordance with\napplicable state and federal law. Nothing in this section shall be\ndeemed to interfere with the requirements for refill reminder or\nmedication adherence programs. Nothing in this section is intended to\napply to long-term care pharmacy dispensing and delivery.\n 3. A copy of a prescription for a controlled substance shall not be\nfurnished to the patient but may be furnished to any licensed\npractitioner authorized to write such prescription. Copies of other\nprescriptions shall be furnished to the patient at his request, but such\ncopies are issued for the informational purposes of the prescribers\nonly, and shall be so worded.\n 4. (a) Oral prescriptions for controlled substances shall be filled\npursuant to article thirty-three of the public health law. A pharmacist\nmay fill an oral prescription for a drug, other than a controlled\nsubstance, made by a practitioner legally authorized to prescribe drugs.\nAn oral authorization for the refill of a prescription, other than a\nprescription for a controlled substance, may be made by a practitioner\nlegally authorized to prescribe drugs. The pharmacist receiving such\noral authorization for the refill of a prescription shall write on the\nreverse side of the original prescription the date, time, and name of\nthe practitioner authorizing the refill of the prescription. An oral\nprescription or an oral authorization for the refill of a prescription\nfor the drug, other than a controlled substance, may be communicated by\nan employee of the prescribing practitioner; provided, however, the\npharmacist shall:\n (i) contemporaneously reduce such prescription to writing;\n (ii) dispense the substance in conformity with the labeling\nrequirements applicable to a written prescription; and\n (iii) make a good faith effort to verify the employee's identity if\nthe employee is unknown to the pharmacist.\n (b) Oral prescriptions for patients in general hospitals, nursing\nhomes, residential health care facilities as defined in section\ntwenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, hospitals as defined\nin subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or\nfacilities operated by the office for people with developmental\ndisabilities, may be communicated to a pharmacist serving as a vendor of\npharmaceutical services based upon a contractual arrangement by an agent\ndesignated by and under the direction of the prescriber or the\ninstitution. Such agent shall be a health care practitioner currently\nlicensed and registered under this title.\n 5. Records of all prescriptions filled or refilled shall be maintained\nfor a period of at least five years and upon request made available for\ninspection and copying by a representative of the department. Such\nrecords shall indicate date of filling or refilling, prescriber's name,\npatient's name and address and the name or initials of the pharmacist\nwho prepared, compounded, or dispensed the prescription. Records of\nprescriptions for controlled substances shall be maintained pursuant to\nrequirements of article thirty-three of the public health law.\n 6. (a) Every prescription written in this state by a person authorized\nto issue such prescription shall be on prescription forms containing one\nline for the prescriber's signature. The prescriber's signature shall\nvalidate the prescription. Every electronic prescription shall provide\nfor the prescriber's electronic signature, which shall validate the\nelectronic prescription. Imprinted conspicuously on every prescription\nwritten in this state in eight point upper case type immediately below\nthe signature line shall be the words: "THIS PRESCRIPTION WILL BE FILLED\nGENERICALLY UNLESS PRESCRIBER WRITES 'd a w' IN THE BOX BELOW". Unless\nthe prescriber writes d a w in such box in the prescriber's own\nhandwriting or, in the case of electronic prescriptions, inserts an\nelectronic direction to dispense the drug as written, the prescriber's\nsignature or electronic signature shall designate approval of\nsubstitution by a pharmacist of a drug product pursuant to paragraph (o)\nof subdivision one of section two hundred six of the public health law.\nNo other letters or marks in such box shall prohibit substitution. No\nprescription forms used or intended to be used by a person authorized to\nissue a prescription shall have 'd a w' preprinted in such box. Such box\nshall be placed directly under the signature line and shall be\nthree-quarters inch in length and one-half inch in height, or in\ncomparable form for an electronic prescription as may be specified by\nregulation of the commissioner. Immediately below such box shall be\nimprinted in six point type the words "Dispense As Written".\nNotwithstanding any other provision of law, no state official, agency,\nboard or other entity shall promulgate any regulation or guideline\nmodifying those elements of the prescription form's contents specified\nin this subdivision. To the extent otherwise permitted by law, a\nprescriber may modify only those elements of the prescription form's\ncontents not specified in this subdivision. Notwithstanding any other\nprovision of this section or any other law, when a generic drug is not\navailable and the brand name drug originally prescribed is available and\nthe pharmacist agrees to dispense the brand name product for a price\nthat will not exceed the price that would have been charged for the\ngeneric substitute had it been available, substitution of a generic drug\nproduct will not be required. If the generic drug product is not\navailable and a medical emergency situation, which for purposes of this\nsection is defined as any condition requiring alleviation of severe pain\nor which threatens to cause disability or take life if not promptly\ntreated, exists, then the pharmacist may dispense the brand name product\nat his regular price. In such instances the pharmacist must record the\ndate, hour and nature of the medical emergency on the back of the\nprescription and keep a copy of all such prescriptions.\n (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other\nlaw, when an interchangeable biological product is not available and the\nbiological product originally prescribed is available and the pharmacist\nagrees to dispense the prescribed biological product for a price that\nwill not exceed the price that would have been charged for the\ninterchangeable biological substitute had it been available,\nsubstitution of an interchangeable biological product will not be\nrequired. If the interchangeable biological product is not available and\na medical emergency situation, which for purposes of this section is\ndefined as any condition requiring alleviation of severe pain or which\nthreatens to cause disability or take life if not promptly treated,\nexists, then the pharmacist may dispense the prescribed biological\nproduct at his regular price. In such instances the pharmacist must\nrecord the date, hour and nature of the medical emergency on the back of\nthe prescription and keep a copy of all such prescriptions.\n (c) The prescriber shall inform the patient whether he or she has\nprescribed a brand name or its generic equivalent drug product or\ninterchangeable biological product.\n (d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a hospital\nas defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law.\n (e) No prescriber shall be subjected to civil liability arising solely\nfrom authorizing, in accordance with this subdivision, the substitution\nby a pharmacist of a drug product pursuant to paragraph (o) of\nsubdivision one of section two hundred six of the public health law.\n 7. (a) No prescription for a drug written in this state by a person\nauthorized to issue such prescription shall be on a prescription form\nwhich authorizes the dispensing or compounding of any other drug. No\ndrug shall be dispensed by a pharmacist when such prescription form\nincludes any other drug.\n (b) With respect to drugs other than controlled substances, the\nprovisions of this subdivision shall not apply to pharmacists employed\nby or providing services under contract to general hospitals, nursing\nhomes, residential health care facilities as defined in section\ntwenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, hospitals as defined\nin subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or\nfacilities operated by the office for people with developmental\ndisabilities, who dispense drugs in the course of said employment or in\nthe course of providing such services under contract. With respect to\nsuch pharmacists, each prescription shall be transcribed on a patient\nspecific prescription form.\n 8. Every prescription (whether or not for a controlled substance)\nwritten in this state by a person authorized to issue such prescription\nand containing the prescriber's signature shall, in addition to such\nsignature, be imprinted or stamped legibly and conspicuously with the\nprinted name of the prescriber who has signed the prescription. The\nimprinted or stamped name of the signing prescriber shall appear in an\nappropriate location on the prescription form and shall not be entered\nin or upon any space or line reserved for the prescriber's signature.\nThe imprinted or stamped name shall not be employed as a substitute for,\nor fulfill any legal requirement otherwise mandating that the\nprescription be signed by the prescriber.\n 9. No person, corporation, association or other entity, not licensed\nto issue a prescription pursuant to this title, shall wilfully cause\nprescription forms, blanks or facsimiles thereof to be disseminated to\nany person other than a person who is licensed to issue a prescription\npursuant to this title. A violation of this subdivision shall be a class\nB misdemeanor punishable in accordance with the provisions of the penal\nlaw.\n 10. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other\nlaw to the contrary, effective three years subsequent to the date on\nwhich regulations establishing standards for electronic prescriptions\nare promulgated by the commissioner of health, in consultation with the\ncommissioner pursuant to subdivision three of section two hundred\neighty-one of the public health law, no practitioner shall issue any\nprescription in this state, unless such prescription is made by\nelectronic prescription from the practitioner to a pharmacy, except for\nprescriptions: (a) issued by veterinarians; (b) issued or dispensed in\ncircumstances where electronic prescribing is not available due to\ntemporary technological or electrical failure, as set forth in\nregulation; (c) issued by practitioners who have received a waiver or a\nrenewal thereof for a specified period determined by the commissioner of\nhealth, not to exceed one year, from the requirement to use electronic\nprescribing, pursuant to a process established in regulation by the\ncommissioner of health, in consultation with the commissioner due to\neconomic hardship, technological limitations that are not reasonably\nwithin the control of the practitioner, or other exceptional\ncircumstance demonstrated by the practitioner; (d) issued by a\npractitioner under circumstances where, notwithstanding the\npractitioner's present ability to make an electronic prescription as\nrequired by this subdivision, such practitioner reasonably determines\nthat it would be impractical for the patient to obtain substances\nprescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner, and such delay\nwould adversely impact the patient's medical condition, provided that if\nsuch prescription is for a controlled substance, the quantity that does\nnot exceed a five day supply if the controlled substance was used in\naccordance with the directions for use; or (e) issued by a practitioner\nto be dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state, as set forth in\nregulation.\n 10-a. A pharmacy that receives an electronic prescription from the\nperson issuing the prescription may, if the prescription has not been\ndispensed and at the request of the patient or a person authorized to\nmake the request on behalf of the patient, immediately transfer or\nforward such prescription to an alternative pharmacy designated by the\nrequesting party.\n 11. In the case of a prescription issued by a practitioner under\nparagraph (b) of subdivision ten of this section, the practitioner shall\nbe required to indicate in the patient's health record that the\nprescription was issued other than electronically due to temporary\ntechnological or electrical failure.\n 12. In the case of a prescription issued by a practitioner under\nparagraph (d) or (e) of subdivision ten of this section, the\npractitioner shall, upon issuing such prescription, indicate in the\npatient's health record either that the prescription was issued other\nthan electronically because it (a) was impractical to issue an\nelectronic prescription in a timely manner and such delay would have\nadversely impacted the patient's medical condition, or (b) was to be\ndispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state.\n 13. The waiver process established in regulation pursuant to paragraph\n(c) of subdivision ten of this section shall provide that a practitioner\nprescribing under a waiver must notify the department of health in\nwriting promptly upon gaining the capability to use electronic\nprescribing, and that a waiver shall terminate within a specified period\nof time after the practitioner gains such capability.\n 14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no\noutsourcing facility may distribute or dispense any drug to any person\npursuant to a prescription unless it is also registered as a pharmacy in\nthis state and meets all other applicable requirements of federal and\nstate law.\n * 15. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or any\nother law to the contrary, a practitioner shall not be required to issue\nprescriptions electronically if he or she certifies to the department of\nhealth, in a manner specified by the department of health, that he or\nshe will not issue more than twenty-five prescriptions during a twelve\nmonth period. Prescriptions in both oral and written form for both\ncontrolled substances and non-controlled substances shall be included in\ndetermining whether the practitioner will reach the limit of twenty-five\nprescriptions.\n (a) A certification shall be submitted in advance of the twelve-month\ncertification period, except that a twelve-month certification submitted\non or before on July first,two thousand sixteen, may begin March\ntwenty-seventh, two thousand sixteen.\n (b) A practitioner who has made a certification under this subdivision\nmay submit an additional certification on or before the expiration of\nthe current twelve-month certification period, for a maximum of three\ntwelve-month certifications.\n (c) A practitioner may make a certification under this subdivision\nregardless of whether he or she has previously received a waiver under\nparagraphs (c) of subdivision ten of this section.\n * NB Repealed June 1, 2026\n