§ 6809 — Shared pharmacy services

* § 6809. Shared pharmacy services. 1. General requirements. No\npharmacist or pharmacy shall provide shared pharmacy services unless\nthey are registered in accordance with sections sixty-eight hundred\nfive, sixty-eight hundred eight, or sixty-eight hundred eight-b of this\narticle, and are in compliance with the provisions of this section.\n 2. Qualification. A pharmacy may provide or engage in shared pharmacy\nservices only if the pharmacies involved:\n a. (i) have the same owner; or\n (ii) have a written contract or agreement that outlines the services\nprovided and the shared responsibilities of each pharmacy in complying\nwith all applicable federal and state statutory and regulatory\nrequirements; and\n b. share a common electronic file or technology that allows access to\ninformation necessary or required to perform shared pharmacy services in\ncompliance with all applicable federal and state statutory and\nregulatory requirements.\n 3. Operations. A pharmacy or pharmacist engaged in shared pharmacy\nservices shall:\n a. maintain records that identify, individually for each prescription\nor order filled or processed, the name and if applicable, the license or\nregistration number of each pharmacy and individual who took part in the\nprocessing or filling of the prescription or order. Such records shall\nbe maintained in accordance with subdivision five of section sixty-eight\nhundred ten of this article and made available to the department upon\nrequest. Records of prescriptions for controlled substances shall be\nmaintained pursuant to the requirements of article thirty-three of the\npublic health law;\n b. maintain a system for the tracking of each prescription or order\nduring each step of the process including, but not limited to, the name\nand if applicable, the license and registration number of each pharmacy\nand individual taking part in the processing or filling of the\nprescription or order;\n c. notify the department, in writing, within thirty days of any\ndisciplinary action taken by another state's regulatory agency involving\nshared pharmacy services as defined in this article;\n d. ensure that the labels for all prescriptions filled utilizing\nshared pharmacy services identify the names and registration numbers of\nthe pharmacies involved in the dispensing and filling of the\nprescriptions. All labels shall conform to sections sixty-eight hundred\ntwenty-nine and sixty-eight hundred thirty of this article and the\nregulations promulgated thereunder. The labeling of prescriptions for\ncontrolled substances shall be subject to additional requirements\nprovided in article thirty-three of the public health law. The\nprovisions of this paragraph shall not apply to hospitals as defined in\narticle twenty-eight of the public health law when furnishing drugs to\npatients registered for treatment by the hospital;\n e. maintain a system that adequately protects the confidentiality and\nintegrity of protected patient information; and\n f. maintain processes for the storage, processing and dispensing of\ncontrolled substances in accordance with article thirty-three of the\npublic health law.\n 4. Notification to patients. a. Pharmacies participating in shared\npharmacy services shall:\n (i) notify patients or the patients' authorized representative that\npending their consent, a portion or all of their prescriptions may be\nprocessed or filled off premises. Such notification shall be conveyed\nusing conspicuously posted signage at or adjacent to the place in the\npharmacy where prescriptions are presented for compounding and\ndispensing, in the waiting area for customers, or the area where\nprescribed drugs are dispensed. Pharmacies that transact business\nthrough the use of the internet shall conspicuously provide such\nnotification on their website; and\n (ii) obtain an initial onetime consent to fill current and future\nprescriptions through shared pharmacy services from the patient or\npatient's authorized representative prior to the dispensing of one or\nmore prescriptions for the patient. For the purposes of this section,\nsuch consent shall be obtained in writing or electronically and noted\nwithin the patient's medication profile.\n b. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a patient or the\npatients' authorized representative from opting out of having the\npatients' prescription processed or filled via shared pharmacy services\nat any time.\n c. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a hospital as\ndefined in article twenty-eight of the public health law which is\nfurnishing drugs to patients registered for treatment by the hospital.\n 5. Drug storage and security. a. Drugs shall be stored and transported\nin a secure manner in compliance with all applicable federal and state\nstatutory and regulatory requirements.\n b. Access to the area where drugs are stored shall be limited to\nauthorized personnel.\n c. Pharmacies participating in shared pharmacy services shall have\nadequate security that complies with all applicable federal and state\nstatutory and regulatory requirements and protects the confidentiality\nand integrity of protected patient information.\n 6. Policies and procedures. a. Each pharmacy participating in shared\npharmacy services shall jointly develop, implement, review, revise, and\ncomply with joint policies and procedures for shared pharmacy services.\nSuch policies and procedures shall be made available to the department\nupon request and maintained pursuant to regulations promulgated by the\ncommissioner.\n b. The policies and procedures shall:\n (i) outline the responsibilities of each pharmacy;\n (ii) include a list of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and\nall registration numbers of the pharmacies involved in shared pharmacy\nservices; and\n (iii) include policies and procedures for:\n (A) notifying the patients or the patients' authorized representative\nthat the patients' prescriptions may be processed or filled off premises\nand providing the names and registration numbers of the other pharmacies\ninvolved in the filling or processing of the prescriptions;\n (B) protecting the confidentiality and integrity of protected patient\ninformation;\n (C) dispensing a prescription when a prescription filled utilizing\nshared pharmacy services is not received or the patient comes in before\nsuch prescription is received;\n (D) maintaining a required manual or electronic records to track the\nprescription or order through each step of the process including, but\nnot limited to, the names and, if applicable, the license or\nregistration numbers of each individual who participated in shared\npharmacy services; and\n (E) complying with all applicable federal and state statutory and\nregulatory requirements; and\n (iv) policies and procedures for hospitals as defined in the public\nhealth law are exempt from the requirements of clauses (A) and (C) of\nsubparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, when furnishing drugs to patients\nregistered for treatment by the hospital.\n 7. Individual practice. For the purpose of shared pharmacy services,\npersons licensed or otherwise authorized under this article and article\none hundred thirty-seven-a of this title, employed by or under contract\nwith a pharmacy, acting within their respective scopes of practice, may\naccess that pharmacy's electronic database from inside or outside the\npharmacy and perform prescription or order processing functions, if both\nof the following requirements are met:\n a. the pharmacy establishes controls to protect the confidentiality\nand integrity of protected patient information; and\n b. no part of the database is duplicated, downloaded, or removed from\nthe pharmacy's electronic database.\n 8. Effect. Failure to meet any or all of the requirements of this\nsection may result in a denial of renewal of registration.\n * NB Effective May 22, 2026\n