§ 6827 — Mandatory continuing education

§ 6827. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed\npharmacist required under article one hundred thirty of this chapter to\nregister triennially with the department to practice in the state shall\ncomply with provisions of the mandatory continuing education\nrequirements prescribed in subdivision two of this section except as set\nforth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Pharmacists who do\nnot satisfy the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not\npractice until they have met such requirements, and they have been\nissued a registration certificate, except that a pharmacist may practice\nwithout having met such requirements if he or she is issued a\nconditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of\nthis section.\n (b) In accord with the intent of this section, adjustment to the\nmandatory continuing education requirement may be granted by the\ndepartment for reasons of health certified by an appropriate health care\nprofessional, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the\nUnited States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department\nwhich may prevent compliance.\n (c) A licensed pharmacist not engaged in practice as determined by the\ndepartment, shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education\nrequirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring\nsuch status. Any licensee who returns to the practice of pharmacy during\nthe triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to\nreentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory education\nrequirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.\n * 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for\nregistration shall complete a minimum of forty-five hours of acceptable\nformal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this\nsection, provided that no more than twenty-two hours of such continuing\neducation shall consist of self-study courses. Any pharmacist\nparticipating in collaborative drug therapy management pursuant to\nsection six thousand eight hundred one-a of this article shall complete\nat least five hours of acceptable formal continuing education in the\narea or areas of practice generally related to any collaborative drug\ntherapy management protocols to which the pharmacist may be subject. Any\npharmacist whose first registration date following the effective date of\nthis section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but\non or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete\ncontinuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and\none-quarter hours per month for the period beginning January first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-seven up to the first registration date\nthereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing\neducation requirements shall not be issued a triennial registration\ncertificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until a\nconditional registration certificate is issued as provided for in\nsubdivision three of this section. Continuing education hours taken\nduring one triennium may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.\n * NB Effective until July 1, 2026\n * 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for\nregistration shall complete a minimum of forty-five hours of acceptable\nformal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this\nsection, provided that no more than twenty-two hours of such continuing\neducation shall consist of self-study courses. Any pharmacist whose\nfirst registration date following the effective date of this section\noccurs less than three years from such effective date, but on or after\nJanuary first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete continuing\neducation hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and one-quarter\nhours per month for the period beginning January first, nineteen hundred\nninety-seven up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee\nwho has not satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements\nshall not be issued a triennial registration certificate by the\ndepartment and shall not practice unless and until a conditional\nregistration certificate is issued as provided for in subdivision three\nof this section. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium\nmay not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.\n * NB Effective July 1, 2026\n 3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional\nregistration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education\nrequirements established in subdivision two of this section but who\nagrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education\nwhich the department may require. The fee for such a conditional\nregistration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the\ntriennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration\nshall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any\nlicensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to\nsubmit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing\neducation and who practices pharmacy without such registration, may be\nsubject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five\nhundred ten of this chapter.\n 4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable formal\ncontinuing education" shall mean formal courses of learning which\ncontribute to professional practice in pharmacy and which meet the\nstandards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. The department\nmay, in its discretion and as needed to contribute to the health and\nwelfare of the public, require the completion of continuing education\ncourses in specific subjects. To fulfill this mandatory continuing\neducation requirement, courses must be taken from a sponsor approved by\nthe department, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.\n 5. Pharmacists shall maintain adequate documentation of completion of\nacceptable formal continuing education and shall provide such\ndocumentation at the request of the department. Failure to provide such\ndocumentation upon the request of the department shall be an act of\nmisconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section\nsixty-five hundred ten of this chapter.\n 6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars,\nshall be payable on or before the first day of each triennial\nregistration period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial\nregistration fee required by section sixty-eight hundred five of this\narticle.\n