1. Except as specified in subsection 2, a prescription for any prescription drug or device which is not a controlled substance shall not be filled or refilled more than eighteen months after the date on which the prescription was issued and a prescription which is authorized to be refilled shall not be refilled more than twelve times.
 2. A pharmacist may exercise professional judgment by refilling a prescription without prescriber authorization if all of the following are true:

 a. The pharmacist is unable to contact the prescriber after reasonable effort.
 b. Failure to refill the prescription might result in an interruption of therapeutic regimen or create patient suffering.
 c. The pharmacist informs the patient or the patient’s representative at the time of dispensing, and the practitioner at the earliest convenience that prescriber reauthorization is required.
 3. Prescriptions may be refilled once pursuant to subsection 2 for a period of time reasonably necessary for the pharmacist to secure prescriber authorization.
 4. An authorization to refill a prescription drug order shall be transmitted to a pharmacy by a prescriber or the prescriber’s authorized agent pursuant to section 155A.27, except that prescription drug orders for controlled substances shall be transmitted pursuant to section 124.308, and, if not transmitted directly by the practitioner, shall also include the name and title of the practitioner’s agent completing the transmission.