Nebraska Statutes 38-28,107. Collection or return of dispensed drugs and devices; conditions; fee; liability; professional disciplinary action
(1) To protect the public safety, dispensed drugs or devices:
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 38-28,107
- Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Administration: means the act of (1) administering, (2) keeping a record of such activity, and (3) observing, monitoring, reporting, and otherwise taking appropriate action regarding desired effect, side effect, interaction, and contraindication associated with administering the drug or device. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2807
- Board: means the Board of Pharmacy. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2808
- Calculated expiration date: means the expiration date on the manufacturer's, packager's, or distributor's container or one year from the date the drug or device is repackaged, whichever is earlier. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2808.01
- Caregiver: means any person acting as an agent on behalf of a patient or any person aiding and assisting a patient. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2809
- Device: means an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including any component, part, or accessory, which is prescribed by a practitioner and dispensed by a pharmacist or other person authorized by law to do so. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2814
- Facility: means a health care facility as defined in section 71-413. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2822
- Long-term care facility: means an intermediate care facility, an intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities, a long-term care hospital, a mental health substance use treatment center, a nursing facility, or a skilled nursing facility, as such terms are defined in the Health Care Facility Licensure Act. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2826.01
- Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Pharmacist: means any person who is licensed by the State of Nebraska to practice pharmacy. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2832
- Prescription: means an order for a drug or device issued by a practitioner for a specific patient, for emergency use, or for use in immunizations. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2840
(a) May be collected in a pharmacy for disposal;
(b) May be returned to a pharmacy in response to a recall by the manufacturer, packager, or distributor or if a device is defective or malfunctioning;
(c) Shall not be returned to saleable inventory nor made available for subsequent relabeling and redispensing, except as provided in subdivision (1)(d) of this section; or
(d) May be accepted from a long-term care facility by the pharmacy from which they were dispensed for credit or for relabeling and redispensing, except that:
(i) No controlled substance may be returned;
(ii) No prescription drug or medical device that has restricted distribution by the federal Food and Drug Administration may be returned;
(iii) The decision to accept the return of the dispensed drug or device shall rest solely with the pharmacist;
(iv) The dispensed drug or device shall have been in the control of the long-term care facility at all times;
(v) The dispensed drug or device shall be in the original and unopened labeled container with a tamper-evident seal intact, as dispensed by the pharmacist. Such container shall bear the expiration date or calculated expiration date and lot number; and
(vi) Tablets or capsules shall have been dispensed in a unit dose container which is impermeable to moisture and approved by the board.
(2) Pharmacies may charge a fee for collecting dispensed drugs or devices for disposal or from a long-term care facility for credit or for relabeling and redispensing.
(3) Any person or entity which exercises reasonable care in collecting dispensed drugs or devices for disposal or from a long-term care facility for credit or for relabeling and redispensing pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action of any kind for any injury, death, or loss to person or property relating to such activities.
(4) A drug manufacturer which exercises reasonable care shall be immune from civil or criminal liability for any injury, death, or loss to persons or property relating to the relabeling and redispensing of drugs returned from a long-term care facility.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4) of this section, the relabeling and redispensing of drugs returned from a long-term care facility does not absolve a drug manufacturer of any criminal or civil liability that would have existed but for the relabeling and redispensing and such relabeling and redispensing does not increase the liability of such drug manufacturer that would have existed but for the relabeling and redispensing.
(6) The pharmacist may package drugs and devices at the request of a patient or patient’s caregiver if the drugs and devices were originally dispensed from a different pharmacy.