(a) No pharmacist may dispense medication pursuant to a handwritten, typed or computer-generated prescription order for a drug issued by a prescriber in this state, unless the prescription order is comprehensible to the pharmacist. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a pharmacist from dispensing medication pursuant to a verbal prescription order.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 63-10-213

  • Dispense: means preparing, packaging, compounding or labeling for delivery and actual delivery of a prescription drug, nonprescription drug or device in the course of professional practice to a patient or the patient's agent, to include a licensed health care practitioner or a health care facility providing services or treatment to the patient or patients, by or pursuant to the lawful order of a prescriber. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
  • Drug: means any of the following:
    (A) Articles recognized as drugs or drug products in any official compendium or supplement thereto. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, association, corporation and the state, its departments, agencies and employees, and the political subdivisions of Tennessee and their departments, agencies and employees, except the department of health and local health departments. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
  • Pharmacist: means an individual health care provider licensed by the state, pursuant to parts 4-6 of this chapter, to practice the profession of pharmacy. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
  • Prescriber: means an individual authorized by law to prescribe drugs. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
  • Prescription order: means and includes any order, communicated through written, verbal, or electronic means by a physician, certified physician assistant, pharmacist in accordance with a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement pursuant to this section, dentist, veterinarian, optometrist authorized pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) If a prescriber issues a prescription order, then it is the duty of the prescriber to issue a legible order. A pharmacist shall make a reasonable attempt to contact the prescriber to seek clarification of a prescription order that is not comprehensible to the pharmacist, in which case the pharmacist must not dispense medication until the pharmacist obtains clarification. A pharmacist shall not be liable to any person for any reasonable delay caused when a pharmacist has reasonably sought clarification of a prescription order.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a pharmacist from dispensing medication prior to authorization in accordance with § 63-10-207.
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