(a) The board shall enforce laws in this state relating to the practice of pharmacy; the manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs; the medication use process, including, but not limited to, compounding, selection, preparation, production, dispensing, and distribution; patient administration; and the education and monitoring of drugs, devices, chemicals, and poisons.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 63-10-308
Administer: means the direct application of a drug to a patient or research subject by injection, inhalation, ingestion, topical application or by any other means. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
Compounding: means the preparation, mixing, assembling, packaging or labeling of a drug or device: (A) As the result of a prescription order or initiative based on the prescriber-patient-pharmacist relationship in the course of professional practice. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
distribution: means the sale, purchase, trade, delivery, handling, storage, or receipt of a product or the arrangement of the sale, purchase, trade, delivery, handling, storage, or receipt of a product through third parties. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
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
Pharmacist-in-charge: means the supervisory pharmacist who has the authority and responsibility for compliance with laws and rules pertaining to the practice of pharmacy at the practice site of the pharmacist-in-charge. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
Pharmacy: means a location licensed by this state where drugs are compounded or dispensed under the supervision of a pharmacist, as defined in the rules of the board and where prescription orders are received or processed. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
Practice of pharmacy: means a patient-oriented health service profession in which pharmacists interact and consult with patients and other health care professionals to enhance patients' wellness, prevent illness, and optimize outcomes. See Tennessee Code 63-10-204
Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
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) The division of health related boards shall employ the necessary administrative and clerical staff and investigators who are pharmacists to carry out the board’s duty to enforce pharmaceutical laws. The pharmacist investigators may conduct inspections of pharmacies and other sites where drugs, medicines, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, or poisons are manufactured, stored, sold, dispensed, distributed, or administered and shall conduct investigations of a board licensee. The pharmacist investigators may also assist in inspections and investigations undertaken by other health related boards attached to the division, and investigators assigned to these other health related boards may assist pharmacist investigators as appropriate.(c) The board shall promulgate rules:
(1) To establish minimum standards and conditions for the operation of a pharmacy;(2) Regarding the practice of pharmacy in this state to protect the health and welfare of the citizens of this state;(3) Regarding professional conduct appropriate to the establishment and maintenance of a high standard of integrity and dignity in the profession of pharmacy;(4) To set minimum standards and conditions for receiving, preparing, maintaining, transferring, and dispensing of prescription orders; and(5) To ensure that persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled have appropriate access to prescription labels, bag tags, and medical guides.(d)(1) The board shall:
(A) Keep a record of the board’s meetings and other proceedings;(B) Issue and maintain a register of all persons who have been issued licenses and who have had their licenses renewed; and(C) Maintain a register of pharmacists who have been designated as a pharmacist-in-charge.(2) The board may maintain a register of pharmacy technicians as necessary to maintain public welfare.(e)(1) The board may petition a circuit or chancery court having jurisdiction over persons who practice pharmacy in this state without a valid license or who have violated the provisions of parts 2-7 of this chapter or rules promulgated by the board to enjoin a person from continuing to practice in this state.(2) The executive director may issue subpoenas for witnesses and records and to administer oaths to witnesses.(f)(1)Board members may join professional organizations and associations organized to promote the improvement of the standards of the practice of pharmacy for the protection of the health and welfare of the public.(2) The board may authorize, subject to the approval of the commissioner, administrative and investigative personnel and board members to attend local, state, regional, and national meetings. All reimbursement for travel expenses directly incurred as a result of attending such meetings shall be in accordance with the comprehensive travel regulations as promulgated by the department of finance and administration and approved by the attorney general and reporter.(g) The board shall:
(1) Regularly notify licensed pharmacists of changes that are implemented or enforced by the board that affect the licensees resulting from newly promulgated rules, amended statutes, and adopted policies and guidelines;(2) Establish and publish on its website the statutes, rules, policies, and guidelines that are implemented or enforced by the board and that affect licensees; and(3) Require licensees to maintain a copy of the board of pharmacy statutes, rules, policies, and guidelines at the location in which they practice pharmacy.(h) The board may issue advisory private letter rulings to any affected licensee making a request for a ruling regarding matters within the board’s jurisdiction. The private letter ruling affects only the licensee making the inquiry and has no precedential value for any other inquiry or future contested case to come before the board. The board may resolve a dispute regarding a private letter ruling pursuant to declaratory orders under § 4-5-223.
