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A2020 • 2026

Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician and patient.

Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician and patient.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Haider, Shama A.
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician and patient.

Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician and patient.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician and patient.
  • Topic: Health Fiscal note: This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee

Official Summary Text

Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician and patient.
Topic:
Health
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A2020

ASSEMBLY, No. 2020

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits substitution of prescribed epilepsy drugs
by pharmacists without prior notification to and written consent of physician
and patient.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

concerning substitution of epilepsy drugs and
supplementing P.L.1977, c.240 (C.24:6E-1 et seq.).

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� Notwithstanding any
law to the contrary, a pharmacist shall not interchange an anti-epileptic drug
or formulation of an anti-epileptic drug, brand or generic, for the treatment
of seizures associated with epilepsy without providing prior notification to,
and obtaining the signed informed consent of, the prescribing physician and the
patient, or the patient�s parent, legal guardian or spouse, as applicable.

���� b.��� As used in this act:

���� �Anti-epileptic drug� means
any drug prescribed for the treatment of epilepsy or a drug used to treat or
prevent seizures.

���� �Epilepsy� means a
neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures.

���� �Interchange� means the
substitution of one version of the same anti-epileptic therapeutic product,
including a generic version for the prescribed brand, a brand version for the
prescribed generic version, a generic version by one manufacturer for a generic
version by a different manufacturer, a different formulation of the prescribed
anti-epileptic drug, or a different anti-epileptic therapeutic drug product for
the anti-epileptic product originally prescribed.

���� �Seizure� means an acute
clinical change secondary to a brief disturbance in the electrical activity of
the brain.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the second month following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits
pharmacists from substituting brand or generic anti-epileptic drugs prescribed
to treat seizures without prior notification to, and the signed informed
consent of, the prescribing physician and patient, or the patient�s parent,
legal guardian or spouse, as applicable.

���� Different patients respond
differently to seizure control medications.� For anticonvulsant drugs, small
variations in concentrations between FDA equivalent rated drugs can cause toxic
effects or seizures when taken by patients with epilepsy.

���� Anticonvulsant drugs for the
treatment of epilepsy differ from other classes of drugs in several ways that
make therapeutic or generic interchange of agents problematic.� In most
patients, controlling seizures with medication requires a slow and precise dosage
regulation of one or several medications.� Changing from one formulation of a
drug to another can usually be accomplished, and risks minimized, if physicians
and patients monitor blood levels, seizures, and toxicity.

���� Pharmacists do not have access
to the patient�s complete medical history and may not know why a particular
drug product was prescribed.� While pharmacists are a vital part of the health
care team, documented consent should be obtained from both the treating
physician and the patient prior to any substitution in anticonvulsant
medication in the case where the prescribing physician does not check �do not
substitute� on the prescription.