Permits pharmacists to dispense certain drugs in emergency without prescription.

S3840

SENATE, No. 3840

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits pharmacists to dispense certain drugs in
emergency without prescription.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning emergency drug dispensing and
supplementing P.L.2003, c.280 (C.45:14-40 et seq.).

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

���� 1.��� a.� A pharmacist may
dispense or sell an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance drug without a
current, valid prescription from a practitioner if all of the following
conditions are satisfied:

���� (1)�� the pharmacy at which
the pharmacist is practicing has a record of a prescription for the drug in the
name of the patient who is requesting the emergency supply, but the
prescription does not provide for a refill or the time permitted for providing
the refill has passed;

���� (2)�� the pharmacist attempts
but is unable to obtain authorization to refill the prescription from the
practitioner who issued the prescription or another practitioner responsible
for the patient�s care;

���� (3)�� in the pharmacist�s
professional judgment, refusal to provide an emergency supply of the drug would
endanger the health or welfare of the patient;

���� (4)�� the drug is not a
controlled dangerous substance;

���� (5)�� the amount of the drug
dispensed does not exceed a 30-day supply as provided in the most recent
prescription or, if the standard unit of dispensing for the drug exceeds a
30-day supply, the amount dispensed does not exceed the standard unit of
dispensing;

���� (6)�� the pharmacist has not
provided an emergency supply of the particular drug pursuant to this subsection
to the same patient in the previous 12-month period; and

���� (7)�� the pharmacist fulfills
all documentation and other requirements for dispensing established by the
Board of Pharmacy by regulation.

���� b.��� A pharmacist or the
pharmacist�s employer shall not be held civilly liable for any act or omission
in connection with the dispensing of an emergency supply of a drug pursuant to
this section unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence, recklessness,
or willful or wanton misconduct.�

���� c.���� Nothing in this section
shall preclude a pharmacist from dispensing an emergency supply of a drug under
other authority granted by regulations promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy.

���� 2.��� The Board of Pharmacy, pursuant
to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et
seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this
act.

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of
enactment, except that the Board of Pharmacy may take such anticipatory
administrative action in advance of the effective date as shall be necessary to
implement the act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill permits a pharmacist
to dispense or sell an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance drug without a
current, valid prescription from a practitioner, under certain conditions.� To
dispense or sell an emergency supply of a drug under the bill:

�

the pharmacy at which the pharmacist is practicing must have a
record of a prescription for the drug in the name of the patient who is
requesting the emergency supply, but the prescription does not provide for a
refill or the time permitted for providing the refill has passed;

�

the pharmacist must attempt but fail to obtain authorization to
refill the prescription from the practitioner who issued the prescription or
another practitioner responsible for the patient�s care;

�

the pharmacist must determine, in the pharmacist�s professional
judgment, that refusal to provide an emergency supply of the drug would
endanger the health or welfare of the patient;

�

the drug must not be a controlled dangerous substance;

�

the amount of the drug dispensed must not exceed a 30-day supply
as provided in the most recent prescription or, if the standard unit of
dispensing for the drug exceeds a 30-day supply, the amount dispensed must not
exceed the standard unit of dispensing;

�

the pharmacist may not have provided an emergency supply of the
particular drug pursuant to this subsection to the same patient in the previous
12-month period; and

�

the pharmacist must fulfill all documentation and other
requirements for dispensing established by the Board of Pharmacy by regulation.

������� The bill provides civil
immunity for pharmacists and their employers for acts or omissions in
connection with the dispensing of an emergency supply of a drug pursuant to
this bill unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence,
recklessness, or willful or wanton misconduct.

���� The bill also states that it
would not preclude a pharmacist from dispensing an emergency supply of a drug
under other authority granted by regulations promulgated by the Board of
Pharmacy.� Currently, N.J.A.C.13:39-7.4 permits emergency dispensing of a 72-hour
supply of a drug, under conditions that are more permissive than the conditions
for dispensing a longer-term supply established under this bill.