(a) No prescribing practitioner, spouse of a prescribing practitioner, except a spouse who is a pharmacist, or dependent child of a prescribing practitioner shall have an ownership or investment interest in a pharmacy.

(b) The provisions of this section do not apply to a prescribing practitioner or spouse or dependent child of a prescribing practitioner (1) having an ownership or investment interest in a pharmacy prior to July 1, 1993, (2) who inherits an ownership or investment interest in a pharmacy, or (3) who is not required to maintain professional liability insurance pursuant to section 20-11b, provided (A) if the prescribing practitioner reinstates any such professional liability insurance, the prescribing practitioner shall, within thirty days of doing so, notify the Commissioner of Public Health of such reinstatement and divest any interest the prescribing practitioner may have in any pharmacy, or (B) if the interest is owned by the prescribing practitioner's spouse or dependent child, the spouse or child shall divest such interest in any pharmacy. Failure of the prescribing practitioner or the prescribing practitioner's spouse or dependent child to divest any such interest in a pharmacy within thirty days shall result in the prescribing practitioner's license being suspended until such time as the prescribing practitioner or the prescribing practitioner's spouse or dependent child divests such interest in the pharmacy.

(c) As used in this section, “ownership of investment interest” does not include ownership of investment securities by a prescribing practitioner, or the prescribing practitioner's spouse or dependent children, in a publicly-held corporation that is traded on a national exchange or over-the-counter market, provided the investment securities held by the prescribing practitioner, the prescribing practitioner's spouse and the prescribing practitioner's dependent children, in the aggregate, do not exceed one-half of one per cent of the total number of shares issued by the corporation.

(P.A. 93-374, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-264, S. 21; 95-271, S. 32; P.A. 99-175, S. 24.)

History: P.A. 93-374 effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-264 substituted “prescribing practitioner” for “licensed practitioner”; P.A. 95-271 added Subsec. (b)(3) re exemption for certain individuals required to maintain professional liability insurance under Sec. 20-11b and that failure to divest within 30 days can result in suspension (Revisor's note: A reference to “licensed” practitioner was replaced editorially by the Revisors with “prescribing” practitioner to conform P.A. 95-271 with changes enacted in P.A. 95-264); Sec. 20-168b transferred to Sec. 20-596 in 1997; P.A. 99-175 made technical and gender neutral changes.