Subdivision 1. Location. It shall be unlawful for any person to compound or dispense drugs in any place other than a pharmacy, except as provided in this chapter; except that a licensed pharmacist or pharmacist intern working within a licensed hospital may receive a prescription drug order and access the hospital's pharmacy prescription processing system through secure and encrypted electronic means in order to process the prescription drug order.

Subd. 2. Proprietors of pharmacies. No proprietor of a pharmacy shall permit the compounding or dispensing of prescriptions except by a pharmacist or by a pharmacist intern under the personal supervision of a pharmacist; or the vending or selling of drugs, medicines, chemicals, or poisons in the proprietor's pharmacy except under the personal supervision of a pharmacist.

Subd. 3. Unlicensed persons; veterinary legend drugs. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed veterinarian or pharmacist to compound or dispense veterinary legend drugs except as provided in this chapter.

Subd. 4. Unlicensed persons; legend drugs. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed practitioner or pharmacist to compound or dispense legend drugs except as provided in this chapter.

Subd. 5. Receipt of emergency prescription orders. A pharmacist, when that pharmacist is not present within a licensed pharmacy, may accept a written, verbal, or electronic prescription drug order from a practitioner only if:

(1) the prescription drug order is for an emergency situation where waiting for the pharmacist to travel to a licensed pharmacy to accept the prescription drug order would likely cause the patient to experience significant physical harm or discomfort;

(2) the pharmacy from which the prescription drug order will be dispensed is closed for business;

(3) the pharmacist has been designated to be on call for the licensed pharmacy that will fill the prescription drug order;

(4) electronic prescription drug orders are received through secure and encrypted electronic means;

(5) the pharmacist takes reasonable precautions to ensure that the prescription drug order will be handled in a manner consistent with federal and state statutes regarding the handling of protected health information; and

(6) the pharmacy from which the prescription drug order will be dispensed has relevant and appropriate policies and procedures in place and makes them available to the board upon request.

Subd. 6. Processing emergency prescription orders. A pharmacist, when that pharmacist is not present within a licensed pharmacy, may access a pharmacy prescription processing system through secure and encrypted electronic means in order to process an emergency prescription accepted pursuant to subdivision 5 only if:

(1) the pharmacy from which the prescription drug order will be dispensed is closed for business;

(2) the pharmacist has been designated to be on call for the licensed pharmacy that will fill the prescription drug order;

(3) the prescription drug order is for a patient of a long-term care facility or a county correctional facility;

(4) the prescription drug order is not being processed pursuant to section 151.58;

(5) the prescription drug order is processed pursuant to this chapter and the rules promulgated thereunder; and

(6) the pharmacy from which the prescription drug order will be dispensed has relevant and appropriate policies and procedures in place and makes them available to the board upon request.

History: (5808-16) 1937 c 354 s 16; 1967 c 377 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 550 s 10; 1990 c 526 s 4; 1991 c 213 s 2; 1994 c 632 art 2 s 37; 1Sp2019 c 9 art 10 s 31-33