657—6.9 (124,155A) Transfer of prescription. The transmission of a prescription drug order from a pharmacy to a pharmacy engaged in centralized prescription filling or processing on behalf of the originating pharmacy pursuant to the requirements of 657—Chapter 18 shall not constitute the transfer of a prescription. Upon the request of a patient or the patient’s caregiver, a pharmacy shall transfer original prescription drug order information and prescription refill information to a pharmacy designated by the patient or the patient’s caregiver, central fill or processing pharmacies excepted, subject to the following requirements:
	 6.9(1) Schedule III, IV, or V prescriptions. The transfer of original prescription drug order information for controlled substances listed in Schedule III, IV, or V is permissible between pharmacies on a one-time basis except as provided in subrule 6.9(9).
	 6.9(2) Noncontrolled substances prescriptions. The transfer of original prescription drug order information for noncontrolled prescription drugs between pharmacies is permissible as long as the number of transfers does not exceed the number of originally authorized refills and the original prescription is still valid.
	 6.9(3) Communication. The transfer is communicated directly between pharmacists, directly between pharmacist-interns under the direct supervision of pharmacists at the respective pharmacies, directly between a pharmacist and a pharmacist-intern under the direct supervision of a pharmacist, or as authorized in subrule 6.9(9).
	 6.9(4) Prescriptions maintained. Both the original and the transferred prescription drug orders are maintained for a period of two years from the date of last refill.
	 6.9(5) Record of transfer out. The pharmacist or pharmacist-intern transferring the prescription drug order information shall:
	  a.   	 Invalidate the prescription drug order;
	  b.   	 Record on or with the invalidated prescription drug order the following information:
	 (1) 	 The name, address, and, for a controlled substance, the DEA registration number of the pharmacy to which such prescription is transferred;
	 (2) 	 The name of the pharmacist or pharmacist-intern receiving the prescription drug order information;
	 (3) 	 The name of the pharmacist or pharmacist-intern transferring the prescription drug order information; and
	 (4) 	 The date of the transfer.
	 6.9(6) Original prescription status. The original prescription drug order shall be invalidated in the data processing system for purposes of filling or refilling, but shall be maintained in the data processing system for refill history purposes.
	 6.9(7) Controlled substance prescription status. The data processing system shall have a mechanism to prohibit the transfer or refilling of controlled substance prescription drug orders that have been previously transferred.
	 6.9(8) Record of transfer received. The pharmacist or pharmacist-intern receiving the transferred prescription drug order information shall:
	  a.   	 Indicate that the prescription drug order has been transferred;
	  b.   	 Record on or with the transferred prescription drug order the following information:
	 (1) 	 Original date of issuance and date of dispensing, if different from date of issuance;
	 (2) 	 Original prescription number;
	 (3) 	 Number of valid refills remaining, the date of last refill, and, for a controlled substance, the dates and locations of all previous refills;
	 (4) 	 Name, address, and, for a controlled substance, the DEA registration number of the pharmacy from which such prescription drug order information is transferred;
	 (5) 	 The date of the transfer;
	 (6) 	 Name of the pharmacist or pharmacist-intern receiving the prescription drug order information;
	 (7) 	 Name of the pharmacist or pharmacist-intern transferring the prescription drug order information; and
	 (8) 	 If transferring a controlled substance prescription from a pharmacy utilizing a shared electronic database system as described in subrule 6.9(9) to a pharmacy outside that shared system, the pharmacy name, location, DEA registration number, and prescription number from which the prescription was originally filled.
	 6.9(9) Electronic transfer between pharmacies. Pharmacies electronically accessing the same prescription drug order records via a real-time, on-line database may electronically transfer prescription information, including controlled substance prescription information, up to the maximum refills permitted by law and the prescriber’s authorization, if the following requirements are met.
	  a.   	 The data processing system shall have a mechanism to send the transferring pharmacy a message containing the following information:
	 (1) 	 The fact that the prescription drug order was transferred;
	 (2) 	 The unique identification number of the prescription drug order transferred;
	 (3) 	 The name, address, and DEA registration number of the pharmacy to which the prescription drug order was transferred and the name of the pharmacist or pharmacist-intern receiving the prescription information; and
	 (4) 	 The date and time of transfer.
	  b.   	 A pharmacist or pharmacist-intern under the direct supervision of a pharmacist in the transferring pharmacy shall review the message and document the review by signing and dating a hard copy of the message or logbook containing the information required on the message, or by a notation in the electronic message that includes the unique identification of the pharmacist or pharmacist-intern and the date of review, as soon as practical, but in no event more than 72 hours from the time of such transfer.
	  c.   	 For transfers of controlled substance prescriptions, all information requirements included in subrules 6.9(1) and 6.9(3) through 6.9(8) shall be satisfied in the electronic system. Transfers of controlled substance prescriptions shall also identify the pharmacy name, address, DEA registration number, and prescription number from which the prescription was originally filled.
[ARC 7634B, IAB 3/11/09, effective 4/15/09; ARC 8169B, IAB 9/23/09, effective 10/28/09]