LD 329
pg. 1
LD 329 Title Page An Act to Encourage the Use of Generic Drugs Page 2 of 2
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LR 1567
Item 1

 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

 
Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §13781, as amended by PL 1997, c. 245, §§13 and
14, is further amended to read:

 
§ 13781. Generic and therapeutically equivalent

 
substitution

 
A written prescription issued by a practitioner in this
State may contain a box in the lower right-hand corner of the
prescription form. The following words must appear to the left
of this box: "Any drug which is the generic and therapeutic
equivalent of the drug specified above in this prescription
may must be dispensed, provided that no check mark ( ) has
been handwritten in the box in the lower right-hand corner."

 
Any pharmacist receiving a prescription in which no
handwritten check mark ( ) is found in the box provided may
shall substitute a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug
for the drug specified on the prescription if the substituted
drug is distributed by a business entity doing business in the
United States that is subject to suit and the service of legal
process in the United States and that the price of the
substituted drug does not exceed the price of the drug
specified by the practitioner.

 
If a written prescription issued by a practitioner in this
State does not contain the box described in this section, a
pharmacist may shall substitute a generic and therapeutically
equivalent drug for the drug specified on the prescription if
the substituted drug is distributed by a business entity doing
business in the United States that is subject to suit and the
service of legal process in the United States and the price of
the substituted drug does not exceed the price of the drug
specified by the practitioner, unless a practitioner has
handwritten on the prescription form, along with the
practitioner's signature, "dispense as written," "DAW,"
"brand," "brand necessary" or "brand medically necessary."

 
Any pharmacist who substitutes a generic and therapeutically
equivalent drug under this section shall inform the person to
whom the drug is dispensed of the substitution. When any
substitution is made under this section, the pharmacist shall
cause the name of the generic and therapeutically equivalent
drug, the name or abbreviation of the drug manufacturer or
distributor of that substitute drug and all other information
as required by section 13794 to appear on the container label
of the drug dispensed.


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