An Act To Improve Prescription Information Access

Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §13794, first ¶,  as amended by PL 2019, c. 34, §5, is further amended to read:

Every drug dispensed pursuant to prescription, whether for a legend drug or not, must carry on the label the following information: the prescription number; the date of filling; the patient's name; directions for use; the name and strength of the drug and the amount dispensed, including either the brand name of the drug or, if a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug or interchangeable biological product is dispensed the label must be , information in accordance with section 13781; the beyond use date of the drug; the name of the practitioner prescribing the drug; and the name, address and telephone number of the pharmacy where the prescription was compounded and dispensed ; and a barcode that allows the patient to digitally access the information on the label. For purposes of this section, "barcode" means a 2-dimensional machine-scannable barcode that can be read by a camera in a mobile device, such as a smartphone, and is used for storing information or directing or leading a user to additional information. For purposes of this section, "beyond use date" means a date beyond which the contents of the prescription are not recommended to be used.

Sec. 2. Maine Board of Pharmacy rulemaking. By January 1, 2021, the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Maine Board of Pharmacy shall adopt rules to implement the requirement in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, section 13794 that a barcode that allows a patient to digitally access prescription information appear on a prescription label. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

summary

This bill requires a 2-dimensional machine-scannable barcode that allows a patient to digitally access prescription information to appear on the prescription label. It also makes a clarifying technical correction.