What's happening
This bill requires pharmacies to obtain express patient consent before delivering prescriptions, establishes consent procedures, and mandates annual statements of patient rights.
Why it matters
Strengthens patient control. By requiring express consent before any prescription is delivered, this bill ensures patients (or their representatives) have direct authority over when and how their medications are sent, reducing unwanted or mistaken deliveries.
Defines consent procedures clearly. The bill outlines acceptable ways pharmacies can obtain and document consent—including physical/electronic signatures, verbal agreement, or opt-in programs for refill/medication adherence services—making compliance expectations explicit for both patients and pharmacies.
Protects patients financially and logistically. If medication is delivered without proper consent, pharmacies must accept returns, issue refunds or credits to both the patient and their health plan, and destroy the returned drugs, addressing concerns about wasted medication and improper charges.
Enhances transparency and patient awareness. Pharmacies are now required to give an annual statement outlining patients’ rights regarding consent and prescription delivery, potentially empowering patients with knowledge to make informed decisions about their medication management.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Consent for Prescription Delivery
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Assembly Member · Assembly District 108
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7555
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the consent of the patient or an authorized individual to consent on the patient's behalf before a prescription is delivered
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 6810 of the education law, as amend by chapter 413 of the laws of 2014, the second undesignated paragraph of subdivision (a) as amended by section 7 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
2. (a) A prescription may not be refilled unless it bears a contrary instruction and indicates on its face the number of times it may be refilled. A prescription may not be refilled more times than allowed on the prescription. The date of each refilling must be indicated on the original prescription. Prescriptions for controlled substances shall be refilled only pursuant to article thirty-three of the public health law.
A pharmacy registered with the department pursuant to section sixtyeight hundred eight or sixty-eight hundred eight-b of this article may not deliver a new or refilled prescription off premises without the express consent of the patient or an individual authorized to consent on the patient's behalf or action taken in lieu of indicating the express consent of the patient to receive the prescription. For the purposes of this section, express consent [may be obtained in the same manner and process by which consent is deemed acceptable under the federal Medicare Part D program] shall include at least one of the following:
(1) the patient or authorized individual's physical or electronic signature authorizing each prescription delivered;
(2) the pharmacy may contact the patient or authorized individual for verbal, electronic or written consent to deliver and must document consent in the patient record; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11438-01-9
A. 7555 2
(3) for pharmacies that administer refill reminder or medication adherence programs and deliver off premises, if an express consent is not received on each prescription, then the refill reminder program or medication adherence program shall be an OPT-IN program that is updated as to patient consent every one hundred eighty days.
(b) Pharmacy providers who deliver medication without patient or authorized individual express consent will be required to accept the return of the medication from the patient, provide that patient credit for any charges they may have paid, provide credit to the medical plan for charges paid, and will be required to destroy those medications sent without consent on delivery in accordance with applicable state and federal law. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to interfere with the requirements for refill reminder or medication adherence programs. Nothing in this section is intended to apply to long-term care pharmacy dispensing and delivery.
(c) Pharmacy providers who deliver medications shall provide a statement of rights upon delivery on an annual basis that outlines the patient's rights regarding consent and prescription delivery options.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.