What's happening
This bill allows pharmacists to dispense drugs, including compounded medications, to veterinarians for non-patient specific use and stock.
Why it matters
Expands veterinarians’ ability to maintain a stock of important medications. including compounded drugs—on-hand, which can enable immediate treatment of animals in urgent or unpredictable situations, especially in clinics, shelters, or rural settings.
Allows pharmacists to provide medications directly to veterinarians without needing a prescription for a specific animal. , streamlining the supply chain and reducing administrative delays when veterinarians anticipate frequent or emergency needs.
Addresses a gap in current law. that previously limited veterinarians’ access to certain medications for in-house use, potentially improving animal health outcomes and enabling faster response during disease outbreaks or shortages.
May improve access to specialized or customized medications. (compounded drugs) for animal patients, which is particularly important for species or cases that require non-standard dosages or formulations not readily available through traditional human pharmacies.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Allow Vets Stock Custom Drugs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Vets Stock Custom Drugs
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Kenneth Zebrowski
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4343
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 7, 2019
Introduced by Sen. METZGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the compounding, dispensing and sale of pharmaceuticals
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 6807 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
4. A pharmacist may dispense drugs, including veterinary-specific compounded medications, to a veterinarian, and a veterinarian may possess and keep in stock for administration and sale, such drugs pursuant to a non-patient specific regimen prescribed or ordered by any practitioner of veterinary medicine licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-five of the education law.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01578-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the compounding, dispensing and sale of pharmaceuticals
Purpose
OF THE BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to allow veterinarians to possess and dispense medications for administration and sale.
Summary of provisions
Section one of the bill amends section 6807 of the education law as it relates to allowing a pharmacist to dispense drugs, including compounded drugs to a veterinarian for the purposes of administration or sale.
Section two of the bill relates to the effective date.
Justification
This bill allows a veterinarian to maintain a stock of medications at their practice for administration or sale. Currently, a veterinarian is only allowed to prescribe patient specific medication and cannot keep drugs in stock for use in office or to prescribe for a specific patient. There are several instances where a veterinarian will need to utilize a compounded drug in an emergency situation to assist an animal. Without the legal ability to hold and dispense compounded medi- cation, a veterinarian often has to delay treatment by writing a prescription out to the patient and sending them to a pharmacy that performs compounding or has a compounding medication in stock. This bill provides veterinarians with the flexibility necessary to treat animals effectively especially in certain emergency situations.
Prior legislative history
S3440 of 2017-18, REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
Fiscal implications for state
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.