What's happening
This bill requires the New York Department of Health to create an online database tracking pharmacies' inventory of drugs in shortage, accessible to licensed physicians and pharmacists.
Why it matters
Improves transparency and efficiency. for healthcare providers by offering up-to-date information on where drugs in shortage are currently available, which can help reduce delays in patient care and minimize time spent searching for critical medications.
Requires regular, pharmacist-verified updates. (at least weekly) to inventory data, increasing the reliability of information and accountability among pharmacies, potentially reducing wasted trips or phone calls for unavailable drugs.
Limits access to licensed professionals. (physicians and pharmacists), ensuring sensitive drug inventory data is only shared with those directly responsible for patient care and medication management, thus balancing transparency with security.
Aligns state tracking with federal definitions. of drug shortages, standardizing which drugs are monitored and ensuring that efforts are focused on medications officially recognized as being in short supply.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Track Drug Inventory Statewide
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
523
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to directing the department of health to create a prescription drug inventory database
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 278-b to read as follows:
§ 278-b. Prescription drug inventory database. 1. The department shall create and maintain an online searchable database that contains a list of all drugs currently in shortage, and a list of pharmacies in the state where each such drug is currently in stock.
2. The department shall make the database accessible only to licensed physicians and pharmacists, and shall authorize only licensed pharmacists to update inventory levels of drugs currently in shortage, as listed in the database. Each pharmacy shall update its inventory levels of all drugs currently in shortage, as listed in the database, at least weekly.
3. The department shall be authorized to promulgate any rules and/or regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
4. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Database" shall mean the database created pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
(b) "Drugs currently in shortage" shall mean drugs designated as being currently in shortage by the federal food and drug administration's drug shortages database.
(c) "Pharmacist" shall mean a person licensed as a pharmacist pursuant to article one hundred thirty-seven of the education law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00681-01-5
(d) "Pharmacy" shall mean an establishment registered as a pharmacy pursuant to section sixty-eight hundred eight of the education law.
(e) "Physician" shall mean a person licensed as a physician pursuant to article one hundred thirty-one of the education law.
§ 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.