Prevention of abuse of drugs dispensed by pharmacist

(a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Pharmacist” has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204; and (2) “Pharmacy” has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204. (b) A pharmacy owner, manager or operator shall respect the professional judgment of the pharmacist in holding the health and safety of a patient to be their first consideration. (c) A pharmacist shall, by utilizing education, skill, experience and professional judgment, make every reasonable effort to prevent the abuse of drugs which the pharmacist dispenses. In doing so, a pharmacist may decline to dispense to a patient a legend drug which in that pharmacist’s professional judgment, lacks a therapeutic value for the patient or which is not for a legitimate medical purpose. (d) A pharmacist shall not be subject to any penalty or fine when fulfilling the pharmacist’s obligation to uphold the health and safety of a patient which results in the pharmacist declining to dispense any legend drug. (e) It shall be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by fine only, for the owner, manager or operator of a pharmacy to knowingly restrict or interfere with, or knowingly require a protocol or procedure that restricts or interferes with, a pharmacist’s professional duty to counsel with patients and to evaluate the patients’ appropriate pharmaceutical needs and the exercise of the pharmacist’s professional judgment as to whether it is appropriate to dispense a legend drug to a patient.