February 16, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Kahn, Hune, Nofs, Gaffney, Vander Veen, Ward, Mortimer, Tobocman, Gleason, Adamini, McDowell, Anderson, David Law, Bieda, Wojno, Brandenburg and Stewart and referred to the Committee on Health Policy.
A bill to amend 1978 PA 368, entitled
"Public health code,"
by amending section 17757 (MCL 333.17757), as amended by 1986 PA
304.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 17757. (1) Upon a request made in person or by telephone,
a pharmacist engaged in the business of selling drugs at retail
shall provide the current selling price of a drug dispensed by that
pharmacy or comparative current selling prices of generic and brand
name drugs dispensed by that pharmacy. The information shall be
provided to the person making the request before a drug is
dispensed to the person. A person who makes a request for price
information under this subsection or subsection (2) shall not be
obligated to purchase the drug for which the price or comparative
prices are requested.
(2) A pharmacist engaged in the business of selling drugs at
retail shall compile a drug retail price list of the 150 most
frequently prescribed drugs as determined by the board. The board
shall annually review and update the drugs that are to be included
on the drug retail price list and make the current list available,
either printed or electronically, to each pharmacist free of
charge. The pharmacist shall include on the drug retail price list
the name of the drug, including the name of any generic drug if
available for that drug, and the retail price for those drugs. The
pharmacist shall update the pricing on the drug retail price list
at least weekly and make copies of the list available to the public
upon request. As used in this subsection, "retail price" means the
actual current selling price to be paid by a self-pay or uninsured
purchaser.
(3) (2)
A pharmacist engaged in the business of selling
drugs at retail shall conspicuously display the notice described in
subsection (3)
(4) at each counter over which prescription drugs
are dispensed.
(4) (3)
The notice required under subsection (2)
(3) shall
be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE TO CONSUMERS
ABOUT PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
Under Michigan law, you have the right to find out the price
of a prescription drug before the pharmacist fills the
prescription. You are under no obligation to have the prescription
filled here and may use this price information to shop around at
other pharmacies. You may request price information in person or by
telephone.
Every pharmacy has the current selling prices of both generic
and brand name drugs dispensed by the pharmacy and is required to
compile a drug retail price list of the 150 most commonly
prescribed drugs.
Ask your pharmacist if a lower-cost generic drug is available
to fill your prescription. A generic drug contains the same
medicine as a brand name drug and is a suitable substitute in most
instances.
A generic drug may not be dispensed by your pharmacist if your
doctor has written "dispense as written" or the initials "d.a.w."
on the prescription.
If you have questions about the drugs which have been
prescribed for you, ask your doctor or pharmacist for more
information.
To avoid dangerous drug interactions, let your doctor and
pharmacist know about any other medications you are taking. This is
especially important if you have more than 1 doctor or have
prescriptions filled at more than 1 pharmacy.
(5) (4)
The notice required under subsection (2)
(3) shall
also contain the address and phone number of the board and the
department. The text of the notice shall be in at least 32-point
bold type and shall be printed on paper at least 11 inches by 17
inches in size. The notice may be printed on multiple pages.
(6) (5)
A copy of the notice required under subsection (2)
(3) shall be provided to each licensee by the department.
Additional copies shall be available if needed from the department.
A person may duplicate or reproduce the notice if the duplication
or reproduction is a true copy of the notice as produced by the
department, without any additions or deletions whatsoever. The
department may continue to distribute copies of the notice required
under subsection (3) that are within its possession on the
effective date of the amendatory act that added this sentence until
the department's stock is exhausted or until October 1, 2006,
whichever is sooner. Beginning October 1, 2006, the department
shall only distribute the copies of the notice as revised by the
amendatory act that added this sentence.
(7) (6)
The pharmacist shall furnish to the purchaser of a
prescription drug at the time the drug is delivered to the
purchaser a receipt evidencing the transactions, which contains the
following:
(a) The brand name of the drug, if applicable.
(b) The name of the manufacturer or the supplier of the drug,
if the drug does not have a brand name.
(c) The strength of the drug, if significant.
(d) The quantity dispensed, if applicable.
(e) The name and address of the pharmacy.
(f) The serial number of the prescription.
(g) The date the prescription was originally dispensed.
(h) The name of the prescriber.
(i) The name of patient for whom the drug was prescribed.
(j) The price for which the drug was sold to the purchaser.
(8) (7)
Subsection
(6)(a) (7)(a),
(b), and (c) may be
omitted by a pharmacist only if the omission is expressly required
by the prescriber. The pharmacist shall retain a copy of each
receipt
for 90 days. The inclusion of subsection (6) (7) on
the
prescription container label is a valid receipt to the purchaser.
Including
subsection (6) (7)
on the written prescription form and
retaining the form constitutes retention of a copy of the receipt.
(9) (8)
The board may promulgate rules to implement this
section.