Alabama § 20-2-58 - Dispensing of Controlled Substances in Schedule II; Maintenance of Records and Inventories by Registered Pharmacies.

§ 20-2-58. Dispensing of Controlled Substances in Schedule II; Maintenance of Records and Inventories by Registered Pharmacies.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section or as otherwise provided by law, a pharmacist may dispense directly a controlled substance in Schedule II only pursuant to a written prescription signed by the practitioner. Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), a prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance may be transmitted by the practitioner or the agent of the practitioner to a pharmacy via facsimile equipment; provided, the original written, signed prescription is presented to the pharmacist for review prior to the actual dispensing of the controlled substance.

(b) A prescription written for a Schedule II narcotic substance to be compounded for the direct administration to a patient by parenteral, intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intraspinal infusion may be transmitted by the practitioner or the agent of the practitioner to the home infusion pharmacy by facsimile. The facsimile shall serve as the original written prescription.

(c) A prescription written for Schedule II substances for a resident of a long-term care facility may be transmitted by the practitioner or the agent of the practitioner to the dispensing pharmacy by facsimile. The facsimile shall serve as the original written prescription.

(d) Each registered pharmacy shall maintain the inventories and records of controlled substances as follows:

(1) Inventories and records of all controlled substances listed in Schedules I and II shall be maintained separately from all other records of the pharmacy, and prescriptions for the substances shall be maintained in a separate prescription file.

(2) Inventories and records of controlled substances listed in Schedules III, IV, and V shall be maintained either separately from all other records of the pharmacy or in the form that the information required is readily retrievable from ordinary business records of the pharmacy, and prescriptions for the substances shall be maintained either in a separate prescription file for controlled substances listed in Schedules III, IV, and V only or in the form that they are readily retrievable from the other prescription records of the pharmacy.

(e) Except when dispensed directly by a practitioner, other than a pharmacy, to an ultimate user, a controlled substance included in Schedule III or IV which is a prescription drug as determined under State Board of Health statute, may not be dispensed without a written or oral prescription of a practitioner. The prescription may not be filled or refilled more than six months after the date thereof or be refilled more than five times, unless renewed by the practitioner.

(f) A practitioner or pharmacist may not knowingly or intentionally prescribe, administer, or dispense a controlled substance enumerated in Schedules II through V except for a legitimate medical purpose pursuant to a prescription by a practitioner acting in the usual course of his or her professional practice.

(g) In an emergency situation, a pharmacist may dispense a Schedule II controlled substance for a resident of a long-term care facility, a patient receiving hospice services, or a patient receiving home health care services pursuant to an emergency oral prescription transmitted by the practitioner to the dispensing pharmacy. The quantity dispensed pursuant to an emergency oral prescription shall be limited to the amount adequate to treat the patient during the emergency period, not to exceed 72 hours. The practitioner, within seven days of the emergency oral prescription, shall provide the dispensing pharmacy with a written prescription for the quantity prescribed.