By: Deuell S.B. No. 546
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the dispensing of certain drugs by physicians.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 158.001, Occupations Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), a physician may
  dispense dangerous drugs to the physician's patients and charge the
  patients a reasonable fee for dispensing the drugs [This section
  does not permit a physician to operate a retail pharmacy] without
  complying with Chapter 558.  Before dispensing a dangerous drug,
  the physician must notify the patient that the prescription for the
  dangerous drug may be filled at a pharmacy.  A physician may not
  under this section dispense a Schedule II-V controlled substance as
  specified under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.  The board
  shall adopt rules to establish a procedure for the dispensing of
  dangerous drugs by a physician.
         (d)  Subsection (b) does not apply to workers' compensation
  insurance coverage as defined by Section 401.011, Labor Code.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 158, Occupations Code, is amended by
  adding Section 158.0011 to read as follows:
         Sec. 158.0011.  DISPENSING OF DANGEROUS DRUGS FOR WORKERS' 
  COMPENSATION INSURANCE COVERAGE IN CERTAIN RURAL AREAS.  (a)  In
  this section, "reimbursement for cost" means an additional charge,
  separate from that imposed for the physician's professional
  services, that includes the cost of the drug product and all other
  actual costs to the physician incidental to providing the
  dispensing service.  The term does not include a separate fee
  imposed for the act of dispensing the drug itself.
         (b)  This section applies to an area located in a county with
  a population of 5,000 or less, or in a municipality or an
  unincorporated town with a population of less than 2,500, that is
  within a 15-mile radius of the physician's office and in which a
  pharmacy is not located.  This section does not apply to a
  municipality or an unincorporated town that is adjacent to a
  municipality with a population of 2,500 or more.
         (c)  A physician who practices medicine in an area described
  by Subsection (b) may:
               (1)  maintain a supply of dangerous drugs in the
  physician's office to be dispensed in the course of treating the
  physician's patients; and
               (2)  be reimbursed for the cost of supplying those
  drugs without obtaining a license under Chapter 558.
         (d)  A physician who dispenses dangerous drugs under
  Subsection (c) shall:
               (1)  comply with each labeling provision under Subtitle
  J applicable to that class of drugs; and
               (2)  oversee compliance with packaging and
  recordkeeping provisions applicable to that class of drugs.
         (e)  A physician who desires to dispense dangerous drugs
  under this section shall notify both the Texas State Board of
  Pharmacy and the board that the physician practices in an area
  described by Subsection (b).  The physician may continue to
  dispense dangerous drugs in the area until the Texas State Board of
  Pharmacy determines, after notice and hearing, that the physician
  no longer practices in an area described by Subsection (b).
         SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 551.004, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  This subtitle does not prevent a practitioner from:
               (1)  administering a drug to a patient of the
  practitioner; or
               (2)  supplying dangerous drugs to a patient as provided
  by Section 158.001(b).
         SECTION 4.  Section 158.003, Occupations Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 5.  (a)  The Texas Medical Board shall adopt rules
  to implement Subsection (b), Section 158.001, Occupations Code, as
  amended by this Act, not later than December 1, 2011.
         (b)  The changes in law made by this Act apply to the
  dispensing of a dangerous drug by a physician on or after December
  1, 2011.  The dispensing of a dangerous drug before December 1,
  2011, is governed by the law in effect at the time the drug was
  dispensed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2011.