Iowa Admin. Code r. 657-3.21

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 8, October 30, 2024

Rule 657-3.21 - Delegation of functions

(1)Policies and procedures. Pursuant to established policies and procedures and the supervising pharmacist's professional judgment, an Iowa-licensed supervising pharmacist may delegate any technical or nontechnical functions in the operation of the pharmacy, except those which are prohibited pursuant to rule 657-3.23 (155A), to an appropriately trained and Iowa-registered pharmacy technician.

(2)Remote supervision. A supervising pharmacist may delegate technical functions relating to prescription processing (e.g., data entry) to a certified pharmacy technician who is performing the delegated functions at a location that is not a licensed pharmacy only if the following conditions are met:

a. Adequate security and supervision are maintained at all times to prevent unauthorized access to, and unauthorized storage/transfer of, confidential patient information or patient records;

b. The supervising pharmacist has real-time access to the prescription processing system which the certified pharmacy technician is using or the patient record which the certified pharmacy technician is processing;

c. The supervising pharmacist is available to respond to certified pharmacy technician questions via a real-time communication mechanism at all times when delegated functions are being performed; and

d. The pharmacy's prescription processing system is capable of documenting the functions performed by the certified pharmacy technician.

(3)Pharmacist final verification required. Except as provided for an approved technician product verification program pursuant to 657-Chapter 40, the pharmacist shall provide and document the final verification for the accuracy, validity, completeness, and appropriateness of the patient's prescription or medication order prior to the delivery of the medication to the patient or the patient's representative.

(4)Further delegation prohibited. A pharmacy technician shall not delegate technical functions to a pharmacy support person.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 657-3.21

ARC 8673B, IAB 4/7/10, effective 6/1/10; ARC 9783B, IAB 10/5/11, effective 11/9/11

Amended by IAB December 19, 2018/Volume XLI, Number 13, effective 1/23/2019

Amended by IAB March 25, 2020/Volume XLII, Number 20, effective 4/29/2020

Amended by IAB April 7, 2021/Volume XLIII, Number 21, effective 5/12/2021

Amended by IAB July 27, 2022/Volume XLV, Number 2, effective 8/31/2022