Bill > S1080

Introduced Session

This bill prohibits pharmacists from substituting brand or generic anti-epileptic drugs prescribed to treat seizures without prior notification to, and the signed informed consent of, the prescribing physician and patient, or the patient's parent, legal guardian or spouse, as applicable. Different patients respond differently to seizure control medications. For anticonvulsant drugs, small variations in concentrations between FDA equivalent rated drugs can cause toxic effects or seizures when taken by patients with epilepsy. Anticonvulsant drugs for the treatment of epilepsy differ from other classes of drugs in several ways that make therapeutic or generic interchange of agents problematic. In most patients, controlling seizures with medication requires a slow and precise dosage regulation of one or several medications. Changing from one formulation of a drug to another can usually be accomplished, and risks minimized, if physicians and patients monitor blood levels, seizures, and toxicity. Pharmacists do not have access to the patient's complete medical history and may not know why a particular drug product was prescribed. While pharmacists are a vital part of the health care team, documented consent should be obtained from both the treating physician and the patient prior to any substitution in anticonvulsant medication in the case where the prescribing physician does not check "do not substitute" on the prescription.

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Joe Vitale (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/30/2020)