Bill > AB447

This bill amends California law to provide more flexibility for emergency room patients and hospital pharmacies regarding prescription medications. Specifically, the bill allows prescribers to dispense unused portions of certain non-controlled dangerous drugs to emergency room patients upon discharge under specific conditions, such as when the medication was originally administered from single-patient use multidose packaging and can be self-administered (like inhalers, eye drops, or topical products). The bill also expands an existing exemption for Automated Unit Dose Systems (AUDS), which are specialized medication dispensing machines, to include systems used to dispense dangerous drugs to emergency room patients. Additionally, the bill maintains existing safeguards, such as requiring proper labeling and ensuring that dispensing the medication is necessary to continue the patient's treatment. The changes are designed to improve patient care by allowing patients to leave the emergency room with necessary medications, particularly when the hospital pharmacy is closed or pharmacist access is limited.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry, Health and Social Services

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB447