1784                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 704

CHAPTER 704
(House Bill 573)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 187B(17)
of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1971 Supple-
ment), title "Health," subtitle "Adulteration of Food and Drink,"
and to add new Section 273A to said Article of said Code (1971
Replacement Volume), title "Health," subtitle "Commissioners of
Pharmacy," to follow immediately after Section 273 thereof, to
remove a certain restriction on dispensing of drugs, to define
certain terms, to permit dispensing of different brand or non-brand
name drug products under certain circumstances, and relating
generally to drug prescriptions.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 187B(17) of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Mary-
land (1971 Supplement), title "Health," subtitle "Adulteration of
Food and Drink," be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with
amendments; and that new Section 273A be and it is hereby added to
said Article of said Code (1971 Replacement Volume), title "Health,"
subtitle "Commissioners of Pharmacy," to follow immediately after
Section 273 thereof, and all to read as follows:

187B.

(17) Dispensing or causing to be dispensed a different drug or
brand of drug in place of the drug or brand of drug ordered or pre-
scribed without the [express] permission in each case of the person
ordering or prescribing.

273 A.

(a)    As used in this section, "brand name" means the proprietary
name the manufacturer places upon a drug product or on its con-
tainer, label or wrapping at the time of packaging; and "established
name" shall have the same meaning as assigned that term by the
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as amended, Title 21 U.S.C. 301
et seq.

(b)     Unless the physician or other authorized prescriber explicitly
states otherwise when transmitting an oral prescription or in the
instance of a written prescription, indicates in his own writing or by
personally checking or initialing an appropriate imprinted statement,
a different brand name or nonbrand name drug product of the same
established name may be dispensed by a pharmacist PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, THAT SUCH ACTION BY THE PHARMACIST
SHALL BE AUTHORIZED ONLY IF IN EACH CASE THE
PHARMACIST IMMEDIATELY TRANSMITS NOTICE IN
WRITING TO THE PRESCRIBER SPECIFYING THE DRUG
PRODUCT ACTUALLY DISPENSED AND IN THE NAME OF
THE MANUFACTURER OR DISTRIBUTOR.

(C) THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL ONLY
APPLY TO THOSE DRUGS INCLUDED IN THE MARYLAND
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FORMULARY APPROVED BY THE
MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HY-