Pharmacology Law and Ethtics

1906 Federal Food and Drug Act

One of the first laws enacted to stop the sale of inaccurately labeled drugs

1914 Harrison Narcotic Act

Limitations on opium transport and use were attempted

1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

Enacted because the earlier federal food and drug act was not worded strictly enough and did not include cosmetics. Under this act, the FDA was created.

Adulterated

To corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element; especially: to prepare for sale by replacing valuable ingredients with less valuable ingredients

Misbranded

Deceptive or misleading labeling of a product that may lead the consumer to believe that the product will cure an illness

1951 the Durham-Humphrey Amendment

Added more instructions for drug companies and required the labeling "Caution: Federal Law prohibits dispensing without a prescription.

Legend

By prescription only

OTC

Doesn't need a prescription

1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments

Amendment was passed in response to birth of thousands of infants with severe abnormalities due to the fact that the mothers had taken the tranquilizer Thalidomide.

Thalidomide Event

In 1962 a new sleeping pill containing thalidomide was found to cause severe birth defects when used by pregnant women

Thalidomide Event (FYI though)

Thalidomide has special prescribing rules in effect. Program is called STEPS (System for Thalidomide Education and Prescribing Safety)

1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act

This act was created to combat and control drug abuse an to supersede previous federal drug abuse laws. The act classified drugs into schedules according to potential for abuse. DEA was created to enforce the laws

Schedule or Class 1

Drug with no accepted medical use or other substances with high potential for abuse

Schedule or Class 1 (Examples)

Heroin, LSD, Marijuana, Peyote, etc

Schedule or Class 2

Drugs with accepted medical uses and high for potential for abuse which if abused may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Schedule or Class 2 (Examples)

Percocet (oxycodone/APAP), OxyContin (oxycodone), Demerol (meperidine), morphine, Ritalin (methylphenidate)

Schedule or Class 3

Drugs with accepted medical use and a potential for abuse, but less than those listed in 1 and 2, if abused may lead to moderate psychological or physical dependence

Schedule or Class 3 (Examples)

Tylenol w/codeine #3 (APAP with codeine), Lortab/Vicodin (hydrocodone/APAP)

Schedule or Class 4

Drugs with accepted medical use and a low potential for abuse, if abused may lead to limited psychological or physical dependence

Schedule or Class 4 (Examples)

Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam), Klonopin (clonazepam)

Schedule or Class 5

Drugs with accepted medical use and low potential for abuse, if abused may lead to limited psychological or physical dependence

Schedule or Class 5 (Examples)

Robitussin AC (guiatussin w/codeine), Phenergan w/Codeine (promethazine w/codeine)

Exempt Narcotics

Select cough and anti-diarrhea prescription items by an individual but must be dispensed in original manufacturer's container. Purchaser must be 18 and complete Exempt Narcotic Book with some info: date purchased, name, address, name of product, quantity,

DEA Form 222

Used to order C-II medications. Must be filled out in pen, typewriter or indelible pencil. Only RPh can order C-II

DEA Form 41

Must be submitted to the DEA for the destruction of outdated or damage controlled substances

DEA Form 106

Used to notify the DEA of a theft of controlled substances.

1970 The Poison Prevention Packaging Act

Requires that all OTC and legend drugs with a few exceptions must have childproof caps.

1972 Drug Listing Act

This act gives the FDA authority to compile a list of currently marketed drugs. Under this act came the NDC #.

NDC

National Drug Code, 11 digit # assigned by the manufacturer, 1st 5 will refer to the manufacturer, 2nd 4 is the drug product, and the last 2 is package size

1983 Orphan Drug Act

An orphan drug is one that will be used by so few people that developing and marketing it is prohibitively expensive

1984 Drug Price Competition and Parent-Term Restoration Act

Drugs will typically have several names including the chemical name or generic name and the trade or brand name

Generic

Non-proprietary name a drug with the same chemical composition as a brand name drug that can be substituted for the brand name

Brand

Proprietary name given by manufacturer like Motrin for ibuprofen

1984 Hatch Waxman Act

Provided for up to a 5 year extension of patent protection to patent holders to make up for time lost while products went through the FDA approval process

1987 Prescription Drug Marketing Act

The act helped to control the use of drugs in animals

1990 The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

The act requires that as a condition of participating in the Medicaid program, states must establish standards of practice for RPh's and requiring a DUR by the RPh.

DUR should include potential drug therapy problems due to

Therapeutic duplication, drug-disease contraindications, drug-drug interactions including OTC, incorrect drug dosage or duration of treatment, drug allergy interactions, clinical abuse or misuse

1990 Anabolic Steroid Control Act

Stiffened the regulations on the abuse problems of anabolic steroids because of misuse by athletes

1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Effective as of April 14, 2003 major changes became required of pharmacies to ensure the privacy rights of patients

1997 Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act

This act was passed by Bill Clinton regarding regulations pertaining to compounding

2002 Accutane

All Accutane (isotretinoin) prescriptions must bear a yellow sticker to be filled and certain conditions must be met.

2005 Combat Meth Act

Unitl 2004 pseudoephedrine was sold OTC as a decongestant and was not limited in quantity for purchase

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

This is a federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services that regulates the manufacture and safe guarding of medications

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

This is the agency that controls the distribution of drugs that may be easily abused

Board of Pharmacy (BOP)

They are responsible for licensing all prescribers and dispensers; and administering regulations for the pratice of pharmacy in each state

Pharmacy Law Book

All pharmacies must have on hand at all times the Nevada Law Book

Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)

Laws enacted by the Nevada State Legislature

Nevada Administrative Codes (NAC)

Adopted by the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy to regulate the practice of pharmacy and supplement the related chapter of NRS

Liability

Legal liability means you can be prosecuted for misconduct

Negligence

Failing to do something that you should or that must be done

Negligence in the following

Incorrectly labeling the Rx, failing to maintain patient confidentiality, failing to recognize expired drugs, calculation errors, dispensing the wrong medication, incorrect handling of controlled substances, inaccurate record keeping

Federal and State Statutes

Enacted by a legislative body such as congress or the state legislature that outline the conduct of persons or organizations subject to the law

Tort

Causing injury to a person intentionally or because of negligence

Expired Drug

a drug that has exceeded the federally mandated expiration date

Law

The oficial rules of conduct established and enforced by the authority

Punitive Damages

Damages, often monetary that are awarded by a court and mean not necessarily to compensate the victim but to punish the offender

Statutory Law

The body of law which consists of laws passed by legislative bodies at the federal, state, and local level

Criminal Law

The body of law that deals with violations of statutes and or regulations and with penalties established for such violations

Civil Law

The body of law that deals with non-criminal cases

Malpractice

Refers to a situation in which the standard of care for a particular healthcare profession was not met

Ethics

The subfield of philosophy that deals with the study of right action or the nature of good and evil. Morals in the workplace and in the public domain

Standard of Practice

Guidelines for professional practice, established by professional organizations that are often referred to by courts, especially in tort cases, that establish minimum guidelines for the behaviors of professionals

Code of Ethics

Standards for the RPh and technician. Ethics are the values and morals within a profession

Protocol

The customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality, precedence, and etiquette

New Drugs

All new drugs, whether made domestically or imported are required to have FDA approval before they can be marketed in the US

Patent Protection

A patent for a new drug gives its manufacturer an exclusive right to market the drug for a specific period of time under the brand name

Generics

Once a patent for a brand medication expires, other manufacturers may copy the drug and release it under its pharmaceutical or generic name

Labels and Labeling

All drugs are required to have clear and accurate information for all labels, inserts, packaging, etc. but there are different information requirements for various categories of drugs

Controlled Substance Labels

Schedule II-V must carry the auxiliary label "Caution: Federal Law prohibits the transfer of this drug to any person other than the patient for whom it was prescribed

Controlled Substance

a drug which has the potential to be abused and for which distribution is controlled by one of five schedules

Storage

In Nevada, C-II's must be kept under lock and key and only the RPh can have access to key, but technicians can count and get the drug out by law

Joint Responsibility

By law both the prescriber and the dispenser of the Rx have a joint responsibility for the legitimate medical purpose of the Rx

Control Classifications

Manufacturers must clearly label controlled drugs with their control classification

DEA Number

The number all prescribers of controlled substances are assigned and which must be used on all controlled drug prescriptions

Record Keeping

Distributors are required to maintain accurate records of all controlled and non controlled substances. C-II's kept separately from all other records and minimum of 2 years

State Board of Pharmacy

Registers and Regulate the Pharmacists and Technicians

National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP)

An association of state boards of pharmacy. Oversees state boards

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)

Now known as The Joint Commission. an independent non-profit organization that establishes standards and monitors compliance for nearly 20,000 healthcare programs in the US

American Society of Health-System Pharmacist (ASHP)

From RPh's to home healthcare, long term care, etc. it is an accrediting organization for pharmacy residency and pharmacy technician training programs

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)

HCFA inspects and approves hospitals to provide care for Medicaid and Medicare patients

The Department of Public Health (DPH)

The DPH is a state run organization that overseas hospitals including the pharmacy department

Board of Pharmacy (BOP)

The BOP is the agency that registers Pharmacists and Technicians

Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)

The organization that gives pharmacy technicians their national certification license. CPhT. To maintain CPhT you must complete 20 hours of CE with at least 1 hour being in Law

American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA)

The largest of the national organizations

American Association of Pharmacy Technicians (AAPT)

National organization representing pharmacy technicians

National Pharmacy Technician Association (NPTA)

Created by pharmacy technicians for pharmacy technicians

United States Pharmacopeia (USP)

The USP is a non-profit organization that sets stands for the identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging and labeling of drug products

Physicians Desk Reference (PDR)

The PDR is an annual publication intended for physicians that provides prescription information on major pharmaceutical products

Facts and Comparisons (F&C)

a preferred reference for comprehensive and timely drug information

American Hospital Formulary Service Drug Information (AHFS)

Accepted as the authority for drug information questions

Handbook on Injectable Drugs

This is a collection of monographs on commercially available parenteral drugs that include concentration, stability, dosage, and compatibility information

Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (The Orange Book)

Source that lists drug products approved for use in the US

Goodman an Gilman's

An authoritative text on pharmacology and therapeutics containing 67 articles by leading experts in the field

Red Book

List the average wholesale price (AWP) of drugs, their NDC's and the manufacturer's address

Identa-Drug

Lists drugs by the imprint and description of the drug

Clinical Trials

Test on proposed new drugs (investigational drugs) by comparing the effect of a proposed drug on one group of patients with the effect of a different treatment on other patients

Blind Test

Patients in a trial are always "Blind" to the treatment

Placebos

An inactive substance. Not real medication that is given to patients to give them the impression that they are being given a potentially effective medication

Testing Phase in Humans

Phase 1: 20 to 100 pt's, several months, safety. Phase 2: several hundred, months to 2 years, safety, effectiveness. Phase 3: several hundred to thousand, 1-4 years, safety, dosage and effectiveness

Testing in Children

Children are not included in trials until a drug has been fully tested on adults

Animal Testing

Once a laboratory testing of a proposed drug is finished, the drug is tested on animals before it will be tested on humans

Recall

The action taken to remove a drug from the market and have it returned to the manufacturer.

Voluntary Recall

Manufacturer does it on their own

Involuntary Recall

One that is required by the FDA

Recall Class 1

The highest level of recall. Deals with products that could cause serious or even fatal harm

Recall Class 2

The next highest level. Deals with products that are found to cause serious but reversible harm

Recall Class 3

Lowest level of recall. Used for products that may have minor defects or other conditions that would not harm the patient, but the drug can not be resold

Tylenol Recall of 1982

When someone tampered with a small number of Tylenol capsule packages and fatally poisoned seven people, Johnson and Johnson immediately recalled the capsules from the market

Tylenol Recall of 2009

5 lots of Tylenol Arthritis was recalled after reports of unusual mold, musty, or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea

Tylenol Recall of 2010

Children's Tylenol, Tylenol plus, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl were voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer due some of the products not meeting quality standards