Pictured from left to right: John King, Georgia Insurance Commissioner; Georgia State Senator Kay Kirkpatrick; Georgia Governor Brian Kemp; Georgia State Representative Ron Stephens (sponsor of Georgia HB791); and Thomas Beusse, Executive Director, Georgia Retailers.
On Wednesday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed HB791 into law, the end result of a joint advocacy push between NACDS and Georgia industry stakeholders.
HB791 amends Article 1 of Chapter 24 of Title 33 and Section 26-4-80 of the Official Code of Georgia to allow pharmacists to dispense up to a 90-day supply of medication. Under the new law, pharmacists are allowed to exercise their professional judgment, in consultation with the patient, to dispense up to a 90 day supply of maintenance medication up to the total number of dosage units as authorized by the prescriber on the original prescription, including any refills unless: (A) The prescriber has specified on the prescription that concurrently dispensing initial amounts and refills of such maintenance medication is not allowed; or (B) It is the initial filling of a prescription for a new maintenance medication or dosage for the patient. This measure does not apply to Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substances.