Mass. Lawmakers Pass Compounding Pharmacy Bill

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts lawmakers have given final approval to a bill overhauling the oversight of compounding pharmacies. The bill stemmed from a nationwide meningitis outbreak that authorities blamed on a tainted steroid produced by the now-closed New England Compounding Center in Framingham. The outbreak resulted in 64 deaths and hundreds of illnesses. The bill reorganizes the board that oversees the pharmacies and requires it to participate in any national reporting systems on pharmacies, pharmacists and technicians. It also requires board inspectors be trained in sterile compounding and non-sterile compounding practices. Compounding pharmacies typically custom-mix medications. The legislation authorizes the board to levy fines against a pharmacy of up to $25,000 per violation, and up to $1,000 for each day that a violation continues after the date it should have been corrected. Under the legislation, the state would create four new specialty licenses: a retail sterile compounding specialty license; a retail complex non-sterile compounding specialty license; an institutional pharmacy specialty license, which applies to hospitals; and an out-of-state pharmacy licenses for out-of-state pharmacies doing business in Massachusetts. The bill also requires compounding pharmacies notify patients whether a drug is a sterile or non-sterile compounded drug. Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, a Boston Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature’s public health committee, said lawmakers and...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Compounding pharmacies Meningitis outbreak New England Compounding Center Source Type: news