38-1,146.

Prescription; issuance; requirements; applicability.

(1) For purposes of this section, prescriber means a health care practitioner authorized to prescribe controlled substances in the practice for which credentialed under the Uniform Credentialing Act.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or (6) of this section, no prescriber shall, in this state, issue any prescription as defined in section 38-2840 for a controlled substance as defined in section 28-401 unless such prescription is issued (a) using electronic prescription technology, (b) from the prescriber issuing the prescription to a pharmacy, and (c) in accordance with all requirements of state law and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to such state law.

(3) The requirements of subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to prescriptions:

(a) Issued by veterinarians;

(b) Issued in circumstances where electronic prescribing is not available due to temporary technological or electrical failure;

(c) Issued when the prescriber and the dispenser are the same entity;

(d) Issued that include elements that are not supported by the Prescriber/Pharmacist Interface SCRIPT Standard of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs as such standard existed on January 1, 2021;

(e) Issued for a drug for which the federal Food and Drug Administration requires the prescription to contain certain elements that are not able to be accomplished with electronic prescribing;

(f) Issued for dispensing a non-patient-specific prescription which is (i) an approved protocol for drug therapy or (ii) in response to a public health emergency;

(g) Issued for a drug for purposes of a research protocol;

(h) Issued under circumstances in which, notwithstanding the prescriber's ability to make an electronic prescription as required by this section, such prescriber reasonably determines (i) that it would be impractical for the patient to obtain substances prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner and (ii) that such delay would adversely impact the patient's medical condition;

(i) Issued for drugs requiring compounding; or

(j) Issued by a prescriber who issues fewer than fifty prescriptions in one calendar year otherwise subject to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) A pharmacist who receives a written, oral, or faxed prescription is not required to verify that the prescription falls under one of the exceptions listed in subsection (3) of this section. A pharmacist may continue to dispense medication from any otherwise valid written, oral, or faxed prescription consistent with the law and rules and regulations as they existed prior to January 1, 2022.

(5) A violation of this section shall not be grounds for disciplinary action under the Uniform Credentialing Act.

(6) A dentist shall not be subject to this section until January 1, 2024.