(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, a prescription drug order for a legend drug is not valid unless it is issued for a legitimate medical purpose arising from a prescriber-patient relationship which includes a documented patient evaluation adequate to establish diagnoses and identify underlying conditions and/or contraindications to the treatment. Treatment, including issuing a prescription drug order, based solely on an online questionnaire or consultation outside of an ongoing clinical relationship does not constitute a legitimate medical purpose. A prescription drug order may be issued either: (a) By a practitioner acting in the usual course of his profession; or (b) By a physician, dentist, veterinarian, scientific investigator or other person, other than a pharmacist, who is licensed in a jurisdiction other than the state of Idaho and is permitted by such license to dispense, conduct research with respect to or administer the prescribed legend drugs in the course of his professional practice or research in such jurisdiction, so long as the individual is acting within the jurisdiction, scope and authority of his license when issuing the prescription drug order. (c) The prescription drug order may be signed and sent electronically pursuant to chapter 50, title 28 , Idaho Code. (d) Transmission of prescription drug order. In addition to delivery of the original signed written prescription drug order to a licensed pharmacy: (i) A prescription drug order that has been signed by the practitioner may be received by a licensed pharmacy for dispensing purposes through a facsimile transmission from the prescribing practitioner or the practitioner's agent, or from an institutional facility for a patient or resident in such facility; (ii) A prescription drug order may also be received by a licensed pharmacist verbally from the practitioner, the practitioner's agent or from a licensed practical nurse or licensed professional nurse in an institutional facility for a patient or resident in such facility; (iii) A prescription drug order received verbally from the practitioner by a licensed practical nurse or licensed professional nurse in a licensed institutional facility for a patient or resident in such facility may also be sent by facsimile transmission from the institutional facility to a licensed pharmacy for dispensing purposes provided the transmitted document includes the name of the prescriber issuing the prescription drug order, the name of the nurse who transcribed the order and the name of the person who sent the facsimile. (e) In the event that there are no refills remaining on an existing prescription drug order, and the pharmacist requests a new prescription drug order from the practitioner, the practitioner's agent, after obtaining practitioner authorization, may sign and return the request via facsimile so long as: (i) The request is generated from the pharmacy; (ii) The request is for medication that the patient is currently taking; (iii) There are no changes to the type of drug, its strength or directions for the continuation of therapy; (iv) The practitioner's agent's transmission is received via facsimile from the practitioner's office; and (v) The request, which is subsequently transmitted back to the requesting pharmacy by the practitioner's agent, contains all components of a valid prescription drug order. (2) It is unlawful for a practitioner to knowingly issue an invalid prescription drug order for a legend drug. (3) It is unlawful for a pharmacist or veterinarian to knowingly fill an invalid prescription drug order for a legend drug. (4) A prescriber who is otherwise authorized to perform any of the activities listed in this subsection may prescribe or perform any of the following activities for a patient with whom the prescriber does not have a prescriber-patient relationship under the following circumstances: (a) Writing initial admission orders for a newly hospitalized patient; (b) Writing a prescription for a patient of another prescriber for whom the prescriber is taking call; (c) Writing a prescription for a patient examined by a physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other licensed practitioner with whom the prescriber has a supervisory or collaborative relationship; (d) Writing a prescription for medication on a short-term basis for a new patient prior to the patient's first appointment; (e) In emergency situations where life or health of the patient is in imminent danger; (f) In emergencies that constitute an immediate threat to the public health including, but not limited to, empiric treatment or prophylaxis to prevent or control an infectious disease outbreak; (g) Epinephrine auto-injectors in the name of a school pursuant to section 33-520A , Idaho Code; (h) If a prescriber makes a diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease in a patient, the prescriber may prescribe or dispense antibiotics to the infected patient's named sexual partner or partners for treatment of the sexually transmitted disease as recommended by the most current centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) guidelines. (5) Prescribing drugs to individuals without a prescriber-patient relationship and not in accordance with this section shall be unprofessional conduct and the prescriber shall be subject to discipline according to the provisions of the Idaho Code chapter pursuant to which the prescriber is licensed, certified or registered.
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