A. Any person located outside the Commonwealth who engages in the wholesale distribution of prescription drugs into the Commonwealth shall be registered with the Board. The applicant for registration as a nonresident wholesale distributor shall apply to the Board using such forms as the Board may furnish; renew such registration, if granted, using such forms as the Board may furnish, annually on a date determined by the Board in regulation; notify the Board within 30 days of any substantive change in the information previously submitted to the Board; and remit a fee, which shall be the fee specified for wholesale distributors located within the Commonwealth.

B. The nonresident wholesale distributor shall at all times maintain a valid, unexpired license, permit, or registration in the state in which it is located and shall furnish proof of such upon application and at each renewal.

C. Records of prescription drugs distributed into the Commonwealth shall be maintained in such a manner that they are readily retrievable from records of distributions into other jurisdictions and shall be provided to the Board, its authorized agent, or any agent designated by the Superintendent of State Police upon request within seven days of receipt of such request.

D. A nonresident wholesale distributor that ceases distribution of Schedule II through V drugs to a pharmacy, licensed physician dispenser, or licensed physician dispensing facility located in the Commonwealth due to suspicious orders of controlled substances shall notify the Board within five days of the cessation. For the purposes of this section, “suspicious orders of controlled substances” means, relative to the pharmacy’s, licensed physician dispenser’s, or licensed physician dispensing facility’s order history and the order history of similarly situated pharmacies, licensed physician dispensers, or licensed physician dispensing facilities, (i) orders of unusual size, (ii) orders deviating substantially from a normal pattern, and (iii) orders of unusual frequency.

E. A nonresident wholesale distributor shall be immune from civil liability for giving notice in accordance with subsection D unless the notice was given in bad faith or with malicious intent.

F. The Board shall not impose any disciplinary or enforcement action against any licensee or permit holder solely on the basis of a notice received from a nonresident wholesale distributor pursuant to subsection D.

G. This section shall not apply to persons who distribute prescription drugs directly to a licensed wholesale distributor located within the Commonwealth.

H. Every nonresident wholesale distributor shall comply with federal requirements for an electronic, interoperable system to identify, trace, and verify prescription drugs as they are distributed.

History

1994, c. 300; 2008, c. 320; 2015, c. 299; 2016, c. 221.