Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 13 - Division and Boards of Registration
Section 22 - Board of Registration in Pharmacy; Membership; Qualifications; Appointment; Term; Code of Ethics

Section 22. (a) There shall be a board of registration in pharmacy, hereinafter referred to as the board in this section and sections 23 to 25A, inclusive. The governor shall appoint 13 members to the board. Members shall be residents of the commonwealth. No person who has been convicted of a felony or other crime involving embezzlement, theft, fraud or perjury shall serve as a member of the board. The board shall be comprised of: 8 registered pharmacists; 1 pharmacy technician; 1 representative of the public with experience in health care service delivery, administration or consumer advocacy, subject to section 9B; 1 physician registered pursuant to chapter 112; 1 nurse registered pursuant to said chapter 112; and 1 expert in patient safety and quality improvement.
  (b) The 8 registered pharmacists of the board shall each have had at least 7 consecutive years of experience in the practice of pharmacy and shall be currently employed in the practice of pharmacy in the commonwealth at the time of appointment or reappointment.
  (c) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, 2 of the 8 registered pharmacist members shall be independent pharmacists employed in the independent pharmacy setting. For the purposes of this section, "independent pharmacist'' shall mean a pharmacist actively engaged in the business of retail pharmacy and employed by an organization, which is registered under section 39 of chapter 112, has 9 or fewer registered retail drugstores in the commonwealth and employs not more than 20 full-time pharmacists.
  (d) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, 2 of the 8 registered pharmacist members shall be chain pharmacists employed in the chain pharmacy setting. For the purposes of this section, "chain pharmacist'' shall mean a pharmacist employed by a retail drug organization that operates 10 or more retail drug stores within the commonwealth and is registered under section 39 of chapter 112.
  (e) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, 1 of the 8 registered pharmacist members shall have had at least 7 years of experience in a hospital setting within the commonwealth.
  (f) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, 1 of the 8 registered pharmacist members shall have had at least 7 years of experience being employed in a long-term care pharmacy setting.
  (g) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, 1 of the 8 registered pharmacist members shall have had at least 7 years of experience in the practice of sterile compounding, as defined in section 39D of chapter 112, and shall be engaged in sterile compounding as a routine function of the member's employment.
  (h) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, 1 of the 8 registered pharmacist members shall be employed in an academic or scholarly position related to the practice of pharmacy with an institution of higher learning licensed by the commonwealth.
  (i) Not more than 1 pharmacist in any 1 practice setting defined in subsections (e) and (f) may serve on the board at any 1 time. Not more than 2 pharmacists in any 1 practice setting defined in subsections (c) and (d) may serve on the board at any 1 time. For the purposes of this subsection, the registered pharmacist under subsection (g) shall not constitute an appointment of an independent pharmacist, chain pharmacist, hospital pharmacist, long-term care pharmacist or academic pharmacist under subsections (c), (d), (e), (f) and (h).
  (j) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, the pharmacy technician member shall have had at least 7 years of practical experience as a pharmacy technician and shall be engaged in the practice of pharmacy as a routine function of the member's employment.
  (k) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, no registered pharmacist or pharmacy technician shall have had any type of disciplinary or enforcement action taken against them by the board, the federal Food and Drug Administration or the federal Drug Enforcement Administration during the 10 years preceding their appointment to the board.
  (l) For the purposes of this section, "representative of the public'' shall mean a person whose background and experience qualifies that person to act on the board in the public interest, including experience in health care service delivery, administration or consumer advocacy and who meets the requirements of paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of section 9B.
[ Subsection (m) effective until July 18, 2021. For text effective July 18, 2021, see below.]
  (m) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, no member of the board who is licensed to practice by the department of public health, division of professional licensure or by the board of registration in medicine shall have had any type of disciplinary or enforcement action taken against them by their respective licensing board, the federal Food and Drug Administration or the federal Drug Enforcement Administration during the 10 years preceding their appointment to the board.
[ Subsection (m) as amended by 2021, 39, Sec. 10 effective July 18, 2021. See 2021, 39, Sec. 128. For text effective until July 18, 2021, see above.]
  (m) At the time of appointment or reappointment to the board, no member of the board who is licensed to practice by the department of public health, division of occupational licensure or by the board of registration in medicine shall have had any type of disciplinary or enforcement action taken against them by their respective licensing board, the federal Food and Drug Administration or the federal Drug Enforcement Administration during the 10 years preceding their appointment to the board.
  (n) Board members shall be appointed and shall serve for a term of 3 years. The term shall begin on the first day of the month following the member's appointment. A member whose term has expired shall continue in office until a successor is appointed. No member shall serve more than 2 consecutive terms on the board. Members who have served the maximum number of consecutive terms shall be eligible for reappointment after not serving for at least 1 term.
  (o) Board members may only be removed by the governor for reasonable cause of neglect of duty, misconduct, malfeasance or misfeasance in office. Prior to removal, the member shall be given written notice of the basis for removal and be afforded a hearing before the governor or a designee. The member may appear at the hearing with witnesses and be represented by counsel. The hearing shall be held within 21 days of the notice.
  (p) Chapters 268A and 268B shall apply to the members of the board; provided, however, that the board shall establish a code of ethics, which shall be more restrictive than said chapters 268A and 268B, for all members, investigative agents appointed pursuant to section 25 and employees. A copy of the code shall be filed with the state ethics commission. The code shall include provisions reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and any other laws pertaining to the jurisdiction of the board including, but not limited to: (i) requiring the disclosure of any gifts received by board members by any person or entity subject to the jurisdiction of the board; (ii) prohibiting the participation by board members in a particular matter, as defined in section 1 of said chapter 268A, that affects the financial interest of a relative within the third degree of consanguinity or a person with whom the board member has a significant relationship as defined in the code; and (iii) providing for recusal of a board member in a licensing decision due to a potential conflict of interest.

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