New York Laws
Article 137 - Pharmacy
6810 - Prescriptions.

(b) Pharmacy providers who deliver medication without patient or
authorized individual consent will be required to accept the return of
the medication from the patient, provide that patient credit for any
charges they may have paid, and will be required to destroy those
medications sent without consent on delivery in accordance with
applicable state and federal law. Nothing in this section shall be
deemed to interfere with the requirements for refill reminder or
medication adherence programs. Nothing in this section is intended to
apply to long-term care pharmacy dispensing and delivery.
3. A copy of a prescription for a controlled substance shall not be
furnished to the patient but may be furnished to any licensed
practitioner authorized to write such prescription. Copies of other
prescriptions shall be furnished to the patient at his request, but such
copies are issued for the informational purposes of the prescribers
only, and shall be so worded.
4. (a) Oral prescriptions for controlled substances shall be filled
pursuant to article thirty-three of the public health law. A pharmacist
may fill an oral prescription for a drug, other than a controlled
substance, made by a practitioner legally authorized to prescribe drugs.
An oral authorization for the refill of a prescription, other than a
prescription for a controlled substance, may be made by a practitioner
legally authorized to prescribe drugs. The pharmacist receiving such

oral authorization for the refill of a prescription shall write on the
reverse side of the original prescription the date, time, and name of
the practitioner authorizing the refill of the prescription. An oral
prescription or an oral authorization for the refill of a prescription
for the drug, other than a controlled substance, may be communicated by
an employee of the prescribing practitioner; provided, however, the
pharmacist shall:
(i) contemporaneously reduce such prescription to writing;
(ii) dispense the substance in conformity with the labeling
requirements applicable to a written prescription; and
(iii) make a good faith effort to verify the employee's identity if
the employee is unknown to the pharmacist.
(b) Oral prescriptions for patients in general hospitals, nursing
homes, residential health care facilities as defined in section
twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, hospitals as defined
in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or
facilities operated by the office for people with developmental
disabilities, may be communicated to a pharmacist serving as a vendor of
pharmaceutical services based upon a contractual arrangement by an agent
designated by and under the direction of the prescriber or the
institution. Such agent shall be a health care practitioner currently
licensed and registered under this title.
5. Records of all prescriptions filled or refilled shall be maintained
for a period of at least five years and upon request made available for
inspection and copying by a representative of the department. Such
records shall indicate date of filling or refilling, doctor's name,
patient's name and address and the name or initials of the pharmacist
who prepared, compounded, or dispensed the prescription. Records of
prescriptions for controlled substances shall be maintained pursuant to
requirements of article thirty-three of the public health law.
6. (a) Every prescription written in this state by a person authorized
to issue such prescription shall be on prescription forms containing one
line for the prescriber's signature. The prescriber's signature shall
validate the prescription. Every electronic prescription shall provide
for the prescriber's electronic signature, which shall validate the
electronic prescription. Imprinted conspicuously on every prescription
written in this state in eight point upper case type immediately below
the signature line shall be the words: "THIS PRESCRIPTION WILL BE FILLED
GENERICALLY UNLESS PRESCRIBER WRITES 'd a w' IN THE BOX BELOW". Unless
the prescriber writes d a w in such box in the prescriber's own
handwriting or, in the case of electronic prescriptions, inserts an
electronic direction to dispense the drug as written, the prescriber's
signature or electronic signature shall designate approval of
substitution by a pharmacist of a drug product pursuant to paragraph (o)
of subdivision one of section two hundred six of the public health law.
No other letters or marks in such box shall prohibit substitution. No
prescription forms used or intended to be used by a person authorized to
issue a prescription shall have 'd a w' preprinted in such box. Such box
shall be placed directly under the signature line and shall be
three-quarters inch in length and one-half inch in height, or in
comparable form for an electronic prescription as may be specified by
regulation of the commissioner. Immediately below such box shall be
imprinted in six point type the words "Dispense As Written".
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no state official, agency,
board or other entity shall promulgate any regulation or guideline
modifying those elements of the prescription form's contents specified
in this subdivision. To the extent otherwise permitted by law, a
prescriber may modify only those elements of the prescription form's

contents not specified in this subdivision. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section or any other law, when a generic drug is not
available and the brand name drug originally prescribed is available and
the pharmacist agrees to dispense the brand name product for a price
that will not exceed the price that would have been charged for the
generic substitute had it been available, substitution of a generic drug
product will not be required. If the generic drug product is not
available and a medical emergency situation, which for purposes of this
section is defined as any condition requiring alleviation of severe pain
or which threatens to cause disability or take life if not promptly
treated, exists, then the pharmacist may dispense the brand name product
at his regular price. In such instances the pharmacist must record the
date, hour and nature of the medical emergency on the back of the
prescription and keep a copy of all such prescriptions.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other
law, when an interchangeable biological product is not available and the
biological product originally prescribed is available and the pharmacist
agrees to dispense the prescribed biological product for a price that
will not exceed the price that would have been charged for the
interchangeable biological substitute had it been available,
substitution of an interchangeable biological product will not be
required. If the interchangeable biological product is not available and
a medical emergency situation, which for purposes of this section is
defined as any condition requiring alleviation of severe pain or which
threatens to cause disability or take life if not promptly treated,
exists, then the pharmacist may dispense the prescribed biological
product at his regular price. In such instances the pharmacist must
record the date, hour and nature of the medical emergency on the back of
the prescription and keep a copy of all such prescriptions.
(c) The prescriber shall inform the patient whether he or she has
prescribed a brand name or its generic equivalent drug product or
interchangeable biological product.
(d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a hospital
as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law.
(e) No prescriber shall be subjected to civil liability arising solely
from authorizing, in accordance with this subdivision, the substitution
by a pharmacist of a drug product pursuant to paragraph (o) of
subdivision one of section two hundred six of the public health law.
7. (a) No prescription for a drug written in this state by a person
authorized to issue such prescription shall be on a prescription form
which authorizes the dispensing or compounding of any other drug. No
drug shall be dispensed by a pharmacist when such prescription form
includes any other drug.
(b) With respect to drugs other than controlled substances, the
provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to pharmacists employed
by or providing services under contract to general hospitals, nursing
homes, residential health care facilities as defined in section
twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, hospitals as defined
in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or
facilities operated by the office for people with developmental
disabilities, who dispense drugs in the course of said employment or in
the course of providing such services under contract. With respect to
such pharmacists, each prescription shall be transcribed on a patient
specific prescription form.
8. Every prescription (whether or not for a controlled substance)
written in this state by a person authorized to issue such prescription
and containing the prescriber's signature shall, in addition to such
signature, be imprinted or stamped legibly and conspicuously with the

printed name of the prescriber who has signed the prescription. The
imprinted or stamped name of the signing prescriber shall appear in an
appropriate location on the prescription form and shall not be entered
in or upon any space or line reserved for the prescriber's signature.
The imprinted or stamped name shall not be employed as a substitute for,
or fulfill any legal requirement otherwise mandating that the
prescription be signed by the prescriber.
9. No person, corporation, association or other entity, not licensed
to issue a prescription pursuant to this title, shall wilfully cause
prescription forms, blanks or facsimiles thereof to be disseminated to
any person other than a person who is licensed to issue a prescription
pursuant to this title. A violation of this subdivision shall be a class
B misdemeanor punishable in accordance with the provisions of the penal
law.
10. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other
law to the contrary, effective three years subsequent to the date on
which regulations establishing standards for electronic prescriptions
are promulgated by the commissioner of health, in consultation with the
commissioner pursuant to subdivision three of section two hundred
eighty-one of the public health law, no practitioner shall issue any
prescription in this state, unless such prescription is made by
electronic prescription from the practitioner to a pharmacy, except for
prescriptions: (a) issued by veterinarians; (b) issued or dispensed in
circumstances where electronic prescribing is not available due to
temporary technological or electrical failure, as set forth in
regulation; (c) issued by practitioners who have received a waiver or a
renewal thereof for a specified period determined by the commissioner of
health, not to exceed one year, from the requirement to use electronic
prescribing, pursuant to a process established in regulation by the
commissioner of health, in consultation with the commissioner due to
economic hardship, technological limitations that are not reasonably
within the control of the practitioner, or other exceptional
circumstance demonstrated by the practitioner; (d) issued by a
practitioner under circumstances where, notwithstanding the
practitioner's present ability to make an electronic prescription as
required by this subdivision, such practitioner reasonably determines
that it would be impractical for the patient to obtain substances
prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner, and such delay
would adversely impact the patient's medical condition, provided that if
such prescription is for a controlled substance, the quantity that does
not exceed a five day supply if the controlled substance was used in
accordance with the directions for use; or (e) issued by a practitioner
to be dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state, as set forth in
regulation.
10-a. A pharmacy that receives an electronic prescription from the
person issuing the prescription may, if the prescription has not been
dispensed and at the request of the patient or a person authorized to
make the request on behalf of the patient, immediately transfer or
forward such prescription to an alternative pharmacy designated by the
requesting party.
11. In the case of a prescription issued by a practitioner under
paragraph (b) of subdivision ten of this section, the practitioner shall
be required to indicate in the patient's health record that the
prescription was issued other than electronically due to temporary
technological or electrical failure.
12. In the case of a prescription issued by a practitioner under
paragraph (d) or (e) of subdivision ten of this section, the
practitioner shall, upon issuing such prescription, indicate in the

patient's health record either that the prescription was issued other
than electronically because it (a) was impractical to issue an
electronic prescription in a timely manner and such delay would have
adversely impacted the patient's medical condition, or (b) was to be
dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state.
13. The waiver process established in regulation pursuant to paragraph
(c) of subdivision ten of this section shall provide that a practitioner
prescribing under a waiver must notify the department of health in
writing promptly upon gaining the capability to use electronic
prescribing, and that a waiver shall terminate within a specified period
of time after the practitioner gains such capability.
14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no
outsourcing facility may distribute or dispense any drug to any person
pursuant to a prescription unless it is also registered as a pharmacy in
this state and meets all other applicable requirements of federal and
state law.
* 15. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or any
other law to the contrary, a practitioner shall not be required to issue
prescriptions electronically if he or she certifies to the department of
health, in a manner specified by the department of health, that he or
she will not issue more than twenty-five prescriptions during a twelve
month period. Prescriptions in both oral and written form for both
controlled substances and non-controlled substances shall be included in
determining whether the practitioner will reach the limit of twenty-five
prescriptions.
(a) A certification shall be submitted in advance of the twelve-month
certification period, except that a twelve-month certification submitted
on or before on July first,two thousand sixteen, may begin March
twenty-seventh, two thousand sixteen.
(b) A practitioner who has made a certification under this subdivision
may submit an additional certification on or before the expiration of
the current twelve-month certification period, for a maximum of three
twelve-month certifications.
(c) A practitioner may make a certification under this subdivision
regardless of whether he or she has previously received a waiver under
paragraphs (c) of subdivision ten of this section.
* NB Repealed June 1, 2026