315.121 Grounds for acting against licensee -- Notification to board of
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/ky/315-121A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
conviction required -- Petition for reinstatement -- Expungement.
(1)The board may refuse to issue or renew a license, permit, or certificate to, or
may suspend, temporarily suspend, revoke, fine, place on probation,
reprimand, reasonably restrict, or take any combination of these actions
against any licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder for the following
reasons:
(a)Unprofessional or unethical conduct;
(b)Mental or physical incapacity that prevents the licensee, permit holder, or
certificate holder from engaging or assisting in the practice of pharmacy
or the wholesale distribution or manufacturing of drugs with reasonable
skill, competence, and safety to the public;
(c)Being convicted of, or entering an "Alford" plea or plea of nolo contendere
to, irrespective of an order granting probation or suspending imposition of
any sentence imposed following the conviction or entry of such plea, one
(1)or more or the following, if in accordance with KRS Chapter 335B:
1. A crime as defined in KRS 335B.010; or
2. A violation of the pharmacy or drug laws, rules, or administrative
regulations of this state, any other state, or the federal government;
(d)Knowing or having reason to know that a pharmacist, pharmacist intern,
or pharmacy technician is incapable of engaging or assisting in the
practice of pharmacy with reasonable skill, competence, and safety to the
public and failing to report any relevant information to the board;
(e)Knowingly making or causing to be made any false, fraudulent, or forged
statement or misrepresentation of a material fact in securing issuance or
renewal of a license, permit, or certificate;
(f)Engaging in fraud in connection with the practice of pharmacy or the
wholesale distribution or manufacturing of drugs;
(g)Engaging in or aiding and abetting an individual to engage or assist in the
practice of pharmacy without a license or falsely using the title of
"pharmacist," "pharmacist intern," "pharmacy technician," or other term
which might imply that the individual is a pharmacist, pharmacist intern, or
pharmacy technician;
(h)Being found by the board to be in violation of any provision of this
chapter, KRS Chapter 217, KRS Chapter 218A, or the administrative
regulations promulgated pursuant to these chapters;
(i)Violation of any order issued by the board to comply with any applicable
law or administrative regulation;
(j)Knowing or having reason to know that a pharmacist, pharmacist intern,
or pharmacy technician has engaged in or aided and abetted the unlawful
distribution of legend medications, and failing to report any relevant
information to the board;
(k)Failure to notify the board within fourteen
(14)days of a change in one's
home address; or
(l)As provided in KRS 311.824(2), being convicted of a violation of KRS
311.823(2).
(2)Unprofessional or unethical conduct includes but is not limited to the following
acts of a pharmacist, pharmacist intern, or pharmacy technician:
(a)Publication or circulation of false, misleading, or deceptive statements
concerning the practice of pharmacy;
(b)Divulging or revealing to unauthorized persons patient information or the
nature of professional services rendered without the patient's express
consent or without order or direction of a court. In addition to members,
inspectors, or agents of the board, the following are considered
authorized persons:
1. The patient, patient's agent, or another pharmacist acting on behalf
of the patient;
2. Certified or licensed health-care personnel who are responsible for
care of the patient;
3. Designated agents of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for
the purposes of enforcing the provisions of KRS Chapter 218A;
4. Any federal, state, or municipal officer whose duty is to enforce the
laws of this state or the United States relating to drugs and who is
engaged in a specific investigation involving a designated person; or
5. An agency of government charged with the responsibility of
providing medical care for the patient, upon written request by an
authorized representative of the agency requesting such
information;
(c)Selling, transferring, or otherwise disposing of accessories, chemicals,
drugs, or devices found in illegal traffic when the pharmacist, pharmacy
intern, or pharmacy technician knows or should have known of their
intended use in illegal activities;
(d)Engaging in conduct likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public,
demonstrating a willful or careless disregard for the health, welfare, or
safety of a patient, or engaging in conduct which substantially departs
from accepted standards of pharmacy practice ordinarily exercised by a
pharmacist or pharmacy intern, with or without established proof of actual
injury;
(e)Engaging in grossly negligent professional conduct, with or without
established proof of actual injury;
(f)Except as provided in KRS 315.500, selling, transferring, dispensing,
ingesting, or administering a drug for which a prescription drug order is
required, without having first received a prescription drug order for the
drug;
(g)Willfully or knowingly failing to maintain complete and accurate records of
all drugs received, dispensed, or disposed of in compliance with federal
and state laws, rules, or administrative regulations;
(h)Obtaining any remuneration by fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(i)Accessing or attempting to access confidential patient information for
persons other than those with whom a pharmacist has a current
pharmacist-patient relationship and where such information is necessary
to the pharmacist to provide pharmacy care;
(j)Failing to exercise appropriate professional judgment in determining
whether a prescription drug order is lawful;
(k)Violating KRS 304.39-215; or
(l)Engaging in conduct that is subject to the penalties under KRS
304.99-060(4) or (5).
(3)Any licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder entering an "Alford" plea,
pleading nolo contendere, or who is found guilty of a violation prescribed in
subsection (1)(c) of this section shall within thirty
(30)days notify the board of
that plea or conviction. Failure to do so shall be grounds for suspension or
revocation of the license, certificate, or permit.
(4)Any person whose license, permit, or certificate has been revoked in
accordance with the provisions of this section, may petition the board for
reinstatement. The petition shall be made in writing and in a form prescribed by
the board. The board shall investigate all reinstatement petitions, and the board
may reinstate a license, permit, or certificate upon showing that the former
holder has been rehabilitated and is again able to engage in the practice of
pharmacy with reasonable skill, competency, and safety to the public.
Reinstatement may be on the terms and conditions that the board, based on
competent evidence, reasonably believes necessary to protect the health and
welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth.
(5)Upon exercising the power of revocation provided for in subsection
(1)of this
section, the board may reasonably prohibit any petition for reinstatement for a
period up to and including five
(5)years.
(6)Any licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder who is disciplined under this
section for a minor violation may request in writing that the board expunge the
minor violation from the licensee's, permit holder's, or certificate holder's
permanent record.
(a)The request for expungement may be filed no sooner than three
(3)years
after the date on which the licensee, permit holder, or certificate holder
has completed disciplinary sanctions imposed and if the licensee, permit
holder, or certificate holder has not been disciplined for any subsequent
violation of the same nature within this period of time.
(b)No person may have his or her record expunged under this section more
than once.
The board shall promulgate administrative regulations under KRS Chapter 13A
to establish violations which are minor violations under this subsection. A
violation shall be deemed a minor violation if it does not demonstrate a serious
inability to practice the profession; assist in the practice of pharmacy; provide
home medical equipment and services; adversely affect the public health,
safety, or welfare; or result in economic or physical harm to a person; or create
a significant threat of such harm.