Public Act 103-0240
 
SB1889 EnrolledLRB103 03306 AMQ 48312 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Pharmacy Practice Act is amended by
changing Sections 9 and 15.1 and by adding Section 9.7 as
follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 85/9)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
    Sec. 9. Licensure as registered pharmacy technician.
    (a) Any person shall be entitled to licensure as a
registered pharmacy technician who is of the age of 16 or over,
has not engaged in conduct or behavior determined to be
grounds for discipline under this Act, is attending or has
graduated from an accredited high school or comparable school
or educational institution or received a State of Illinois
High School Diploma, and has filed a written or electronic
application for licensure on a form to be prescribed and
furnished by the Department for that purpose. The Department
shall issue a license as a registered pharmacy technician to
any applicant who has qualified as aforesaid, and such license
shall be the sole authority required to assist licensed
pharmacists in the practice of pharmacy, under the supervision
of a licensed pharmacist. A registered pharmacy technician may
be delegated to perform any task within the practice of
pharmacy if specifically trained for that task, except for
patient counseling, drug regimen review, clinical conflict
resolution, or final prescription verification except where a
registered certified pharmacy technician verifies a
prescription dispensed by another pharmacy technician using
technology-assisted medication verification, or providing
patients prophylaxis drugs for human immunodeficiency virus
pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure prophylaxis.
    (b) Beginning on January 1, 2017, within 2 years after
initial licensure as a registered pharmacy technician, the
licensee must meet the requirements described in Section 9.5
of this Act and become licensed as a registered certified
pharmacy technician. If the licensee has not yet attained the
age of 18, then upon the next renewal as a registered pharmacy
technician, the licensee must meet the requirements described
in Section 9.5 of this Act and become licensed as a registered
certified pharmacy technician. This requirement does not apply
to pharmacy technicians registered prior to January 1, 2008.
    (c) (Blank). Any person registered as a pharmacy
technician who is also enrolled in a first professional degree
program in pharmacy in a school or college of pharmacy or a
department of pharmacy of a university approved by the
Department or has graduated from such a program within the
last 18 months, shall be considered a "student pharmacist" and
entitled to use the title "student pharmacist". A student
pharmacist must meet all of the requirements for licensure as
a registered pharmacy technician set forth in this Section
excluding the requirement of certification prior to the second
license renewal and pay the required registered pharmacy
technician license fees. A student pharmacist may, under the
supervision of a pharmacist, assist in the practice of
pharmacy and perform any and all functions delegated to him or
her by the pharmacist.
    (d) Any person seeking licensure as a pharmacist who has
graduated from a pharmacy program outside the United States
must register as a pharmacy technician and shall be considered
a "student pharmacist" and be entitled to use the title
"student pharmacist" while completing the 1,200 clinical hours
of training approved by the Board of Pharmacy described and
for no more than 18 months after completion of these hours.
These individuals are not required to become registered
certified pharmacy technicians while completing their Board
approved clinical training, but must become licensed as a
pharmacist or become licensed as a registered certified
pharmacy technician before the second pharmacy technician
license renewal following completion of the Board approved
clinical training.
    (e) The Department shall not renew the registered pharmacy
technician license of any person who has been licensed as a
registered pharmacy technician with the designation "student
pharmacist" who: (1) has dropped out of or been expelled from
an ACPE accredited college of pharmacy; (2) has failed to
complete his or her 1,200 hours of Board approved clinical
training within 24 months; or (3) has failed the pharmacist
licensure examination 3 times. The Department shall require
these individuals to meet the requirements of and become
licensed as a registered certified pharmacy technician.
    (f) The Department may take any action set forth in
Section 30 of this Act with regard to a license pursuant to
this Section.
    (g) Any person who is enrolled in a non-traditional
Pharm.D. program at an ACPE accredited college of pharmacy and
is licensed as a registered pharmacist under the laws of
another United States jurisdiction shall be permitted to
engage in the program of practice experience required in the
academic program by virtue of such license. Such person shall
be exempt from the requirement of licensure as a registered
pharmacy technician or registered certified pharmacy
technician while engaged in the program of practice experience
required in the academic program.
    An applicant for licensure as a registered pharmacy
technician may assist a pharmacist in the practice of pharmacy
for a period of up to 60 days prior to the issuance of a
license if the applicant has submitted the required fee and an
application for licensure to the Department. The applicant
shall keep a copy of the submitted application on the premises
where the applicant is assisting in the practice of pharmacy.
The Department shall forward confirmation of receipt of the
application with start and expiration dates of practice
pending licensure.
    (h) Supportive staff who solely perform clerical work are
not required to be licensed as a registered pharmacy
technician. It shall be the responsibility of the pharmacy,
the pharmacist-in-charge, and the pharmacy technician to
ensure supportive staff are properly trained. The pharmacy or
pharmacist-in-charge shall alert the Department's chief
pharmacy coordinator when supportive staff have been
terminated for threatening patient safety or diversion, in
accordance with the requirements of subsection (b) of Section
30.1. As used in this subsection, "clerical work" includes,
without limitation, operating registers at the point of sale,
sorting pre-packaged drugs in pharmacies specializing in
centralized prescription filling, and selling prescriptions
that have received final verification by a pharmacist in
accordance with subsection (c-5) of Section 15.1. "Clerical
work" does not include data entry, packaging, labeling, or
storage.
(Source: P.A. 101-621, eff. 1-1-20; 102-882, eff. 1-1-23;
102-1051, eff. 1-1-23; 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23; revised
12-14-22.)
 
    (225 ILCS 85/9.7 new)
    Sec. 9.7. Student pharmacist. Any person who is also
enrolled in a first professional degree program in pharmacy in
a school or college of pharmacy or a department of pharmacy of
a university approved by the Department, or has graduated from
such a program within the last 18 months, shall be considered a
"student pharmacist" and entitled to use the title "student
pharmacist". A student pharmacist must meet all of the
requirements for licensure as a registered pharmacy technician
set forth in Section 9, except for the requirement of
certification prior to the second license renewal, and pay the
required license fees. A student pharmacist may, under the
supervision of a pharmacist, assist in the practice of
pharmacy and perform any and all functions delegated to him or
her by the pharmacist.
 
    (225 ILCS 85/15.1)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
    Sec. 15.1. Pharmacy working conditions.
    (a) A pharmacy licensed under this Act shall not require a
pharmacist, student pharmacist, or pharmacy technician to work
longer than 12 continuous hours per day, inclusive of the
breaks required under subsection (b).
    (b) A pharmacist who works 6 continuous hours or longer
per day shall be allowed to take, at a minimum, one 30-minute
uninterrupted meal break and one 15-minute break during that
6-hour period. If such pharmacist is required to work 12
continuous hours per day, at a minimum, he or she qualifies for
an additional 15-minute break. A pharmacist who is entitled to
take such breaks shall not be required to work more than 5
continuous hours, excluding a 15-minute break, before being
given the opportunity to take a 30-minute uninterrupted meal
break. If the pharmacy has a private break room available, or
if there is a private break room in the establishment or
business in which the pharmacy is located, a pharmacist who is
entitled to breaks must be given access to that private break
room and allowed to spend his or her break time in that room.
    (c) A pharmacy may, but is not required to, close when a
pharmacist is allowed to take a break under subsection (b). If
the pharmacy does not close, the pharmacist shall either
remain within the licensed pharmacy or within the
establishment in which the licensed pharmacy is located in
order to be available for emergencies. In addition, the
following applies:
        (1) pharmacy technicians, student pharmacists, and
    other supportive staff authorized by the pharmacist on
    duty may continue to perform duties as allowed under this
    Act;
        (2) no duties reserved to pharmacists and student
    pharmacists under this Act, or that require the
    professional judgment of a pharmacist, may be performed by
    pharmacy technicians or other supportive staff; and
        (3) only prescriptions that have received final
    verification by a pharmacist may be sold dispensed while
    the pharmacist is on break, except those prescriptions
    that require counseling by a pharmacist, including all new
    prescriptions and those refill prescriptions for which a
    pharmacist has determined that counseling is necessary,
    may be sold dispensed only if the following conditions are
    met:
            (i) the patient or other individual who is picking
        up the prescription on behalf of the patient is told
        that the pharmacist is on a break and is offered the
        chance to wait until the pharmacist returns from break
        in order to receive counseling;
            (ii) if the patient or other individual who is
        picking up the prescription on behalf of the patient
        declines to wait, a telephone number at which the
        patient or other individual who is picking up the
        prescription on behalf of the patient can be reached
        is obtained;
            (iii) after returning from the break, the
        pharmacist makes a reasonable effort to contact the
        patient or other individual who is picking up the
        prescription on behalf of the patient and provide
        counseling; and
            (iv) the pharmacist documents the counseling that
        was provided or documents why counseling was not
        provided after a minimum of 2 attempts, including a
        description of the efforts made to contact the patient
        or other individual who is picking up the prescription
        on behalf of the patient; the documentation shall be
        retained by the pharmacy and made available for
        inspection by the Board or its authorized
        representatives for at least 2 years.
    (c-5) When a pharmacist is not present in the pharmacy, a
registered pharmacy technician, registered certified pharmacy
technician, student pharmacist, or other supportive staff
shall sell prescriptions that have received final verification
by a pharmacist. A registered pharmacy technician, registered
certified pharmacy technician, student pharmacist, or other
supportive staff shall connect a patient to a pharmacist to
provide counseling by audio or video technology for any
prescription that requires counseling by a pharmacist. If the
pharmacy does not have audio and video technology to connect
the patient or other individual who is picking up the
prescription on behalf of the patient to a pharmacist to
provide counseling, then a telephone number at which the
patient or other individual who is picking up the prescription
on behalf of the patient can be reached shall be obtained . The
pharmacist, upon returning to duty, shall attempt to contact
the patient or other individual in accordance with items (iii)
and (iv) of subsection (c). It shall be the responsibility of
the pharmacy and pharmacist-in-charge to ensure that all
staff, including supportive staff, are trained in selling
pre-verified prescriptions. Training shall include, at a
minimum, recordkeeping requirements, patient counseling
protocols as described in this subsection (c-5), pharmacy
safety protocols, and patient privacy standards. The
prescription record shall contain the names, initials, or
other unique identifier of both the pharmacist who verified
the prescription and the staff member who sold the
prescription.
    (d) In a pharmacy staffed by 2 or more pharmacists, the
pharmacists shall stagger breaks so that at least one
pharmacist remains on duty during all times that the pharmacy
remains open for the transaction of business.
    (e) (Blank). A pharmacy shall keep and maintain a complete
and accurate record showing its pharmacists' daily break
periods.
    (f) Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply when an
emergency, as deemed by the professional judgment of the
pharmacist, necessitates that a pharmacist, student
pharmacist, or pharmacy technician work longer than 12
continuous hours, work without taking required meal breaks, or
have a break interrupted in order to minimize immediate health
risks for patients.
(Source: P.A. 101-621, eff. 1-1-20.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2024