Pennsylvania HB 446: An Act amending the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as the Health Care Facilities Act, in licensing of health care facilities, providing for medication offered to patient.

Bill Text

PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 424, 2021 PRINTER'S NO. 2439
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 446
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SANCHEZ, KHAN, GUENST, GIRAL, PIELLI, HOWARD,
DONAHUE, HADDOCK, HILL-EVANS, FREEMAN, FLEMING, CIRESI,
CERRATO, GREEN, VENKAT, FRANKEL, BURGOS AND SHAFFER,
FEBRUARY 3, 2025
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
OCTOBER 8, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), entitled "An
act relating to health care; prescribing the powers and
duties of the Department of Health; establishing and
providing the powers and duties of the State Health
Coordinating Council, health systems agencies and Health Care
Policy Board in the Department of Health, and State Health
Facility Hearing Board in the Department of Justice;
providing for certification of need of health care providers
and prescribing penalties," in licensing of health care
facilities, providing for medication offered to patient.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known
as the Health Care Facilities Act, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 809.3. Medication offered to patient.
(a) General rule.--For a facility-provided medication
administered to a patient during an episode of care in a
hospital or ambulatory surgical facility, any unused portion of
the medication billed to the patient or that would otherwise be
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discarded after partial use during the episode of care shall be
offered to the patient at no additional charge upon discharge
if:
(1) offering the medication to the patient meets the
prescriber's standard of care; and
(2) the prescriber determines that the facility-provided
medication is required for continuing treatment.
(b) Duties when dispensing medication.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, when a facility-provided medication is
dispensed in accordance with subsection (a), the following
apply:
(1) A facility-provided medication that contains a label
with the same information used during institutional
administration as required under 49 Pa. Code § 27.18(v)
(relating to standards of practice) shall fulfill the
labeling requirements under the act of September 27, 1961
(P.L.1700, No.699), known as the "Pharmacy Act," the act of
April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as "The Controlled
Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act," or regulations
promulgated by the State Board of Pharmacy.
(2) A prescriber may fulfill the pharmacist counseling
requirements under 49 Pa. Code § 27.19(d) or (e) (relating to
prospective drug review and patient counseling) by offering
to counsel or by counseling a patient or caregiver in
accordance with the regulation.
(3) A hospital or ambulatory surgical facility shall
include, in any discharge instructions, the following:
(i) Written instructions for the facility-provided
medication's proper use and administration, including the
remaining number of doses to the extent quantifiable or
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calculable.
(ii) A phone number to contact CONTACT INFORMATION
FOR the prescriber or pharmacist.
(c) Exemption from outpatient dispensing requirements.--A
facility-provided medication that is offered or dispensed in
accordance with this section shall not be considered outpatient
dispensing under the "Pharmacy Act," "The Controlled Substance,
Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act" or regulations promulgated by the
State Board of Pharmacy.
(d) Liability protection.--A prescriber, pharmacist,
hospital or ambulatory surgical facility acting in good faith
and in accordance with this section shall not be held civilly or
administratively liable for any injury or harm resulting from a
patient's misuse, nonadherence or failure to follow discharge
instructions related to a facility-provided medication, unless
the injury or harm results from gross negligence or willful
misconduct.
(e) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Facility-provided medication." A multi-use MULTI-DOSE drug
product intended for a single patient that is clinically
appropriate for the acute A CLINICAL condition causing REQUIRING
TREATMENT DURING the hospital or ambulatory surgical facility
episode of care and APPROPRIATE for continued use post-
discharge, such as eye drops, ear drops, a topical cream or an
emergency inhaler. The term does not include a product that is
used intravenously or is a DRUG CLASSIFIED AS A controlled
substance UNDER THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, DRUG, DEVICE AND
COSMETIC ACT .
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"Prescriber." A person that is licensed, registered or
otherwise authoriz