Iowa Admin. Code r. 657-5.17 - [Rescinded effective 7/16/2025] Tasks a pharmacy support person shall not perform
A pharmacy support person shall not perform any of the following judgmental or technical functions. Performance of any of these tasks by a pharmacy support person shall constitute the practice of pharmacy without a license in violation of Iowa Code section 155A.7. A pharmacy support person shall not:
1. Provide the final
verification for the accuracy, validity, completeness, or appropriateness of a
filled prescription or medication order.
2. Conduct prospective drug use review or
evaluate a patient's medication record for purposes identified in rule
657-8.21 (155A).
3. Provide patient counseling, consultation,
or patient-specific drug information; make an offer of patient counseling on
behalf of the pharmacist; or accept a refusal of patient counseling from a
patient or patient's agent.
4. Make
decisions that require a pharmacist's professional judgment, such as
interpreting or applying information.
5. Accept by oral communication any new or
refill prescription authorizations communicated to a pharmacy by a prescriber
or by the prescriber's office or contact a prescriber to obtain prescription
refill authorizations.
6. Provide a
prescription or drug to a patient without a pharmacist's verification as to the
accuracy of the dispensed medication and without the physical presence of a
pharmacist.
7. Package, pour, or
place in a container for dispensing, sale, distribution, transfer, vending, or
barter any drug which, under federal or state laws, may be sold or dispensed
only pursuant to the prescription of a practitioner authorized to prescribe
drugs. This prohibited task includes the addition of water or other liquid for
reconstitution of oral antibiotic liquids. A pharmacy support person may place
a prescription container into a bag or sack for delivery to the patient as part
of the sales transaction after the accuracy of the prescription has been
verified by the pharmacist.
8.
Affix required prescription labels upon any container of drugs sold or
dispensed pursuant to the prescription of an authorized prescriber.
9. Process or enter, including entry into the
pharmacy computer system, pertinent clinical patient or prescription
information, including allergies and disease state information.
10. Prepackage or label multidose and
single-dose packages of drugs, including dose picks for unit dose cart fills
for hospital or long-term care facility patients.
11. Check or inspect drug supplies provided
and controlled by an Iowa-licensed pharmacy but located or maintained outside
the pharmacy department, including but not limited to drug supplies maintained
in an ambulance or other emergency medical service vehicle, a long-term care
facility, a hospital nursing unit, or a hospice facility.
12. Reconstitute prefabricated noninjectable
medication, prepare parenteral products, or compound sterile or nonsterile drug
products.
13. Communicate,
transmit, or receive patient or prescription information to or from the
pharmacy for the purpose of transferring a patient's prescription between
pharmacies.
14. Assist with or
witness the destruction or wastage of controlled substances pursuant to
657-subrule 10.22(2).
15. Perform
any technical functions pursuant to 657-Chapter 3 that may be delegated to a
pharmacy technician.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
A
1. Provide the final verification for the accuracy, validity, completeness, or appropriateness of a filled prescription or medication order .
2. Conduct prospective drug use review or evaluate a patient's medication record for purposes identified in rule 657-8.21 (155A).
3. Provide patient counseling, consultation, or patient-specific drug information; make an offer of patient counseling on behalf of the pharmacist; or accept a refusal of patient counseling from a patient or patient's agent.
4. Make decisions that require a pharmacist's professional judgment, such as interpreting or applying information.
5. Accept by oral communication any new or refill prescription authorizations communicated to a pharmacy by a prescriber or by the prescriber's office or contact a prescriber to obtain prescription refill authorizations.
6. Provide a prescription or drug to a patient without a pharmacist's verification as to the accuracy of the dispensed medication and without the physical presence of a pharmacist.
7. Package, pour, or place in a container for dispensing, sale, distribution, transfer, vending, or barter any drug which, under federal or state laws, may be sold or dispensed only pursuant to the prescription of a practitioner authorized to prescribe drugs. This prohibited task includes the addition of water or other liquid for reconstitution of oral antibiotic liquids. A pharmacy support person may place a prescription container into a bag or sack for delivery to the patient as part of the sales transaction after the accuracy of the prescription has been verified by the pharmacist.
8. Affix required prescription labels upon any container of drugs sold or dispensed pursuant to the prescription of an authorized prescriber.
9. Process or enter, including entry into the pharmacy computer system, pertinent clinical patient or prescription information, including allergies and disease state information.
10. Prepackage or label multidose and single-dose packages of drugs, including dose picks for unit dose cart fills for hospital or long-term care facility patients.
11. Check or inspect drug supplies provided and controlled by an Iowa-licensed pharmacy but located or maintained outside the pharmacy department, including but not limited to drug supplies maintained in an ambulance or other emergency medical service vehicle, a long-term care facility, a hospital nursing unit, or a hospice facility.
12. Reconstitute prefabricated noninjectable medication, prepare parenteral products, or compound sterile or nonsterile drug products.
13. Communicate, transmit, or receive patient or prescription information to or from the pharmacy for the purpose of transferring a patient's prescription between pharmacies.
14. Assist with or witness the destruction or wastage of controlled substances pursuant to 657-subrule 10.22(2).
15. Perform any technical functions pursuant to 657-Chapter 3 that may be delegated to a pharmacy technician .