OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 95 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 95’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Passed by the Senate
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Reynolds
Effective date:
Audra Tidball, Attorney
SUMMARY
Remote dispensing pharmacies
 Authorizes the operation of remote dispensing pharmacies and requires the State Board
of Pharmacy to regulate them.
 Requires a remote dispensing pharmacy to be staffed by two or more pharmacy interns
or certified pharmacy technicians and overseen and operated by both a supervising
pharmacy and pharmacist through the use of a telepharmacy system.
 Requires the Board to adopt rules governing the operation of remote dispensing
pharmacies within 18 months of the bill’s effective date and, if the Board fails to do so,
authorizes the Ohio Attorney General or a county prosecuting attorney to apply for a
court order requiring their adoption.
Mailing drugs to patients
 Prohibits health plan issuers, pharmacy benefit managers, and other administrators
from prohibiting a pharmacy from mailing or delivering drugs to patients as an ancillary
service.
Pharmacist administration of injectable drugs
 Authorizes a pharmacist to administer by injection the following drugs if prescribed by a
physician and if other conditions specified in current law are met: HIV treatment drugs
in long-acting or extended-release forms and any other drug specified in Board rules.
Pharmacy technician trainees
 Authorizes the Board to register as a pharmacy technician trainee an applicant who is
age 17 and possesses a high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalence.
May 23, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Remote dispensing pharmacies
The bill requires the State Board of Pharmacy to regulate remote dispensing
pharmacies.1 The bill defines “remote dispensing pharmacy” as one where the dispensing of
drugs, counseling of patients, and other pharmacist care is provided through a telepharmacy
system. Dispensing of drugs at the pharmacy may include the dispensing of drug therapy
related devices.2 A telepharmacy system is one that monitors the dispensing of drugs and
provides for related drug utilization review and patient counseling services by an electronic
method.3
Eligibility conditions
To operate as a remote dispensing pharmacy, the pharmacy must satisfy all of the
following:
 Be licensed by the Board as a terminal distributor of dangerous drugs;
 Use only a telepharmacy system that meets standards established by the Board in rules;
 Be staffed by two or more pharmacy interns or certified pharmacy technicians;
 Have a supervising pharmacy and supervising pharmacist;
 Be located in Ohio, in a building that is zoned for commercial use;
 In general, not be located within a ten-mile radius of an outpatient pharmacy.4
Exceptions to the exclusion area surrounding an outpatient pharmacy
The bill establishes circumstances when a remote dispensing pharmacy’s proximity to an
outpatient pharmacy may be closer than ten miles. Specifically, the ten-mile radius around an
outpatient pharmacy that otherwise constitutes an area of exclusion does not apply in relation
to (1) federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and (2) locations approved by the Board based
on a demonstration of need.5
Regarding FQHCs, the bill permits a remote dispensing pharmacy to be within the
ten-mile radius of an outpatient pharmacy if the remote pharmacy is part of an FQHC or an
FQHC look-alike, which is a facility that meets the eligibility requirements for federal FQHC
1 R.C. 4729.554(B).
2 R.C. 4729.554(A)(1).
3 R.C. 4729.554(A)(2).
4 R.C. 4729.554(B) and (C).
5 R.C. 4729.554(C)(2)(b).
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funding but does not receive it. The remote pharmacy must be located on the same property
as, or a campus contiguous to, the FQHC or look-alike.
Regarding location approvals based on a demonstration of need, the bill requires a
remote dispensing pharmacy to meet standards established by the Board in rules for
demonstrating the need. Further, as part of the Board’s approval process, the bill requires the
Board to establish a method by which persons may register to receive notice from the Board of
requests for location approvals. The Board also must establish a system for accepting public
comments regarding the requests. When the Board receives a request, it must electronically
notify persons who register to be notified, and post notice on its website regarding a public
comment period of 60 days. During that 60-day period, the Board must permit other
pharmacies to submit requests for location approvals. After that period ends, the Board, in
determining whether any of the location requests should be approved, must consider public
comments, supervising pharmacy location in relation to the proposed remote dispensing
pharmacy, and any other standards specified in rules. The determination must be made at the
Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting that occurs on or after the date that is 90 days after
the electronic notices described above were sent.6
Operational conditions
The bill establishes conditions on the operation of each remote dispensing pharmacy.
These include all of the following:
 The pharmacy must not fill prescriptions at a rate that exceeds an average of
150 prescriptions per day during a 90-day period, unless otherwise approved by the
Board.
 The pharmacy must implement a quality assurance plan to ensure that there is a
planned and systematic process for (1) monitoring and evaluating the quality and
appropriateness of the pharmacy services and (2) identifying and resolving problems.
 If the pharmacy holds a category III terminal distributor of dangerous drugs license, it
must maintain a perpetual controlled substance inventory, as specified in Board rules.7
Pharmacy interns and technicians
The bill sets limits on the practice of pharmacy interns and certified pharmacy
technicians when assisting in the process of dispensing drugs.8 When staffing a remote
dispensing pharmacy, these practitioners are prohibited from doing any of the following:
 Counseling an individual regarding drugs that are dispensed, recommending drugs and
drug therapy related devices or otherwise providing advice, or assisting with the
6 R.C. 4729.554(C)(2)(c).
7 R.C. 4729.554(F).
8 R.C. 4729.554(G).
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selection of drugs and drug therapy related devices for treatment of common diseases
and injuries or with providing instruction on their use;
 Performing sterile or nonsterile drug compounding, except for the reconstitution of
prepackaged dangerous drugs;
 Engaging in the repackaging of dangerous drugs;
 Administering immunizations or performing diagnostic testing, unless a pharmacist is
onsite to provide direct supervision;
 Performing any other activities prohibited in Board rules.
Supervising pharmacies
The bill establishes requirements to be met by the pharmacies that supervise remote
dispensing pharmacies.9 First, it requires a supervising pharmacy to be both licensed by the
Board as a terminal distributor of dangerous drugs and located in Ohio. Second, the supervising
pharmacy must either (1) be under common ownership and control with the remote dispensing
pharmacy or (2) operate under a contract that meets requirements specified in Board rules.
Third, it requires the supervising pharmacy to control the telepharmacy system used by the
remote dispensing pharmacy and to employ or contract with the supervising pharmacist of the
remote dispensing pharmacy.
Supervising pharmacists
The bill sets a number of conditions and limitations on the pharmacist who serves as the
supervising pharmacist of a remote dispensing pharmacy.10 The supervising pharmacist must be
licensed by the Board, physically located in Ohio, and employed by or under contract with the
supervising pharmacy. In serving in this position, the supervising pharmacist must be in full and
actual charge of the pharmacy by using its telepharmacy system and surveillance system. The
pharmacist is prohibited from simultaneously overseeing the activities of more than one
remote dispensing pharmacy, unless otherwise approved by the Board.
The supervising pharmacist must oversee the pharmacy interns and certified pharmacy
technicians who are assisting in the dispensing process at the remote dispensing pharmacy and
must provide that oversight through the pharmacy’s telepharmacy system and surveillance
system. Next, the supervising pharmacist must verify each prescription and dispensed drug
before the drug leaves the remote dispensing pharmacy. Such verification includes a visual
review and the use of barcoding and any other technology required in Board rules. Finally, the
supervising pharmacist must offer to provide patient counseling for each drug dispensed under
a new prescription.
9 R.C. 4729.554(D).
10 R.C. 4729.554(E).
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Rulemaking
The bill requires the Board to adopt rules governing the regulation of remote dispensing
pharmacies.11 The Board must do so in accordance with Ohio’s Administrative Procedure Act
and not later than 18 months after the bill’s effective date. If the Board fails to meet this
deadline, the bill authorizes the Ohio Attorney General or a county prosecuting attorney to
apply to a court of common pleas for a court order requiring the rules to be adopted.12
The Board must include all of the following in the required rules:
 Standards for a system of continuous video surveillance and recording of each remote
dispensing pharmacy, including establishing an adequate number of views of the entire
pharmacy and requiring the retention of each recording for at least 60 days;
 Standards for telepharmacy systems and surveillance systems, including standards to
ensure that the systems are capable of (a) facilitating a safe and secured method for
appropriate pharmacist supervision, (b) allowing an appropriate exchange of visual,
verbal, and written communications for patient counseling and other pharmacy
services, and (c) being secure and compliant with the federal Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA);
 Requirements for any contract between a supervising pharmacy and remote dispensing
pharmacy;
 Standards for making a demonstration of need in the case of a remote dispensing
pharmacy seeking to locate within ten miles of an outpatient pharmacy;
 Requirements for implementing a remote dispensing pharmacy’s quality assurance plan;
 The qualifications and training necessary for pharmacy interns and certified pharmacy
technicians who staff remote dispensing pharmacies, including the number of
experiential hours required;
 Any additional activities that pharmacy interns and certified pharmacy technicians are
prohibited from performing;
 The number of pharmacy interns and certified pharmacy technicians that a supervising
pharmacist may supervise at any given time;
 The maximum distance that a supervising pharmacist may be physically located from
the remote dispensing pharmacy;
 Standards for remote patient counseling by a supervising pharmacist, including the
counseling required to be offered for each drug dispensed under a new prescription;
11 R.C. 4729.554(H).
12 Section 3.
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 Standards for and frequency of remote dispensing pharmacy inspections by the
supervising pharmacist;
 Requirements for the closure of a remote dispensing pharmacy if its telepharmacy
system or surveillance system, or any related security system used by the pharmacy, is
malfunctioning;
 Requirements related to perpetual controlled substance inventories;
 Security requirements for remote dispensing pharmacies that include methods for
supervising pharmacists to determine who has accessed the pharmacy;
 Standards by which a supervising pharmacist may be approved to oversee more than
one remote dispensing pharmacy simultaneously;
 Requirements for a remote dispensing pharmacy’s responsible person;
 Any other standards or procedures the Board considers necessary to implement the
bill’s provisions on remote dispensing pharmacies.
Telehealth
Regarding existing law that generally authorizes health care professionals to provide
telehealth services, the bill makes adjustments to account for the authority being granted to
pharmacists to practice through remote dispensing pharmacies.13 Currently, a pharmacist may
use telehealth to perform an action involved in dispensing a prescription drug only if the action
is authorized through Board rules. The bill specifies that a pharmacist’s telehealth authority also
applies to drug dispensing actions performed through remote dispensing pharmacies.14
Mailing drugs to patients
The bill prohibits health plan issuers, pharmacy benefit managers, and other
administrators from prohibiting a pharmacy from mailing or delivering drugs to patients as an
ancillary service.15
Pharmacist administration of injectable drugs
The bill adds drugs to existing law that authorizes pharmacists to administer by injection
certain drugs prescribed by a physician. The additional drugs are (1) HIV treatment drugs in
long-acting or extended-release forms and (2) any other drugs specified in rules adopted by the
Board.
The bill maintains the pharmacist training, protocol, and other requirements of current
law that apply to pharmacist administration of injectable drugs. Currently authorized injectable
13 R.C. 4743.09, not in the bill.
14 R.C. 4729.285.
15 R.C. 3959.22.
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drugs include addiction treatment and antipsychotic drugs administered in long-acting or
extended-release forms.16
Pharmacy technician trainees
The bill authorizes the Board to register as a pharmacy technician trainee an applicant
who is age 17 and possesses a high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalence.
Current law provides a pathway for a 17-year-old to be registered, but only if the individual is
enrolled in certain career-technical school programs that are approved by the Board. By
permitting the Board to accept the completion of high school education, the bill creates an
additional pathway for a 17-year-old to be registered as a pharmacy technician trainee.17
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 03-23-23
Reported, S. Health 05-08-24
Passed Senate (31-0) 05-22-24
ANSB0095PS-135/ar
16 R.C. 4729.45.
17 R.C. 4729.921(B).
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Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 4729.285
As Reported By Senate Committee: 4729.285, 4729.45, 4729.921
As Passed By Senate: 4729.285, 4729.45, 4729.921