SENATE, No. 2116

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JUNE 5, 1997

By Senator EWING

An Act concerning the disposition of prescription medications in nursing homes and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. A nursing home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall dispose of patient prescription medications no sooner than one year after the date of issuance of the prescription or at the manufacturer's expiration date, whichever occurs first.

    2. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this act.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires nursing homes to dispose of patient prescription medications no sooner than one year after the date of issuance of the prescription or at the manufacturer's expiration date, whichever occurs first. The Department of Health and Senior Services' regulations require the disposal of patient prescription medications to follow United States Pharmacopoeia (U.S.P.) guidelines, which call for disposal of the patient prescription medications after six months, even if the manufacturer's expiration date occurs later. This bill will help reduce costs by allowing nursing homes to retain patient prescription medications longer.

Requires nursing homes to dispose of prescription medications by specified time period.