1. (a) The permit holder and the pharmacist-in-charge are jointly responsible for the security and accountability of all controlled drugs stored in and/or ordered by a pharmacy.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The permit holder shall provide diversion prevention and detection tools appropriate for the particular pharmacy setting and the pharmacist-in-charge shall implement and monitor the diversion control and detection tools provided by the permit holder.

   2. (2) Appropriate tools may include:

      1. (A) Perpetual inventory;
      2. (B) Automatic or limited-access online ordering;
      3. (C) Reports comparing drugs ordered versus drugs dispensed and drugs manually ordered or adjusted; and
      4. (D) Individual passwords for each employee to enter the pharmacy or access the computer.

3. (c)

   1. (1) The pharmacist-in-charge and the permit holder shall also develop policies and procedures to prevent and detect diversion and the pharmacist-in-charge shall ensure that pharmacy staff is trained to follow the policies and procedures.

   2. (2) Appropriate policies and procedures may include:

      1. (A) Limiting access by nonpharmacists to controlled drug shipments;
      2. (B) Performing quarterly audits on high-risk drugs;
      3. (C) Confirming pill count before opening a new bottle of high-risk drugs;
      4. (D) Tracking pill count on stock bottles; and
      5. (E) Requiring staff to use the tools provided by the permit holder.
4. (d) Pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians shall implement the tools provided by the permit holder and follow the pharmacy’s policies and procedures as instructed by the pharmacist-in-charge.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “(Adopted 11/30/2010)"