4600.1
Effective Jan 1, 2016Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 525, Sec. 2. (AB 1124) Effective January 1, 2016.
- (a) Subject to subdivision (b), any person or entity that dispenses medicines and medical supplies, as required by Section 4600, shall dispense the generic drug equivalent.
(b) A person or entity is not required to dispense a generic drug equivalent under either of the following circumstances:
- (1) When a generic drug equivalent is unavailable.
- (2) When the prescribing physician specifically provides in writing that a nongeneric drug must be dispensed.
- (c) For purposes of this section, “dispense” has the same meaning as the definition contained in Section 4024 of the Business and Professions Code.
- (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a prescribing physician, who is also the dispensing physician, from dispensing a generic drug equivalent.
- (e) This section shall only apply to medicines dispensed prior to the operative date of the drug formulary adopted pursuant to Section 5307.27.