A facility shall store all medications in a well illuminated, locked storage area that is well-ventilated, maintained at a temperature appropriate for medication storage, and inaccessible to patients and visitors at all times. Medications suitable for storage at room temperature must be maintained between fifty-nine and eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit or fifteen and thirty degrees centigrade. Medications that require refrigeration must be maintained between thirty-six and forty-six degrees Fahrenheit or two and eight degrees centigrade. Poisons and medications prescribed for external use must be stored separately from medications prescribed for internal use, locked, and made inaccessible to patients and visitors.

Locked storage does not apply to drugs and medications needed for emergency use in intensive care, emergency room, neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care, or coronary care units. Medications utilized in these care units must be in a storage area that is readily available to the professional staff but inaccessible to patients or visitors.

The medication of each patient for whom medications are facility-administered must be stored in the containers in which the medication was originally received. Special modification of this requirement may be made if single dose packaging is used. Each prescription drug container, including manufacturer's complimentary samples, must be labeled with the patient's name; physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner’s name; medication name and strength; directions for use; and prescription date.

A container with a medication that will not be used within thirty days of issue or with contents that expire in less than thirty days of issue must bear an expiration date. If a single dose system is used, the drug name and strength, expiration date, and a control number must be on the unit dose packet.

A co-located hospital and assisted living center may procure and stock, including in bulk form, non-legend medications and administer them in accordance with written policies and procedures that provide for oversight by qualified personnel.

If a stock bottle system is used in a facility with a licensed pharmacy, the container must be labeled with the drug name and strength, expiration date, and a control number. Any container with a worn, illegible, or missing label must be destroyed pursuant to § 44:73:08:06. A licensed pharmacist is responsible for the labeling, relabeling, or altering of labels on medication containers.

Source: 42 SDR 51, effective October 13, 2015 ; 50 SDR 62, effective November 27, 2023 .

General Authority: SDCL 34-12-13 (9).

Law Implemented: SDCL 34-12-13 .

Prior versions effective: 2015-10-13.