A pharmacist or physician licensed under chapter 36-4 who participates in a drug utilization review program is not individually or jointly subject to, and is immune from, claim, suit, liability, damages, or any other recourse, civil or criminal, arising from any act or proceeding, decision, or determination undertaken, performed, or reached in good faith and without malice when acting individually or jointly in carrying out the responsibilities, authority, duties, powers, and privileges of the program conferred upon them under any provisions of law or rule, good faith being presumed until proven otherwise, with malice required to be shown by the complainant. For the purposes of this section, a "drug utilization review program" is a program operated solely or partially as a professional standards review organization whose purpose is to:

1. (1) Educate pharmacists and practitioners on:

   1. (a) Severe adverse reactions to drugs;
   2. (b) Therapeutic appropriateness;
   3. (c) Overutilization;
   4. (d) Underutilization;
   5. (e) Appropriate use of generic products;
   6. (f) Therapeutic duplication;
   7. (g) Drug-disease contraindications;
   8. (h) Drug-drug interactions;
   9. (i) Incorrect drug dosage or duration of drug treatment;
   10. (j) Drug-allergy interactions; and
   11. (k) Clinical abuse or misuse; and
2. (2) Identify and reduce the frequency of patterns of potential and actual fraud, abuse, gross overuse, inappropriate care, or medically unnecessary care associated with specific drugs or groups of drugs among practitioners, pharmacists, and patients.

Source: SL 1992, ch 270 , § 2; SL 2025, ch 154 , § 30.