GA MPJE cheat sheet

Georgia Board of Pharmacy regulates pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians under Title 26, Chapter 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

A pharmacist license requires graduation from an ACPE-accredited college of pharmacy, passage of NAPLEX and MPJE, and a specified number of practical experience hours approved by the Board.

Pharmacy interns must register with the Board before accruing internship hours; hours earned while unregistered do not count toward licensure.

Pharmacy technicians must be registered with the Board; Georgia uses a registration (not certification) model, and registration is renewable on the Board's cycle.

A pharmacist may delegate to a registered technician only tasks that do not require professional judgment; final verification of a dispensed prescription remains the pharmacist's responsibility.

Georgia authorizes a pharmacist to administer certain vaccines and injectable medications to patients of specified ages under a protocol or vaccine protocol agreement with a physician.

Continuous quality improvement program participation and error reporting are required of Georgia pharmacies as a condition of licensure.

The Board may deny, suspend, revoke, or place on probation a license for grounds enumerated in statute, including fraud, gross malpractice, and violation of Board rules.

Board rules are published in the Georgia Composite Medical Board/Board of Pharmacy chapters of the Georgia Rules and Regulations; the Board adopts rules to implement and enforce the Practice Act.

Pharmacies must maintain a current license and display it; a separate license is required for each location where drugs are dispensed.

The pharmacist-in-charge (PIC) is responsible for compliance with drug laws and Board rules at that pharmacy, including recordkeeping, security, and personnel supervision.

Board rules specify minimum equipment and reference-library requirements for a pharmacy, including current drug references and appropriate storage and refrigeration capacity.

A change of ownership, location, or PIC generally requires notification to or approval by the Board within a specified time frame.

The Board conducts inspections and may take disciplinary action based on inspection findings; uncorrected deficiencies can support license suspension or revocation.

Board rules govern prescription transfer between pharmacies, requiring direct communication between licensed pharmacists and documentation of the transfer.

Advertisements and representations of pharmacy services must not be false or misleading; price advertising is permitted but must be accurate and not deceptive.

The federal Controlled Substances Act places drugs in Schedules I–V based on abuse potential and accepted medical use; Schedule I has no accepted medical use.

A DEA registration is required for each principal place of business where controlled substances are manufactured, distributed, or dispensed; registration is site-specific.

Schedule II prescriptions require a written, electronic, or emergency oral order; emergency oral Schedule II orders must be followed by a written prescription within 7 days.

Federal law limits Schedule III–V refills to a maximum of 5 refills within 6 months of the date of issue.

Schedule II prescriptions may not be refilled; a practitioner must issue a new prescription for additional dispensing.

Georgia schedules controlled substances by statute and rule; Georgia Schedule I and II generally mirror federal scheduling, with state additions where applicable.

Georgia requires a Georgia-licensed practitioner to hold appropriate authority to prescribe controlled substances; out-of-state practitioners must meet Georgia registration requirements to prescribe for Georgia patients.

Theft or significant loss of controlled substances must be reported to DEA and to the Georgia Board of Pharmacy, and a DEA Form 106 is used for theft/loss reporting.

A prescription must include the patient's name and address, drug name, strength, dosage form, quantity, directions for use, prescriber's name and address, and date of issue.

A prescription for a controlled substance must include the prescriber's DEA number; the pharmacist must verify the prescriber's authority when there is a question.

The dispensed label must include the pharmacy name and address, prescription number, date, patient name, directions, prescriber name, and drug name/strength/quantity.

Georgia requires a pharmacist to counsel the patient or caregiver on new prescriptions unless the patient declines; the offer and refusal should be documented per policy.

Substitution of a therapeutically equivalent generic is permitted unless the prescriber indicates 'dispense as written' or the patient refuses substitution; the substitution must be recorded.

Out-of-state prescriptions may be filled if the prescriber is licensed in their state and the prescription meets Georgia content requirements; controlled substance prescriptions must satisfy applicable federal and state rules.

Prescriptions may be transferred between pharmacies; controlled substance transfers are limited by federal rules and require pharmacist-to-pharmacist communication and documentation.

Expired drugs must be removed from dispensing stock; outdated or adulterated drugs may not be dispensed, and returns must follow reverse-distributor requirements.

Georgia pharmacist licenses renew on the Board's biennial cycle; continuing education hours must be completed and documented before renewal.

Georgia requires pharmacists to complete continuing education in specified topic areas, including pharmacy law and, where mandated, opioid/controlled substance topics.

Technician registration renewal requires completion of Board-specified continuing education and timely submission of the renewal application and fee.

Failure to renew by the expiration date may result in a lapsed license; practicing on a lapsed license is a violation subject to discipline.

Grounds for discipline include obtaining a license by fraud, practicing beyond scope, impairment, and failure to comply with Board orders.

The Board may impose sanctions including reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, and civil penalties; consent orders are commonly used to resolve cases.

A pharmacist must report certain arrests, convictions, and disciplinary actions to the Board within the time specified by Board rule.

Disciplinary actions may be reported to national databases (e.g., NPDB) and are public records maintained by the Board.

Controlled substance records must be maintained for at least 2 years under federal law; Georgia may require longer retention, so the longer period controls.

A biennial inventory of controlled substances is required at registration and every 2 years thereafter, with newly scheduled drugs added and records kept for 2 years.

Schedule II records must be kept separate from Schedule III–V records or be readily retrievable; invoices and dispensing records must be maintained.

Perpetual inventory or equivalent accountability is required for Schedule II drugs in many settings; discrepancies must be investigated and documented.

Prescription records must be readily retrievable and available for inspection by the Board, DEA, and authorized agents during business hours.

Pharmacies must maintain records of drug acquisitions and dispositions sufficient to account for all controlled substances received and dispensed.

Security requirements include locked storage for controlled substances and limited access; the PIC is accountable for security compliance.

Records may be maintained electronically if the system provides ready retrieval and produces a hard copy upon request by an authorized inspector.

The FDA regulates drug approval, labeling, and marketing; a drug must be approved or legally compounded before it may be distributed in interstate commerce.

Prescription drugs may be dispensed only on a valid prescription; prescription legend drugs may not be dispensed without one except as authorized by law.

Drug samples may be distributed only by licensed practitioners and may not be sold; pharmacies generally may not dispense samples.

Wholesale distribution requires licensure; Georgia requires wholesale distributors to be licensed by the Board and to maintain transaction records.

Manufacturers and distributors must report and handle recalls; pharmacies must remove recalled products from stock and document the action.

Direct-to-consumer advertising must be truthful, balanced, and disclose major risks; promotional claims must not be misleading.

Repackaging and compounding are regulated activities; compounded drugs must comply with applicable USP standards and federal/state requirements.

Counterfeit, misbranded, or adulterated drugs may not be distributed; pharmacies must verify the legitimacy of their supply chain.

HIPAA permits disclosure of protected health information for treatment, payment, and operations; other disclosures require patient authorization unless an exception applies.

Pharmacists must offer counseling on new prescriptions and document the offer and any refusal in accordance with pharmacy policy and state requirements.

The pharmacist's duty of care includes verifying the prescription, screening for interactions and allergies, and providing appropriate patient education.

Patient records are confidential; disclosure without authorization may violate HIPAA and Georgia law and may support Board discipline.

The pharmacist must report suspected adverse drug events and medication errors through the pharmacy's continuous quality improvement program.

Professional standards require the pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription that is invalid, forged, or issued outside the prescriber's legitimate scope.

Counseling must be delivered in a manner the patient can understand; auxiliary aids and language assistance may be required for effective communication.

A pharmacist may disclose limited prescription information to a patient's authorized representative or as required by law, but must verify authority before disclosure.