NAC449.74531. Pharmaceutical services.

     1. A facility for skilled nursing shall provide such pharmaceutical services, including, without limitation, acquiring, receiving, dispensing and administering drugs and biologicals, as are required to meet the needs of the patients in the facility. The facility shall provide such drugs and biologicals as are needed or obtain them from qualified outside sources pursuant to NAC 449.74521.

     2. A facility for skilled nursing shall employ or otherwise obtain the services of a registered pharmacist. The registered pharmacist shall:

     (a) Provide consultations on all matters relating to the pharmaceutical services provided by the facility;

     (b) Establish a system of records for the receipt and disposition of all controlled substances in the facility in sufficient detail to ensure an accurate reconciliation; and

     (c) Ensure that those records are in order and that an account of all controlled substances in the facility is maintained and periodically reconciled.

     3. The regimen of drugs for each patient in the facility must be reviewed at least once each month by a registered pharmacist. The pharmacist shall report any irregularities he or she discovers to the patient’s attending physician and the chief administrative nurse of the facility. The physician and chief administrative nurse shall take such actions as they deem necessary in response to the report.

     4. Drugs and biologicals used by a facility must be:

     (a) Labeled in accordance with state and federal law and accepted professional standards. Each label must include the appropriate accessory and cautionary instructions and the expiration date, if applicable.

     (b) Stored in accordance with state and federal law in locked compartments with proper controls for the temperature. Only authorized personnel may have access to the keys to unlock the compartments. Substances listed as schedule II controlled substances pursuant to chapter 453 of NRS and other drugs that have the potential for abuse must be stored separately in a locked compartment that is immovable, unless the facility uses a system to distribute the substances or drugs in single-unit packages, the quantity stored is minimal and a dosage that is missing can be readily detected.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Health by R051-99, eff. 9-27-99)