Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4170 · Article 12. Prescriber Dispensing
Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4170
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) A prescriber shall not dispense drugs or dangerous devices to patients in the prescriber’s office or place of practice unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are dispensed to the prescriber’s own patient, and the drugs or dangerous devices are not furnished by a nurse or physician attendant.
(2) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are necessary in the treatment of the condition for which the prescriber is attending the patient.
(3) The prescriber does not keep a pharmacy, open shop, or drugstore, advertised or otherwise, for the retailing of dangerous drugs, dangerous devices, or poisons.
(4) The prescriber fulfills all of the labeling requirements imposed upon pharmacists by Section 4076, all of the recordkeeping requirements of this chapter, and all of the packaging requirements of good pharmaceutical practice, including the use of childproof containers.
(5) The prescriber does not use a dispensing device unless the prescriber personally owns the device and the contents of the device, and personally dispenses the dangerous drugs or dangerous devices to the patient packaged, labeled, and recorded in accordance with paragraph (4).
(6) The prescriber, before dispensing, offers to give a written prescription to the patient that the patient may elect to have filled by the prescriber or by any pharmacy.
(7) The prescriber provides the patient with written disclosure that the patient has a choice between obtaining the prescription from the dispensing prescriber or obtaining the prescription at a pharmacy of the patient’s choice.
(b) A certified nurse-midwife who functions pursuant to a mutually agreed-upon policy or protocol described in Section 2746.5, a nurse practitioner who functions pursuant to a standardized procedure described in Section 2836.1, or protocol, a physician assistant who functions pursuant to Section 3502.1, or a naturopathic doctor who functions pursuant to Section 3640.5, may hand to a patient of the supervising physician and surgeon a properly labeled prescription drug prepackaged by a physician and surgeon, a manufacturer as defined in this chapter, or a pharmacist.
(c) The Medical Board of California, the California State Board of Optometry, the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine, the Dental Board of California, the Podiatric Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Veterinary Medical Board, and the Physician Assistant Board shall have authority with the California State Board of Pharmacy to ensure compliance with this section, and those boards are specifically charged with the enforcement of this chapter with respect to their respective licensees.
(d) “Prescriber,” as used in this section, means a person who holds a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate, a license to practice optometry, a license to practice naturopathic medicine, a license to practice dentistry, a license to practice veterinary medicine, a certificate to practice podiatry, a certificate to practice as a nurse practitioner practicing pursuant to Section 2837.103 or 2837.104, or a certificate to practice as a nurse-midwife, and who is duly registered by the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the California State Board of Optometry, the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine, the Dental Board of California, the Veterinary Medical Board, the Podiatric Medical Board of California, or the Board of Registered Nursing.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 497, Sec. 4. (SB 667) Effective January 1, 2024.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=4170.
- Text hash
- sha256 6462bbe1011cf9a5b0c9baa75d823510b96a4bfc9652a5721a39e37a8da71bf1
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- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2746.5Printed as Section 2746.5
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2836.1Printed as Section 2836.1
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2837.103Printed as Section 2837.103 or 2837.104
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2837.104Printed as Section 2837.103 or 2837.104
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 3502.1Printed as Section 3502.1
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 3640.5Printed as Section 3640.5
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4076Printed as Section 4076
Cited by 8 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4170. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2069Printed as Section 4170
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2746.51Printed as Section 4170
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 3502.1Printed as Section 4170
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4171Printed as Section 4170
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4172Printed as Section 4170
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4175Printed as Section 4170
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4190Printed as Sections 2241.5, 2242, and 4170
Health and Safety Code
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