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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 18. Professional And Occupational Licensing
Agency 110. Board of Pharmacy
Chapter 20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Pharmacy
11/23/2024

18VAC110-20-180. Security system.

A. A device for the detection of breaking shall be installed in each prescription department of each pharmacy. The installation and the device shall be based on accepted alarm industry standards and shall be subject to the following conditions:

1. The device shall be a sound, microwave, photoelectric, ultrasonic, or any other generally accepted and suitable device.

2. The device shall have at least one hard-wired communication method, be monitored in accordance with accepted industry standards, maintained in operating order, have an auxiliary source of power, and be capable of sending an alarm signal to the monitoring entity when breached if the communication line is not operational.

3. The device shall fully protect the prescription department and shall be capable of detecting breaking by any means when activated.

4. Access to the alarm system for the prescription department area of the pharmacy shall be restricted to the pharmacists working at the pharmacy, except for access by other persons in accordance with 18VAC110-20-190 B 2, and the system shall be activated whenever the prescription department is closed for business.

5. The alarm system shall include a feature by which any breach in the alarm shall be communicated by the monitoring entity to the PIC or a pharmacist working at the pharmacy.

B. Exceptions to provisions in this section:

1. Alarm systems approved prior to November 4, 1993, will be deemed to meet the requirements of subdivisions A 1, A 2, and A 3 of this section, provided that no structural changes are made in the prescription department, that no changes are made in the security system, that the prescription department is not closed while the rest of the business remains open, and that a breaking and loss of drugs does not occur. If a breaking with a loss of drugs occurs, the pharmacy shall upgrade the alarm to meet the current standards and shall file an application with the board in accordance with 18VAC110-20-140 A within 14 days of the breaking.

2. If the prescription department was located in a business with extended hours prior to November 4, 1993, and had met the special security requirements by having a floor to ceiling enclosure, a separately activated alarm system shall not be required.

3. This section shall not apply to pharmacies that are open and staffed by pharmacists 24 hours a day. If the pharmacy changes its hours or if it must be closed for any reason, the PIC or owner must immediately notify the board, file an application in accordance with 18VAC110-20-140 A, and have installed prior to closing a security system that meets the requirements of subdivisions A 1 through A 4 of this section.

Statutory Authority

§§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3307 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR530-01-1 § 3.8, eff. October 25, 1989; amended, Virginia Register Volume 9, Issue 4, eff. December 16, 1992; Volume 10, Issue 1, eff. November 4, 1993; Volume 11, Issue 21, eff. August 9, 1995; Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. August 25, 2004; Volume 25, Issue 24, eff. September 2, 2009; Volume 36, Issue 6, eff. December 11, 2019.

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