Medication Error Reporting Program Required by Business and Professions Code Section 4113.1
Business and Professions Code (BPC) section 4113.1 establishes requirements for a community pharmacy to report medication errors to an entity approved by the Board. The statute requiring medication error reporting can be viewed here: BPC section 4113.1. In September 2024, the Board approved the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), an ECRI Company, as the entity to receive and review medication error reports under BPC section 4113.1.
Pursuant to BPC section 4113.1, “community pharmacy” includes any pharmacy that dispenses medication to an outpatient, including both resident (PHY and PHE) and nonresident (NRP) pharmacies, but does not include facilities of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Additionally, outpatient hospital pharmacies are not required to report a medication error under BPC section 4113.1 if the error meets the requirements of an adverse event that has been reported to the State Department of Public Health pursuant to section 1279.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
A community pharmacy shall submit the report no later than 14 days following the date of discovery of the error. The community pharmacy shall maintain records demonstrating compliance with this requirement for three years and shall make these records immediately available at the request of a Board of Pharmacy inspector.