Section 6827. Mandatory continuing education

1.  (a)  Each  licensed
  pharmacist required under article one hundred thirty of this chapter  to
  register  triennially with the department to practice in the state shall
  comply  with  provisions   of   the   mandatory   continuing   education
  requirements prescribed in subdivision two of this section except as set
  forth  in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Pharmacists who do
  not satisfy the mandatory continuing education  requirements  shall  not
  practice  until  they  have  met  such  requirements, and they have been
  issued a registration certificate, except that a pharmacist may practice
  without  having  met  such  requirements  if  he  or  she  is  issued  a
  conditional  registration  certificate  pursuant to subdivision three of
  this section.
    (b) In accord with the intent  of  this  section,  adjustment  to  the
  mandatory  continuing  education  requirement  may  be  granted  by  the
  department for reasons of health certified by an appropriate health care
  professional, for extended active duty with  the  armed  forces  of  the
  United  States,  or  for  other  good cause acceptable to the department
  which may prevent compliance.
    (c) A licensed pharmacist not engaged in practice as determined by the
  department, shall be exempt  from  the  mandatory  continuing  education
  requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring
  such status. Any licensee who returns to the practice of pharmacy during
  the  triennial  registration period shall notify the department prior to
  reentering the  profession  and  shall  meet  such  mandatory  education
  requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.
    2.   During  each  triennial  registration  period  an  applicant  for
  registration shall complete a minimum of forty-five hours of  acceptable
  formal  continuing  education,  as specified in subdivision four of this
  section, provided that no more than twenty-two hours of such  continuing
  education  shall  consist  of  self-study  courses. Any pharmacist whose
  first registration date following the effective  date  of  this  section
  occurs  less  than three years from such effective date, but on or after
  January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete  continuing
  education  hours  on a prorated basis at the rate of one and one-quarter
  hours per month for the period beginning January first, nineteen hundred
  ninety-seven up to the first registration date  thereafter.  A  licensee
  who  has  not  satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements
  shall  not  be  issued  a  triennial  registration  certificate  by  the
  department  and  shall  not  practice  unless  and  until  a conditional
  registration certificate is issued as provided for in subdivision  three
  of  this  section. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium
  may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.
    3.  The  department,  in  its  discretion,  may  issue  a  conditional
  registration  to  a  licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
  requirements established in subdivision two  of  this  section  but  who
  agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education
  which  the  department  may  require.  The  fee  for  such a conditional
  registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee  for  the
  triennial  registration.  The  duration of such conditional registration
  shall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any
  licensee who is notified of the denial of registration  for  failure  to
  submit  evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing
  education and who practices pharmacy without such registration,  may  be
  subject  to  disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant  to  section sixty-five
  hundred ten of this chapter.
    4. As used in subdivision two  of  this  section,  "acceptable  formal
  continuing  education"  shall  mean  formal  courses  of  learning which
  contribute to professional practice  in  pharmacy  and  which  meet  the

  standards  prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. The department
  may, in its discretion and as needed to contribute  to  the  health  and
  welfare  of  the  public, require the completion of continuing education
  courses  in  specific  subjects.  To  fulfill  this mandatory continuing
  education requirement, courses must be taken from a sponsor approved  by
  the department, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.
    5.  Pharmacists shall maintain adequate documentation of completion of
  acceptable  formal  continuing  education   and   shall   provide   such
  documentation  at the request of the department. Failure to provide such
  documentation upon the request of the department  shall  be  an  act  of
  misconduct  subject  to  disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant  to section
  sixty-five hundred ten of this chapter.
    6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars,
  shall  be  payable  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  each  triennial
  registration  period,  and  shall  be  paid in addition to the triennial
  registration fee required by section sixty-eight hundred  five  of  this
  article.