(A) A prescription, to be effective, must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an individual prescriber acting in the usual course of his/her professional practice. The responsibility for the proper prescribing is upon the prescriber, but a corresponding responsibility rests with the pharmacist who dispenses the prescription. An order purporting to be a prescription issued not in the usual course of professional treatment or in legitimate and authorized research is not a prescription and the person knowingly dispensing such a purported prescription, as well as the person issuing it, shall be subject to the penalties provided for violations of the provisions of law.

(B) All prescriptions shall be dated as of and signed on the day when issued, and shall bear the full name and address of the patient.

(C) All written prescriptions issued by a prescriber shall bear the full name and address of the prescriber and shall be manually signed by the prescriber in the same manner as he/she would sign a check or legal document.

(D) An original signed prescription (for other than a schedule II controlled substance except as noted in paragraph (N) of this rule and rules 4729-17-09 and 4729-19-02 of the Administrative Code) may be transmitted as an "other means of communication" to a pharmacy by the use of a facsimile machine only by a prescriber or the prescriber's agent. Such a facsimile shall only be valid as a prescription if a system is in place that will allow the pharmacist to maintain the facsimile as a part of the prescription record including the positive identification of the prescriber and his/her agent as well as positive identification of the origin of the facsimile. The pharmacist must record the prescription in writing pursuant to section 4729.37 of the Revised Code or store the facsimile copy in such a manner that will allow retention of the prescription record for three years from the date of the last transaction. The original signed prescription from which the facsimile is produced shall not be issued to the patient. The original signed prescription must remain with the patient's records at the prescriber's office or the institutional facility where it was issued. If a board-approved electronic prescription transmission system is used to fax the prescription, the computer data must be retained for a period of three years at the prescriber's office. A facsimile of a prescription received by a pharmacy in any manner other than transmission directly from the prescriber or the prescriber's agent shall not be considered a valid prescription, except as a copy of a prescription pursuant to rule 4729-5-24 of the Administrative Code.

(E) All prescriptions shall specify the number of times or the period of time for which the prescription may be refilled. A prescription marked "Refill P.R.N." or some similar designation is not considered a valid refill authorization.

(F) Prescriptions for dangerous drugs may not be dispensed for the first time beyond six months from the date of issuance by a prescriber.

(G) Prescriptions for dangerous drugs and controlled substances in schedule V may not be authorized for refill beyond one year from the date of issuance. Prescriptions for controlled substances in schedules III and IV shall be authorized for refill only as permitted by section 3719.05 of the Revised Code. Prescriptions for controlled substances in schedule II may not be refilled.

(H) A prescription may be refilled only as expressly authorized by the prescriber, either in writing or orally. If no such authorization is given, the prescription may not be refilled except in accordance with section 4729.281 of the Revised Code.

(I) The drug(s) in a compounded prescription or drug product shall be identified by the product trade name or generic name.

(J) No prescription shall be coded in such a manner that it cannot be dispensed by any pharmacy of the patient's choice. A "coded prescription" is one which bears letters, numbers, words or symbols, or any other device used in lieu of the name, quantity, strength and directions for its use, other than those normal letters, numbers, words, symbols, or other media recognized by the profession of pharmacy as a means of conveying information by prescription. No symbol, word, or any other device shall be used in lieu of the name of said preparation.

(K) The agent of a prescriber who transfers a facsimile of an original prescription or transmits an oral prescription or authorization of a refill for a dangerous drug must identify themselves by full name and the pharmacist shall make a record of the prescriber's agent on the original prescription and, if used, on the alternate system of recordkeeping. A pharmacist who modifies a patient's drug therapy, pursuant to a consult agreement, must personally transmit the facsimile or oral order to another pharmacist, if the drug is not dispensed by the pharmacist who modified the drug order.

(L) When forms are used that create multiple copies of a prescription issued to a patient by a prescriber, the original prescription which also bears the actual signature of the prescriber must be issued to the patient for dispensing by a pharmacist.

(M) A pharmacist may accept, without further verification of the prescriber's identity required, a prescription that has been transmitted by means of a board-approved automated paperless system. The system shall require positive identification of the prescriber as defined in rule 4729-5-01 of the Administrative Code as well as the full name of any authorized agent of the prescriber who transmits the prescription.

(N) A schedule II controlled substance prescription for a narcotic substance issued for a patient enrolled in a hospice may be transmitted by the prescriber or the prescriber's agent to the pharmacy by facsimile. The original prescription must indicate that the patient is a hospice patient. The facsimile transmission must meet all of the requirements in paragraph (D) of this rule for such a prescription.

(O) When a pharmacist, acting as an agent of the physician, modifies a patient's drug therapy pursuant to a consult agreement, the pharmacist must comply with this rule in the same manner as a prescriber and include the name of the physician who originally prescribed the drug and sign the pharmacist's full name.

(P) A prescription orally transmitted by telephone to a pharmacy by a prescriber or the prescriber's agent may be placed on a recording device at the pharmacy if the pharmacist is unavailable. The prescriber or prescriber's agent must provide his/her complete name. The pharmacist must remove the prescription from the recorder and reduce it to writing. The pharmacist is responsible for assuring the validity of the prescription removed from the recorder.