Section 1 Definitions
Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:—
“Department”, the department of public health.
“Health care practitioner”, a person who prescribes prescription drugs for any person and is licensed to provide health care, or a partnership or corporation comprised of such persons, or an officer, employee, agent or contractor of such person acting in the course and scope of his employment, agency or contract related to or in support of the provision of health care to individuals.
“Marketing code of conduct” practices and standards that govern the marketing and sale of prescription drugs or medical devices by a pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing company to health care practitioners.
“Medical device”, an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent or other similar or related article, including any component, part or accessory, which is: (1) recognized in the official National Formulary or the United States Pharmacopeia or any supplement thereto; (2) intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, in persons or animals; or (3) intended to affect the structure or function of the body of a person or animal, and which does not achieve its primary intended purposes through chemical action within or on such body and which is not dependent upon being metabolized for the achievement of its primary intended purposes.
“Person”, a business, individual, corporation, union, association, firm, partnership, committee or other organization.
“Pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer agent”, a pharmaceutical or medical device marketer or any other person who for compensation or reward does any act to promote, oppose or influence the prescribing of a particular prescription drug, medical device, or category of prescription drugs or medical devices; provided, however, that “pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer agent” shall not include a licensed pharmacist, licensed physician or any other licensed health care practitioner with authority to prescribe prescription drugs who is acting within the ordinary scope of the practice for which he is licensed.
“Pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing company”, any entity that participates in a commonwealth health care program and which is engaged in the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion or processing of prescription drugs or medical devices, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, or any entity engaged in the packaging, repackaging, labeling, relabeling or distribution of prescription drugs; provided, however, that “pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing company” shall not include a wholesale drug distributor licensed under section 36A of chapter 112 or a retail pharmacist registered under section 37 of said chapter 112.
“Pharmaceutical or medical device marketer”, a person who, while employed by or under contract with a pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing company that participates in a commonwealth health care program, engages in detailing, promotional activities or other marketing of prescription drugs or medical devices in the commonwealth to any physician, hospital, nursing home, pharmacist, health benefits plan administrator, other health care practitioner or person authorized to prescribe, dispense or purchase prescription drugs; provided, however, that the “pharmaceutical or medical device marketer” shall not include a wholesale drug distributor licensed under section 36A of chapter 112, a representative of such a distributor who promotes or otherwise markets the services of the wholesale drug distributor in connection with a prescription drug or a retail pharmacist registered under section 37 of said chapter 112 if such person is not engaging in such practices under contract with a manufacturing company.
“Physician”, a person licensed to practice medicine by the board of registration in medicine under section 2 of chapter 112 who prescribes prescription drugs, or the physician’s employees or agents.
“Prescription drugs”, drugs upon which the manufacturer or distributor has placed or is required by federal law and regulations to place the following or a comparable warning: “Caution federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription”.