Wisconsin: Summary of Important Pharmacy-Related Rules, Regulations, Statutes, and Practices That Apply to Practice of Pharmacy

I. PHARMACY EXAMINING BOARD

The Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board (“Board”) is the body responsible for regulating the practice of pharmacy. The Board is authorized to adopt and enforce rules to protect the public related to the practice of pharmacy.¹

1. Composition The Board comprises 7 members.

   1. Five of the seven members must be pharmacists licensed in the state of Wisconsin.

   2. Two members shall be public nonpharmacist members who have no financial interest in the practice of pharmacy.²

   3. All appointments to the Board are nominated by the governor and approved by the state senate.

2. Term

   1. Members of the Board serve staggered four-year terms.

   2. Terms expire on July 1 and no member may serve more than 2 consecutive terms.

   3. No member of an examining board may be an officer, director, or employee of a private organization which promotes or furthers the profession or occupation regulated by that Board.

II. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE AS A PHARMACIST

1. Examination:^3,4 Applicants for licensure as a pharmacist must pass the semiannual pharmacist licensure examination.

   1. Examinations are conducted in English and may be written, oral, or practical.

   2. The MPJE shall determine an applicant’s competence of Wisconsin and federal laws and regulations.

   3. NAPLEX shall determine an applicant’s competence in the basic principles and professional areas within the practice of pharmacy.

   4. An applicant who fails an examination may request a review from the Board within 45 days.

2. Eligibility.⁵ Applicants for licensure as a pharmacist are eligible if the applicant:

   1. Has graduated from a school or college of pharmacy approved by the Board or has obtained certification from the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee

   2. Has successfully completed an internship in the practice of pharmacy

   3. Pays the required application fee 30 days before exam

   4. Passed the semiannual pharmacist licensure examination

3. Licensure of pharmacists from other states⁶

   1. Licensees from another state qualify for licensure in Wisconsin if requirements met in their state are comparable to those in Wisconsin.

   2. The Board may require an applicant under this section to pass an equivalency examination administered by the Board.

   3. Applicants licensed and actively practicing pharmacy in another state may only be required to pass an examination on Wisconsin and Federal laws, rules, and regulations.

   4. Applicant may not be licensed if license from another state has been surrendered, limited, suspended, or revoked.

4. Exemptions from licensure⁷

   1. Provision of services by a licensed health care provider

   2. Sale of contraceptive articles by a registered nurse

   3. Sale of any nonprescription drug product or pesticide, in an original unbroken package

   4. Delivery of samples by a manufacturer or its agent

   5. Third year students whose practice of pharmacy is limited under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist

   6. Applicants for licensure during the period before which the Board takes final action on the application