Texas board pushes proposed rules after mixed results from drone prescription pilots

The Texas State Board of Pharmacy on Wednesday voted to propose permanent rules allowing prescription delivery by drone after hearing pilots and public comment from Amazon, health systems and drone vendors.

Board members said the task force reviewing the pilot recommended language that would allow delivery by contract carriers and unmanned aircraft systems but would exclude controlled substances, sterile compounded preparations and drugs requiring storage below a pool temperature. The board voted to use that task force language as the basis for rulemaking.

The task force report—presented by board staff—proposes adding definitions for “contract carrier” and “common carrier,” requiring pharmacies to maintain custody and chain‑of‑custody records for deliveries, to use tamper‑evident packaging, to confirm a patient or agent is present before delivery, and to bar drone delivery of specific categories of drugs. The report also would place responsibility for delivery…