A pharmacist must keep med profiles on all patients with Rx filled at the pharmacy, except when the pharmacist believes the patient will not return. For how long must each profile be kept from the date the last Rx was filled?

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Maintaining patient med profiles serves to document the patient’s prescription history so the pharmacist can safely review therapy and catch potential issues. California law requires that a medication profile be created for every patient with an Rx filled at the pharmacy and kept for a specific period. The clock starts on the date of the last Rx filled, and the profile must be retained for one year. This one-year window provides enough history to check for interactions, duplications, or problems and to support any DUR decisions, while balancing privacy and storage concerns. Even if you believe the patient will not return, the minimum retention is still one year from the last fill; longer retention isn’t required by this rule. The other durations do not meet the mandated minimum.