3.2 Unprofessional Conduct, the APhA Code of Ethics & Utah's Conscience Law
Key Takeaways
R156-17b-502(1) makes violating the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists (October 27, 1994) unprofessional conduct in Utah.
Paying or receiving rebates or kickbacks for referrals is unprofessional conduct, but volume price discounts and passing along a manufacturer's rebate are allowed (Utah Code § 58-17b-502(1)(b), (2)).
Failing to report to DOPL an adverse action by another licensing jurisdiction, agency, or court is unprofessional conduct under Utah Code § 58-17b-502(1)(l).
A licensee must notify DOPL within 10 business days of a change in mailing or email address (Utah Code § 58-1-301.7).
Since May 6, 2026, Utah Code § 63G-33-302 lets a pharmacist refuse to provide a health care service that violates the pharmacist's religious beliefs or conscience, with posting and notice duties.
3.2 Unprofessional Conduct, the APhA Code of Ethics & Utah's Conscience Law
Unprofessional conduct is defined in three places. The MPJE expects you to recognize items from each.
1. The DOPL Act (§ 58-1-501(2))
For every Title 58 licensee, unprofessional conduct includes:
- violating any statute, rule, or order regulating the profession, or a generally accepted professional or ethical standard;
- a conviction (or plea held in abeyance) for a crime substantially related to safe or competent practice. An arrest without conviction does not count, and a conviction whose incarceration ended more than five years ago generally does not count, with listed exceptions for violent, sexual, and fraud felonies;
- discipline by another licensing authority for conduct that would be grounds for discipline in Utah;
- using intoxicants, drugs, or narcotics to the extent it impairs, or might reasonably be considered to impair, safe practice (see Section 3.3);
- practicing while physically or mentally unfit, or through gross incompetence, gross negligence, or a pattern of negligence;
- practicing beyond your competency or your license;
- trying to stop patients or customers from complaining to a licensing authority, including through a contract clause;
- abusing or exploiting anyone through conduct connected with the license;
- acting as a supervisor without meeting the qualifications; and
- violating the terms of an order governing your license.
Under § 58-1-501(3), a person subject to these provisions is strictly liable for each violation in a DOPL civil or administrative proceeding unless a statute or rule says otherwise.
2. The Pharmacy Practice Act (§ 58-17b-502(1))
| Item | Unprofessional conduct |
|---|---|
| (a) | Willfully deceiving DOPL, the board, or their agents |
| (b) | Paying or receiving rebates, commissions, bonuses, kickbacks, or split fees with practitioners for referrals |
| (c) | Misbranding or adulterating a drug, or selling or dispensing an outdated, misbranded, or adulterated drug or device |
| (d) | Selling or purchasing samples or "not for resale" packages |
| (e) | Accepting back and redistributing an unused drug after it has left the pharmacy, except as § 58-17b-503 allows |
| (g) | Violating the federal or Utah controlled substances acts or their rules |
| (h) | Letting interns or technicians work beyond their scope, training, or ability |
| (i) | Administering without proper training, without a required physician's order, or contrary to written protocols |
| (j) | Disclosing confidential patient information in violation of HIPAA or other law |
| (k) | Practicing pharmacy without a licensed pharmacist designated as PIC |
| (l) | Failing to report to DOPL an adverse action by another licensing jurisdiction, agency, law enforcement agency, or court for conduct that would be unprofessional here |
| (m) | A pharmacist or intern compounding a drug in a dosage form commonly available from a manufacturer in the prescribed quantity and strength |
| (n) | Failing to follow the Treatment Access statutes when dispensing a hormonal contraceptive under a standing order |
| (o) | Violating the medical cannabis statutes |
| (p) | Falsifying or altering a medical record to conceal a wrongful act |
The rebate ban does not cover volume-based price discounts, passing along a manufacturer's rebate, or paying a veterinarian for services (§ 58-17b-502(2)).
3. DOPL's pharmacy rule (R156-17b-502)
R156-17b-502 adds 26 items. The most-tested ones:
- (1) violating the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists (October 27, 1994), which the rule incorporates by reference;
- (2) failing to comply with USP <795> or <797>, when they apply;
- (3) failing to meet CE requirements;
- (4) failing to give DOPL a current mailing address within 10 business days of a change (see also § 58-1-301.7, which also covers email addresses);
- (7)–(10) failing to cooperate with inspections, missing a self-audit deadline, or giving false self-audit information;
- (11) abandoning a pharmacy or leaving prescription drugs accessible to the public;
- (12) practicing with an improper intern or trainee ratio;
- (13) allowing an unauthorized person in the pharmacy;
- (14) failing to offer to counsel a person receiving a prescription;
- (16) and (21) failing PIC standards, or failing to report a PIC change within 30 days;
- (19) dispensing a medication the FDA has discontinued;
- (22) requiring a pharmacy or pharmacist to operate with an unsafe staffing ratio;
- (25) failing to make the annual opiate antagonist dispensing report; and
- (26) violating remote dispensing operating standards.
Exceptions: what is not unprofessional conduct
- A pharmacist who reasonably believes a drug may cause harm, warns the patient, and fills a prescription from a provider who is acting within scope but lawfully deviating from medical norms under § 58-1-501(5) is not engaged in unprofessional conduct (§ 58-17b-502(3)(b)).
- Providing pharmacy medical provider services in a licensed medical cannabis pharmacy under Title 26B, Chapter 4, Part 2 is not unprofessional conduct (§ 58-17b-502(3)(a)).
Utah's health care conscience law (effective May 6, 2026)
Utah's 2026 General Session (Chapter 429) enacted Title 63G, Chapter 33, Part 3, which defines "health care provider" to include individuals licensed under the Pharmacy Practice Act. "Health care service" expressly includes dispensing or administering a drug and contraception.
- The right (§ 63G-33-302(1)). A health care provider may refuse to participate in or provide a health care service that violates the provider's religious beliefs or conscience. The provider may not be held civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for exercising that right.
- Limits. The right covers objections to a particular service. It does not waive the duty to provide other services, and it does not override EMTALA or other federal law. A provider at a belief-based institution must follow contract terms.
- Duties. A provider who refuses a service on this basis must:
- post the statutory "ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE SERVICES" notice, listing the services not provided and pointing to the DHHS provider-referral website and phone number, on the provider's website and in any reception area;
- disclose to DHHS the services the provider does not provide; and
- give advance notice to the employer or health care institution, which must, to the extent reasonably practicable, schedule staff to avoid the conflict.
- Enforcement. Discriminating against a provider for exercising the right is prohibited (§ 63G-33-303). Violations by a health care provider can be pursued by DOPL under § 58-1-501, which now lists violating this part as unprofessional conduct (§ 58-1-501(2)(a)(xviii)).
Note
The conscience law protects refusing to participate. It does not authorize retaining or destroying a patient's prescription, and other Utah and federal duties still apply (for example, the prescription-transfer rules in R156-17b-612(5)(f) and HIPAA). Answer conscience questions with both the protection and the posting and notice duties in mind.
A pharmacist licensed in Utah and Arizona signs a consent order with the Arizona board for recordkeeping errors. How does Utah law treat her failure to tell DOPL?
It is not a violation, because only license revocations must be reported
It is unprofessional conduct, because § 58-17b-502(1)(l) requires reporting adverse action by another licensing jurisdiction for conduct that would be unprofessional in Utah
It must be reported only on the next renewal application
It is unlawful conduct punishable as a third degree felony
A generic manufacturer offers a Utah pharmacy a price discount based on purchase volume, and the pharmacy passes a manufacturer's rebate on to its patients. How does § 58-17b-502 treat these arrangements?
The volume discount is permitted, but passing along the rebate is unlawful conduct
Both are permitted, because volume-based discounts and passing along a manufacturer's rebate are excluded from the rebate and kickback prohibition
Both are permitted only if disclosed to DOPL in advance
Both are unprofessional conduct, because any rebate is prohibited
A pharmacist compounds a customized cream in a strength that is regularly available from a manufacturer in the exact strength and quantity prescribed. How does Utah law classify this?
Unprofessional conduct under § 58-17b-502(1)(m), for compounding a dosage form commonly available from a manufacturer
Unlawful conduct punishable as a felony
Lawful, because compounding is always within a pharmacist's discretion
Lawful, so long as the pharmacy follows USP <795>
Under Utah's 2026 health care conscience law, a pharmacist refuses on religious grounds to dispense a particular contraceptive. Which duty accompanies that right?
The pharmacist must fill the prescription anyway if the patient insists
The pharmacist must obtain written permission from DOPL before each refusal
The pharmacist must post the statutory notice listing services not provided with DHHS referral information, disclose them to DHHS, and give advance notice to the employer
The pharmacist may keep the patient's prescription so it cannot be filled elsewhere
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.