Under the following circumstances, a physician may dispense or distribute drugs in quantities greater than those necessary to meet a patient's immediate needs.     
       (1) A licensed physician who practices medicine in a rural area, as defined in Section 169.2(10) of this chapter, may maintain a supply of dangerous drugs in his or her office to be dispensed in treating his or her patients and may be reimbursed for the cost of supplying those drugs without violating the Texas Pharmacy Act, Title 3 Subtitle J Tex. Occ. Code Ann. A physician desiring to dispense dangerous drugs in compliance with this subsection and §§158.001-.003 of the Act, shall notify the board and the Texas State Board of Pharmacy that he or she practices in a rural area.      
       (2) If a physician believes that a patient's prescribed treatment regimen should include certain drugs, the physician may supply them to the patient by means of pharmaceutical samples. No charge may be made by a physician for such samples. A patient's immediate needs as defined in this chapter shall not affect or limit the quantity of pharmaceutical samples a physician may provide to the patient.      
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §169.5 adopted to be effective April 27, 1990, 15 TexReg 2167; amended to be effective April 27, 2003, 28 TexReg 3325