(1) Topical medication prescribed on a specific or standing basis by a licensed medical practitioner may be obtained from a pharmacy certified under 37-7-321 , MCA, by either:

(a) the licensed physical therapist directly, who will administer the topical medication for use in phonophoresis, iontophoresis, or direct application, under the prescription order of the licensed medical practitioner; or

(b) the patient directly, who will obtain the prescribed topical medication at a certified pharmacy and bring it directly to the physical therapist to be administered as part of a treatment plan.

(2) All prescribed topical medications, whether obtained by the physical therapist or patient directly, shall be stored at the physical therapist's place of business in compliance with proper storage guidelines under Title 37, chapter 7, MCA, or otherwise developed by the board of pharmacy.

(a) Any particular requirements for storage as noted by the pharmacist must be followed.

(b) Topical medications shall be stored below 40 degrees centigrade (104 degrees fahrenheit) , preferably between 15 degrees and 30 degrees centigrade (59 degrees and 86 degrees fahrenheit) , unless otherwise specified.

(c) All topical medications obtained by the patient directly and brought to the physical therapist's place of business shall be returned to the patient's possession at the termination of treatment with the patient.

(d) No topical medications obtained by the patient directly may be transferred to or used in treatment of any other physical therapy patient.

(3) All topical medications must be administered by the physical therapist as prescribed by the medical practitioner and in accordance with any pharmacy guidelines given to the physical therapist or patient who obtained the topical medication directly.

(4) A copy of the written prescription specifying the topical medication to be applied and the method of application (direct application, phonophoresis or iontophoresis) must be retained in the patient's physical therapy medical records.