SB 21-094

Abstract

The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review of and report on the state board of pharmacy (board) and its regulation of the practice of pharmacy and makes other modifications to the laws regulating the practice. Specifically:Sections 1 and 2 of the act continue the board and its functions for 9 years, until 2030, and consolidate within the sunset review the board's functions regarding the regulation of therapeutic interchange and therapeutically equivalent selections and of collaborative pharmacy practice agreements; Sections 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20, and 25 to 29 align the pharmacy practice act with the federal "Drug Quality and Security Act"; Section 3 also: Clarifies that an out-of-state pharmacy need not register with the board when distributing prescription drugs to in-state pharmacies under common ownership with the out-of-state pharmacy if the drugs remain in the original manufacturer's packaging and are not compounded and the transfer is necessary to address an inventory shortage; Includes in the definition of "other outlet" a community mental health clinic, a behavioral health entity, and an approved treatment facility, thereby allowing those facilities to register with the board and operate as a pharmacy outlet; Repeals the term "pharmaceutical care" and replaces it with "pharmacist care services" to reflect the services pharmacists provide in addition to compounding and dispensing drugs; Adds functions to the scope of practice of a pharmacy technician, such as documenting medical history and replenishing automated dispensing devices; and Adds functions to the scope of practice of a pharmacist, such as prescribing certain drugs for limited conditions, ordering and evaluating laboratory tests, and performing limited physical assessments; Section 4 specifies that, of the pharmacist members of the board, one must be practicing in a hospital setting, one must be practicing in a chain pharmacy, and one must be practicing in an independent pharmacy; Section 5 repeals the requirement that the board justify its reasons for deviating from a recommendation from the veterinary pharmaceutical advisory committee; Sections 5, 6, 21 to 25, and 35 make technical amendments to the pharmacy practice act, such as eliminating references to "diversion" in the peer health assistance program and correcting erroneous references to wholesalers as "licensed" rather than "registered"; Section 6 grants the board authority, after conducting a risk-based assessment, to inspect out-of-state pharmacies, out-of-state wholesalers, and nonresident 503B outsourcing facilities and requires the board to send quarterly electronic newsletters to pharmacists regarding updates in the law that affect the practice; Sections 7, 16, and 32 to 34 require pharmacists and pharmacies, as well as insurance companies that underwrite professional liability insurance for pharmacists and pharmacies, to report malpractice settlements and judgments to the board; Section 8 specifies tasks that a pharmacist may delegate to ancillary pharmacy personnel under the pharmacist's supervision; Section 10 increases the amount of medication that may be dispensed to an emergency room patient from a 24-hour supply to a 72-hour supply and allows a hospital to dispense a prescription drug to a hospitalized patient who leaves the hospital on a day pass; Sections 3, 12, and 31 authorize pharmacists to prescribe opiate antagonists; Sections 3 and 13 repeal the requirement that the label on an anabolic steroid prescription indicate the purpose for which the prescription was written; Section 14 authorizes a pharmacist, under specified circumstances, to substitute a drug in the same therapeutic class as the prescribed drug; Section 15 authorizes pharmacists to make specified types of minor adaptions to prescriptions; Section 16 specifies that a licensee, certificant, or registrant may be disciplined for habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol, habit-forming drugs, or controlled substances, but not for having a substance use disorder; Section 17 eliminates the requirement that the board send letters of admonition by certified mail; Section 19 requires the board to allow electronic storage of pharmacy records; Section 20 requires a pharmacist, with certain exceptions, to provide patient counseling in new medication therapy and authorizes a pharmacist, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, to provide patient counseling for any other prescription; and Section 30 increases from 3 to 6 the number of pharmacy technicians or other pharmacy staff that a pharmacist may designate to access, on behalf of a pharmacist supervising the pharmacy technician or other pharmacy staff, the prescription drug monitoring program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)