On February 1, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy held its regularly scheduled meeting. Two actions were taken by the board:
- A proposed change to 247 CMR 3.00 will create two different licensing categories for pharmacy technicians. This proposed change is designed to attract more individuals to serve as pharmacy technicians. Once approved, the new regulations will create a Pharmacy Technician 1 (PT1) and a Pharmacy Technician 2 (PT2). The new PT1 applies to persons 16 years of age or older, is of good moral character, and has a high school education or are enrolled in a program that awards that degree or certificate. The PT1 can be licensed by the Board if they meet those qualifications. The PT1 will not be required to participate in a training program, complete a minimum hours on-the-job-training or pass a certification exam. The requirements for PT2 mirror the current regulations the licensing of pharmacy technicians. This proposed regulation must be reviewed and approved by the Governor’s office. After the Governor’s approval, a public hearing will be held to receive public comments.
- A new policy on non-sterile compounding that provides some exemptions to the current USP (United States Pharmacopeia) mandate was also acted upon.
Also in Massachusetts, MassHealth provided an update to the pharmacy benefit concerning obesity drugs. To maximize the state’s ability to collect drug rebates on the following drugs, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which oversees MassHealth, is directing Managed Care Entities to not pay for the following drugs if the provider uses 340B stock: Saxenda® (liraglutide), Victoza® (liraglutide), Ozempic® (semaglutide), Rybelsus® (semaglutide), Wegovy® (semaglutide), Mounjaro® (tirzepatide) and Zepbound® (tirzepatide)
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.