The legislature adjourned on March 13. Unfortunately, our priority bill, SSB 5924, legislation that would have removed administrative barriers to pharmacist-provided care by allowing independent prescribing and diagnosis within a pharmacist's scope of practice, did not advance. It was based on the Department of Health Sunrise Review recommendations.  

Also in Washington, effective April 1, the Health Care Authority (HCA) is publishing quarterly updates to many of the Apple Health Billing Guides.  

Also in Washington, effective April 1, all pharmacy providers who prescribe must be enrolled with ProviderOne as Apple Health providers. This requirement applies to pharmacists who administer vaccines or prescribe products within their scope of practice. While this has been required for the Medicaid fee-for-service program since 2014, it will now also apply to Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). 

Also in Washington, the Department of Health Pharmacy Commission review of pharmacies submitting data to the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) Clearinghouse revealed that about 25% are not reporting the date a prescription is sold (dispensed). Pharmacies dispensing controlled substances must report three specific and distinct dates to the PMP: (1) Date of dispensing (sold date); (2) Prescription issue date (written date); and (3) Prescription number and fill date (fill date). Pharmacies may need to contact their software vendors to ensure their systems' date fields are updated to enable accurate reporting to the PMP. 

Finally, in Washington, the state Health Care Authority's (HCA) Health Care Cost Transparency Board's next meeting is on March 25.  

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.