The Board of Health published a notice to announce the removal of the opioid antagonist samidorphan from Schedule II of the Controlled Substances List attached to regulations under AAC 420-7-2. The action is a response to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration removing the substance on April 19. The action is effective May 19, 2021.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Board of Pharmacy published an emergency rule to adopt regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to establish standards for off-site COVID vaccine order entry processing. The rule is effective April 7 and expires October 2, 2021. Please contact Wendy Passmore; Board of Pharmacy; 205-981-4764; wpassmore@albop.com for more information.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Effective May 1, 2021, the COVID-19 related universal prior authorization (PA) number will no longer be accepted for pharmacy overrides related to the three-month maintenance supply program. The universal PA will continue to work for claims associated with COVID-19 in other allowances (other than the three-month maintenance supply program) as described in the March 17, 2020 ALERT which can be found here.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Board of Medical Examiners issued a final rule to adopt regulations under AAC 540-X-26 to establish requirements for collaborative practice agreements between physicians and pharmacists. The rule adds requirements for collaborative drug therapy management agreements, standards for physicians, reporting, patient care protocols, and the formulary and is effective April 12, 2021.
Also in Alabama, The Board of Pharmacy issued a final rule to amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to further specify the standards and requirements for approval of hospital and non-hospital pharmacy remote or off-site order entry, where prescriptions are filled by remotely accessing another pharmacy’s electronic database from outside the pharmacy. The rule is effective April 12, 2021.
Lastly in Alabama, The Board of Pharmacy also published a proposed rule to amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to clarify provisions on the non-disciplinary administrative penalty for late renewal of a license, permit, registration, certification, or similar document. A hearing is scheduled for April 21, 2021, in Birmingham. Comments to the proposed rule are due April 10, 2021.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Board of Pharmacy published a proposed rule that would amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to clarify provisions on the non-disciplinary administrative penalty for late renewal of a license, permit, registration, certification, or similar document. A hearing is scheduled for April 21, 2021, in Birmingham. Comments are due April 10, 2021.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Board of Pharmacy issues a proposed rule to adopt regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to establish standards under which a pharmacist, pharmacist intern, or pharmacist extern would administer immunizations. A hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2021, in Birmingham. Comments are due March 6, 2021.
Also in Alabama. The Board of pharmacy published an emergency rule to adopt regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to establish temporary provisions to authorize vaccination by registered pharmacy technicians under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist. The rule is effective January 20, 2021 and expires upon removal of the governor’s state of emergency or May 20, 2021, whichever is sooner.
Lastly in Alabama. The Board of Pharmacy issues a final rule to amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to revise pharmacist consultant continuing education requirements to reflect the renewal cycle. The rule is effective March 17, 2021.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Board of Pharmacy has published a proposed rule to amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to clarify the penalty for late payment of the annual permit fee for manufacturers, wholesale drug distributors, private label distributors, repackagers, third-party logistics providers, outsourcers, and reverse distributors. A hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2021, in Birmingham. Comments are due March 6, 2021.
Also in Alabama. All previously published expiration dates related to the COVID-19 emergency have once again been extended by the Alabama Medicaid Agency (Medicaid). The new expiration date is the earlier of February 28, 2021, the conclusion of the COVID-19 national emergency, or any expiration date noticed by the Alabama Medicaid Agency through a subsequent ALERT. A listing of previous Provider ALERTs and notices related to the health emergency is available by selecting the Agency’s COVID-19 page in the bottom section at the following website: https://medicaid.alabama.gov/news_detail.aspx?ID=13729.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Alabama Board of Pharmacy published a final rule to amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to revise parenteral sterile therapy requirements to reflect the renewal cycle. The rule also requires pharmacists performing high-risk sterile compounding to complete an additional 4-hour, board approved high-risk program. In addition, the rule requires sterile compounding pharmacists to complete 2 continuing education hours each renewal cycle. The rule is will be effective on February 14, 2021.
Also in Alabama. The Board of Pharmacy published a final rule to amend regulations under AAC 680-X-2 to revise preceptor training requirements to reflect the renewal cycle. The rule is also effective on February 14, 2021.
Also in Alabama. Effective immediately all references to “Reenrollment” will be replaced with the term “Revalidation” to match current Medicare terminology. These changes will be made to all future letters sent to providers referencing the re-enrollment program/processes as well as information contained on the Provider Enrollment website. Providers are also now able to begin uploading their completed revalidations through the secure provider web portal. Additional instructions for uploading revalidation applications and documentation can be found on the Provider Enrollment and Form page under the Revalidation section on the Medicaid website here.
Lastly in Alabama. The Board of Medical Examiners posted a proposed rule to adopt regulations under AAC 540-X-26 to establish requirements for collaborative practice between physicians and pharmacists. The rule would add requirements for collaborative drug therapy management agreements, standards for physicians, reporting, patient care protocols, and the formulary. Comments are due February 4, 2021.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Please find attached the Alabama Medicaid ALERT for pharmacy billing of the COVID-19 vaccine administration (you can also find the ALERT here).
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
