In advance of the September 26 Board of Pharmacy meeting, NACDS submitted comments on proposed changes to Regulation 7 regarding prescription transfers. Our letteradvocated for enhanced technician roles to improve access to patient care services by allowing pharmacy technicians to be involved in the prescription transfer process.

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

Scott Pace, the Executive Vice President & CEO of the state pharmacists association, announced that he will be leaving the association at the end of September to become a partner at Impact Management Group, a lobbying, public opinion, public affairs and political consulting firm in Little Rock.

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

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) appointed pharmacist Lynn Crouse, PharmD, to a six-year term on the Board of Pharmacy.

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

The Board of Pharmacy will be meeting in Little Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 5 and 6. The following regulatory changes will be considered at a public hearing on Wednesday, June 6:

• REGULATION 5 – LONG-TERM-CARE FACILITIES: Proposed changes will update language regarding destruction of unused drugs for long-term care facilities to remove outdated language, update emergency kit guidelines for use in long-term care and establish a list of emergency medications that can be used in Crisis Stabilization Units.
• REGULATION 7 – DRUG PRODUCTS/PRESCRIPTIONS: Proposed changes will reduce regulatory burdens when transferring prescriptions between pharmacies and add language to specify that a pharmacist cannot dispense more of a Schedule II narcotic medication than a prescriber can prescribe.
• REGULATION 8 – WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION: Proposed changes will clarify language in Regulation 8 to match statutory language in 17-92-108 and will also allow an outsourcing facility to operate under a single permit if they do not provide medications directly to patients.

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

As a result of the special session convened last week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed into law a PBM licensure bill that grants power to the state’s Insurance Department to regulate how PBMs operate in the state.

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

A final rule adopted by the Board of Pharmacy amending Regulation 9 regarding the administration of medication went into effect on December 1, 2017. The rule removes provisions regarding the Medications Administration Advisory Committee and the seven classifications of approved medications for administration by pharmacists, and deletes a reference that the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course required to obtain the authority to administer medications/immunizations must be accredited by the American Heart Association.

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