On February 24, 2021, the Board of Pharmacy will be meeting virtually. Several issues of interest to chain pharmacies previously discussed by the Regulation Revision Committee are PBM regulations, draft legislative language on collaborative practice, and limited prescriptive authority are included on the agenda. More information on the meeting and the agenda can be found here.

Also in Louisiana, The Board of Pharmacy is holding a public hearing on February 25, 2021, to solicit comments on several issues dealing with marijuana, state of emergency, and other issues. More information about the hearing and the agenda can be found here.

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

As it is being required by CMS, the Louisiana Department of Health announced plans to launch the new Medicaid Provider Enrollment Portal for screening and enrolling both FFS and MCO patients in April of 2021. All providers must submit applications through the portal within six months of the launch. More information is available here.

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

The Louisiana Department of Health’s Medical Director of the Office of Behavioral Health, Dr. James Hussey, renewed the Naloxone Standing Order for calendar year 2021. More information can be found here.

Also in Louisiana. Effective December 23, 2020, the Louisiana Medicaid Fee for Service (FFS) Pharmacy Program and Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) announced that they are paying an administration fee of $15.92 for the first dose and $26.68 for the second dose for the COVID-19 vaccines. More information can be found here.

Lastly in Louisiana. The Board of Pharmacy is soliciting stakeholder comments and will hold a public hearing on February 25, 2021^h on two rules of interest to pharmacies.

• Proposed rule would increase the amount of medication that may be dispensed under an emergency prescription to a 90-day supply. The rule also would provide for special permitting of pharmacists licensed outside the state to allow participation in disaster relief.
• Proposed rule to clarify standards for pharmacists, pharmacies, and prescriptions and medication administration, removing outdated minimum specifications for prescription departments, extending the time for the reporting changes in the pharmacist-in-charge, and specifying that board-credentialed individuals must not be made to practice for longer than six hours without a rest break. The rule also would provide for the disposal of hard copy prescription records once stored in the electronic recordkeeping system, update the application process for pharmacy permits, remove minimum specifications for prescription departments in telepharmacy dispensing sites, and extend the quantity of medication that may be dispensed under an emergency refill.

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

The Board of Pharmacy’s Regulation Review Committee met virtually on January 26 to discuss pharmacists’ expanding scope of practice. Last Fall during the special session, the Legislature approved Senate Resolution 39 by Sen. Regina Barrow (D) directing the Board of Pharmacy to make recommendations relative to pharmacists’ testing, screening, and treatment of certain health conditions. The committee approved recommending modernizing the collaborative practice agreements and limited prescriptive authority using Oregon as the model for consideration by the full Board at their February 24, 2021 meeting. Draft language can be found at the links below.

• Regulatory Proposal 2021-A ~ Collaborative Practice
• Legislative Proposal 2021-C ~ Collaborative Practice
• Legislative Proposal 2021-D ~ Limited Prescriptive Authority

Also in Louisiana. The Department of Health (LDH) is reaching out to community pharmacies to encourage future partnership opportunities with pharmacies to better manage chronic disease and prevention. Click here for the PowerPoint Presentation. Contact LDH’s Marie Darr at marie.darr@la.gov for more information.

Also in Louisiana. Although the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Council’s January in-person quarterly meeting was canceled due to COVID, the Board of Pharmacy staff did provide NACDS and the other council members with the report Please click here for more information.

Lastly in Louisiana. LDH continues to add more information to its COVID-19 dashboard.  More information and updates can be found here.

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

As one of the eight members of the Louisiana Pharmacy Congress, NACDS participated in a virtual meeting hosted by the Board of Pharmacy to discuss interim study reports and proposed pharmacy legislation for 2021. Issues discussed were payment parity, expanded scope, collaborative practice agreements, and expanding access to immunizations. The Louisiana Department of Health gave a presentation on their new initiative called “Well-Ahead Louisiana,” a program aimed at partnering with pharmacies to manage chronic diseases. More information on the Well-Ahead initiative can be found here.

Also in Louisiana. The Board of Pharmacy’s Regulation Review Committee is convening a virtual Zoom meeting on January 26, 2021. The meeting access information is provided in the header of the agenda. Links to the legislative and regulatory proposals scheduled for consideration during that meeting are available at the Board’s website, in the Rulemaking Activity section of the Public Library.

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

On January 20, 2021, Louisiana Register, the Board of Pharmacy will publish new rules effective immediately that will add two new drugs to the Prescription Monitoring Program list of Drugs of Concern.

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

An emergency rule previously adopted by the Board to temporarily suspend renewal fees for various licenses, certificates, permits, and the registrations expiration date was extended until February 24, 2021.

Also in Louisiana. The Board of Pharmacy will be holding a hearing on November 25, 2020, on a proposed rule that would establish standards for licensure of pharmacy benefit managers engaged in certain activities. The rule would establish procedures for board review of applications for the initial issuance of the permit, the renewal of the permit, applications for the reinstatement of disciplined permits, and the permanent closure of a permit.

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

Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) recently appointed three new members to serve on the 17-member Board of Pharmacy: Walgreens pharmacist Troy Menard, and independent pharmacists David Darcy and Anthony Mercantile. The Governor also reappointed five pharmacists: independent Allen Cassidy, health systems Ricky Indovina, independent Ricky Mannino, independent Doug Robichaux, and hospital Raymond Strong.

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