Board Rule .1615 requires all pharmacy and DME permit applicants and holders to obtain and report an e-Profile number issued by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) as a condition of permit issuance or renewal. The renewal period opens on November 1, 2020, all pharmacy and DME permits will be required to provide their business e-Profile number on the renewal application. If a business e-Profile number is not provided, the pharmacy or DME facility will be unable to complete the renewal process. Pharmacies and DME facilities may obtain an e-Profile number without cost. Directions for doing so are found here. A few pharmacists have reached out to the Board and are experiencing technical difficulties obtaining a business e-Profile number from NABP.  The issue seems to arise when a pharmacist uses the same computer, browser, and email address that the pharmacist uses to access their personal e-Profile number. NABP staff have identified that the cookies/cached information of the personal e-Profile log-in as creating the problem. NABP staff recommend the following steps prior to creating a business e-Profile: clear the cookies/cache on your current internet browser, use a different internet browser (Google Chrome and Firefox are preferable), create the business e-profile number with a different email address than the one used for your personal e-profile number. If problems persist, please contact NABP. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) issued a request for qualifications from vendors to provide COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.   NCDHHS is seeking to create a pool of qualified vendors to support the response to COVID-19 by providing diagnostic and antibody testing including specimen collection and laboratory processing and contact tracing. The RFQ can be found here. The first deadline to respond to the RFQ is 2 p.m. on June 9, 2020. Qualified applicants will be notified on June 17, 2020. This is a rolling qualification process and vendors will be able to submit a response by the first of very month through December. In addition, the NCDHHS anticipates issuing future RFQs for other functions beyond testing, lab capacity and contact tracing. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

Governor Cooper signed new Executive Order 138. The Executive Order does not lift the stay-at-home order but replaces previous executive orders to begin Phase 1 on Friday, May 8 at 5pm. The order is set to expire on Friday, May 22 at 5pm at which point the Governor will examine whether North Carolina will enter Phase 2. 

Also in North Carolina... The General Assembly convened their scheduled short session last Tuesday, April 28 and quickly approved a pandemic relief package of nearly $1.6 billion that Governor Cooper signed into law on Monday, May 4th. The legislation is effective immediately and included, among other items, language that authorizes pharmacists to administer a COVID-19 vaccine or immunization once one is developed and recommended by the CDC. Two liability protection provisions, one covers health care workers, protecting them from civil and criminal liability as they provide COVID-19 treatment and the second protects any essential business whose employees or customers contract COVID-19.  

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

Governor Cooper has announced the extension of the current stay-at-home Executive Order 121 until May 8,2020 at 5pm and a 3-phase plan for reopening. Executive Order 121 that enacted stay-at-home requirements has been in place since March 30th and was originally scheduled to expire next Thursday, April 30th. This order does not alter any provisions of the previous executive order other than technical changes. 

Also in North Carolina... Effective April 27, 2020, prescriptions for NC Medicaid and NC Health Choice beneficiaries are eligible for the addition of a mailing or delivery fee via the guidelines below. NC Medicaid encourages beneficiaries to request, and pharmacy providers to mail or deliver prescriptions to beneficiaries, during the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve better social distancing within their community. This measure should be considered for all beneficiaries, but especially those that are considered at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness. For more information please click here. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services and the State Health Director requested that the Medical Board and the Board of Pharmacy adopt the COVID-19 Drug Preservation Rule in order to alleviate shortages and ensure that these drugs are available to patients who need them.  The Pharmacy Board’s emergency rule is found here.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

HB 388, sponsored by Rep. Donna McDowell White (R), was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper (D). Effective Tuesday, October 1, this measure stipulates that an immunizing pharmacist may administer serogroup B meningococcal, human papillomavirus and hepatitis A vaccines to persons at least 18 years of age. It also lowers the age for influenza vaccinations to 10 years.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.