The Department of Health Profession/Board of Pharmacy announced the denial of a petition to amend regulations under 19 VAC 110-20 to revise the requirement for retention of records beyond two years to include records of vaccine administration. The board decided to take no action at this time but referred the request to the Regulation Committee to determine what would be involved in requiring practitioners who administer immunizations to report to the Virginia Immunization Information System database.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-837-4195.

The Board of Pharmacy recently issued a Guidance document concerning pharmacists counseling to patients about proper disposal of unused prescription drugs. The document recommends that pharmacists verbally counsel or provide written information on the importance of proper storage and disposal of drugs to patients or their agents that fill prescriptions for drugs in Schedules II-V, as well as any drugs of concern. Additionally, it provides resources and links to proper drug storage and disposal options.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

HB 1556, legislation that will require pharmacies to report naloxone prescriptions to the prescription monitoring program has been signed by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) as Chapter 185. Specifically, the law amends the definition of “covered substances” to include naloxone and Schedule V controlled substances dispensed pursuant to a prescription and requires those drugs to be reported. The bill was an initiative of the Department of Health Professions (DHP) intended to allow practitioners to track whether patients are filling naloxone prescriptions when they are required under current prescribing guidelines. The bill requires that DHP promulgate regulations to implement.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Legislation that will require pharmacies to report naloxone prescriptions to the prescription monitoring program has passed both chambers and been sent to Gov. Ralph Northam (D) for his signature. Specifically, SB 832 amends the definition of “covered substances” to include naloxone and Schedule V drugs dispensed pursuant to a prescription and requires those drugs to be reported. The bill was an initiative of the Department of Health Professions intended to allow practitioners to track whether patients are filling naloxone prescriptions when they are required under current prescribing guidelines.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.