In advance of the August 6th Board of Pharmacy meeting, NACDS submitted a letter approved by our members operating in Texas recommending the Board eliminate pharmacy technician ratios and expand duties. After much discussion, the Board decided to move forward on all of our recommendations and directed staff to draft a proposed rule for the November 5th meeting that would include expanding technician duties to allow techs to (1) accept a verbal order, (2) transfer a prescription, and (3) contact a prescriber to clarify a prescription. The proposed rule would also eliminate the technician to pharmacist’s ratio which is currently set at 1:4. The Board also directed staff to consult with the Medical Board regarding our recommendation to allow pharmacy technicians to administer vaccinations, and bring back to the Board at the November information from the Medical Board about delegating this task to these paraprofessionals, not a proposed rule.
Also in Texas… On July 17, the TSBP upgraded the prescription monitoring program (PMP) to allow all approved users access to an advanced analytics and patient support tool called NarxCare. In addition to the existing PMP functionality, NarxCare will aggregate and analyze prescription information from providers and pharmacies and present visual, interactive information, as well as advanced analytic insights, machine learning risk scores and more.
Also in Texas… The budget bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) included the funding necessary to integrate the state’s PMP into pharmacy data systems. The TSBP wants prescribers and dispensers to know that with statewide integration, they will no longer have to interrupt their current workflow to access the PMP. An overview of the integration process, along with informational resources, can be found on the TSBP website.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.