The 30-day special session Gov. Greg Abbott (R) convened in early July will end on Friday, August 6th without progress on any legislation because of the partisan standoff in the House of Representatives over the election integrity bill. The Governor vowed to call multiple special sessions until the elections bill passes.
Also in Texas, the Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) Vendor Drug Program (VDP) updated the Preferred Drug List.
Finally in Texas, since the Board of Pharmacy failed to secure funding from the Legislature to cover the cost of the electronic health record (EHR) to continue to be seamlessly integrated into the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), access through the Appriss PMP Gateway and access to the NarxCare score will end on August 31, 2021. Free access to the PMP remains available at texas.pmpaware.net/login, but it is more cumbersome then the direct connect integration the state began paying for in 2020 when they mandated that both prescribers and dispensers check the system before prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates or carisoprodol. More information is available – News | PMP Changes (texas.gov)
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.