On August 1, Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) declared a State of Emergency due to wildfires, imposing a burn ban through September 30 and authorizing additional emergency resources. The declaration covers Chelan, Ferry, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens and Yakima counties, as well as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Spokane Tribe of Indians.
Also in Washington, pharmacies must follow Washington’s emergency continuity-of-care rules, which allow pharmacists to dispense up to a 30-day emergency supply of noncontrolled medications, a 7-day emergency supply of Schedule III-V controlled substances and select one-time emergency refills when prescribers are unavailable. Apple Health (Medicaid) directs pharmacies to use existing emergency refill and medication replacement policies to ensure patients can access medications during wildfire disruptions and evacuations.
Finally in Washington, the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission (PQAC) issued a reminder stating that “When the governor issues an emergency proclamation for an event which prevents continuity of health care for persons and animals because their prescribed medications are no longer available to them due to the emergency event, pharmacists and pharmacies may provide emergency prescription supplies for medications during the period of the proclaimed emergency” as provided in WAC 246-945-332.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.