Drug Topics - April 14, 2008 - (Page 35)

www.drugtopics.com APRIL 14, 2008 DRUG TOPICS 35 Government and Law Panel will ask for a system for R.Ph. practice across state lines Kathryn Foxhall A panel advising the National Governors Association (NGA) will recommend shortly that a cross-state cooperative pharmacist licensure system be created to enable a pharmacist to practice across state/territorial lines. “We must create a licensure system that, in a uniform manner, permits open pharmacist consultation and pharmacist-to-patient medication counseling across jurisdictional boundaries,” stated the recommendation voted on by the State Alliance for E-Health at its February meeting in Washington, D.C. The alliance specifically declares that the license model “should not be considered a national licensure,” but should be based on agreements and information sharing among the states that enable coordinated action. It is to be used for promoting e-health (which includes telepharmacy), say the recommendations, “but may serve as a model for other forms of pharmacy practice.” The State Alliance for E-Health was created last year under the NGA to address state-level electronic healthcare issues. It was established with a contract from the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. A 17-member task force of healthcare executives, working at the behest of the alliance, drafted the recommendations over the past year, after consulting with various stakeholder groups. The recommendations, along with others on e-health, will go to all the governors in the next few weeks in the alliance’s first report. The pharmacist licensure recommendations, which are similar to recommendations for physician licensure, should request the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to gain consensus on how to achieve the goals, according to the NGA. Among the “considerations for implementation,” the recommendations say a pharmacist seeking to practice in another state would have to notify that state’s pharmacy board using a common electronic notification form, which would be created by the consensus process. Darleen Bartz, Ph.D., a co-chair of the drafting task force, said, “Discipline, then, would take place in the state where the patient was, because (health professionals) would have to follow those laws for practice in that state, as well as working, then, with the state of residence where the license [originated from.]" So there should be good communication between the states, said Bartz, who is chief of the human resources section for the North Dakota Department of Health. Bartz added that if a state—other than the state of original license—decided that a physician or pharmacist could no longer practice there, it would notify the state of license: “The state of license would then be marking that on their registry, but they would also have to look at that information and see if, for the purposes of their state, they were going to deny practice in their state, too.” The State Alliance for E-Health, co-chaired by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (front, center), voted on the recommendations on February 22. Photo: Kathryn Foxhall The recommendations also say that states should provide financial support to pharmacy boards to ensure the funding necessary for activities, including “disciplinary investigations and actions, criminal background checks, development of secure infrastructure for credentials verification and interagency communication.” Commenting on this development, the National Community Pharmacists Association said, “We support the exclusive jurisdiction of pharmacy state boards over the licensure and practice of pharmacy in each state. We welcome discussing with the NGA electronic health infrastructure issues that are appropriate for the healthcare profession of pharmacy.” THE AUTHOR is a writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. http://www.drugtopics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - April 14, 2008

Drug Topics - March 14, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters: Students Need Grounding in Chemistry Pharmacy Directors Wary of Heparin Shortages Some E-prescribing Standards are Ready to Go, Others are Not News Briefs Nanotechnology: Big Stakes in a Small World Pay for Performance is Coming to Pharmacy Patient Safety Organizations Still Very Much in Planning Stage Reconciling Medications in Specialty Patients Poses More Challenges Pharmacy Outsourcing Still Much in Use by Hospitals Studied Extensively, New Drug-Eluting Stent Said to be Very Safe Prevention is Key in Treating C. Difficile Infections E-prescribing Grows in Massachusetts, but Other States Lag Behind Active Metabolite Gives New Life to Antidepressant NSAIDS not Recommended for Long-term Use in Osteoarthritis This Time R.Ph.s and States Are Ready for Tamper-Resistant Rx Pads Cardinal Caught Between DEA and Pharmacies over Diversion Control Medicating Kids: Still More Questions than Answers Schnucks Pharmacy: Drug Topics' Chain of the Year Panel Will Ask for a System for R.Ph. Practice Across State Lines FDA Safety Page: How to use Fentora Safely The Shining OTC/HBC Stars of 2007 Take a Look at These OTCs for Eye Health Technology Update: Google Offers a Sneak Peak at its Electronic Records Initiative Recent Advancements in HIV/AIDS Treatment New Products Advertisers Index Classified Viewpoint: Are State Boards of Pharmacy Abusing Their Power?

Drug Topics - April 14, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.