WSR 16-02-015 EMERGENCY RULES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission) [Filed December 28, 2015, 11:44 a.m., effective December 28, 2015, 11:44 a.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.
Purpose: WAC 246-869-105 Continuity of care refills in proclaimed emergencies, adopting a new rule allowing pharmacists to provide a temporary prescription refill for patients when the pharmacy access is disrupted during event[s] that result in a governor's emergency proclamation.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.64.005.
Other Authority: RCW 18.64.005.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Governor Inslee on June 25, 2015, issued State of Emergency Proclamation 15-11 for all thirty-nine counties of the state. The proclamation notes that the wildfire conditions anticipated to continue into autumn 2015 pose "the threat to life and property from wildfires (that) is significant and may cause extensive damage to homes, businesses, public facilities, resources, infrastructure and utilities, impacting the life and health of our citizens throughout the state; this threat may affect life, health, property, or the public peace, and is a public disaster demanding immediate action …."
On August 18, 2015, there were one thousand two hundred active wildfires in Washington state, causing entire towns to be evacuated. Wildfires have destroyed homes and businesses in several Washington state counties, causing residents to live in emergency shelters or other temporary arrangements, sometimes leaving prescription medications or prescription records behind. In some cases the patient's prescriber or community pharmacy became inaccessible due to wildfire evacuations or property destruction.
Although the 2015 wildfire season has ended, the emergency rule must remain in effect while the pharmacy quality assurance commission completes permanent rule making in case the state experiences another major disaster or event that threatens patients' access to their prescription medications.
The rule allows a licensed pharmacist to legally provide a temporary prescription refill during a governor-proclaimed emergency when the patient's pharmacy access is disrupted.
Immediate adoption of the rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety or welfare, and observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
The commission filed a notice of intent to adopt the emergency rule as a permanent rule on December 2015.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: December 23, 2014 [2015].
Albert Linggi, R.Ph.
Chair
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-869-105 Continuity of care refills in proclaimed emergencies.
Notwithstanding WAC 246-869-100 (2)(f), 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 below:
(1) An initial supply of up to thirty days of current prescriptions for legend drug (noncontrolled) medications or seven-day supply of current prescriptions for controlled substance medications in Schedules III, IV, and V may be provided to patients under the following conditions:
(a) Presentation of a valid prescription container complete with legible label indicating there are remaining refills, or confirmation of the prescribed medication and available refills by review of the patient's current medical records or pharmacy records; or
(b) If the prescription is expired and the pharmacist is unable to readily obtain refill authorization from the prescriber, the pharmacist may dispense a one-time emergency refill of up to a seventy-two hour supply of the prescribed medication as described in WAC 246-869-100 (2)(f).
(2) For each medication dispensed under this section, a pharmacist shall:
(a) Document the dispensing as a prescription, noting where the information from subsection (1)(a) of this section was obtained, whether from the prescription container, the patient's prescriber or from the pharmacy records;
(b) Inform the patient's provider and the pharmacy at which the patient obtains his or her medications of the dispensing within seven business days of the emergency dispensing;
(c) Mark the face of the prescription as an "emergency" prescription.
(3) Nothing in this rule modifies insurers' requirements for coverage and payment for prescribed medications.
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