Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Health Care & Wellness Committee

HB 2725

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Allows a pharmacist to dispense up to a thirty days' supply of a prescription drug that is not a controlled substance to a patient with an expired prescription if the pharmacist attempts to contact the prescribing practitioner and the patient has been on a consistent drug therapy.

Background:

Pharmacists are regulated by the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission. They are authorized to interpret prescription orders; compound, dispense, label, administer, and distribute drugs; monitor drug therapy; participate in drug utilization reviews and drug product selection; store, distribute, and maintain records of drugs and devices; and provide information on legend drugs. In addition, pharmacists may initiate drug therapy in accordance with a collaborative drug therapy agreement (CDTA).

A CDTA is a set of written guidelines or protocols established by a health care practitioner who is authorized to prescribe drugs in which authority is delegated to a pharmacist to conduct specific prescribing functions. Each CDTA must specify the type of diseases and drugs that are subject to the agreement, the procedures and decision criteria to be followed, and the type of prescriptive authority activities that are allowed.

In emergency situations, a pharmacist may dispense up to a 72 hours' supply of medication without a valid prescription. This authority applies if the prescriber is not available and in the professional judgment of the pharmacist an emergency need for the medication has been demonstrated.

Summary of Bill:

A pharmacist may dispense a prescription drug to a patient with an expired prescription if (1) reasonable efforts to contact the prescribing practitioner were unsuccessful, (2) the patient has been on a consistent drug therapy, (3) the drug is not a controlled substance, and (4) the amount does not exceed a 30 days' supply or the standard unit of dispensing. A pharmacist may not dispense drugs to the same patient without a prescription within a twelve-month period.

It is specified that the exception does not limit the terms of a collaborative drug therapy agreement or alter the authority of the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission to allow for other exceptions to the prescription requirement.