SB 229 Senator Julia Ratti is sponsoring legislation this session regarding the practice of pharmacy. Her bill, SB 229, amends statute to regulate the collaborative practice of pharmacy and collaborative drug therapy management. When enacted, it will classify pharmacists as health care providers. This bill expands and clarifies the current language for the collaborative practice agreement language passed in 2017.
SB 229 applies to pharmacists and practitioners who enter into collaborative agreements and removes existing requirements for the collaborative practice of pharmacy and collaborative drug therapy management. This measure instead prohibits a practitioner from entering into a collaborative practice agreement with a pharmacist that authorizes the pharmacist to engage in an activity that is outside the practitioner’s scope of practice.
SB 229 also removes a requirement that a pharmacist obtain the patient’s consent before engaging in the collaborative practice of pharmacy or collaborative drug therapy management. The language will remove the provision limiting collaborative drug therapy management to patients who are in a medical facility or affiliated setting.
This measure also sets forth what the written guidelines and protocols for collaborative drug therapy must contain. Guidelines and protocols must include a description of the types of decisions that the pharmacist is authorized to make; the training the pharmacist is required to complete; procedures that the pharmacist is required to follow when initiating or modifying drug therapy or making other therapeutic decisions; and procedures for the practitioner to provide feedback.
SB 229 classifies licensed pharmacists as health care providers for purposes of (1) requiring a health care provider who renders services who has or is suspected to have a communicable disease or having suffered a drug overdose to report that fact to the appropriate health authority; (2) requiring a health care provider to take certain measure to cooperate with an investigation by the health authority concerning infectious disease or exposure; and (3) authorizing a health authority to take certain actions against a health care provider who has significantly contributed to a case of an infectious disease or exposure to a biological, radiological, or chemical agent.
RAN is participating and engaged in support of this legislation to help increase the access to a health care provider in Nevada. There have been discussions in the past in Nevada regarding the shortage of physicians in our state. The pandemic really indicated just how problematic this shortage can be for access to health care for the citizens here in our state. This legislation is a positive step in addressing some of these inadequacies Nevada experienced and will continue to experience with the projected population growth in our state.
SB 190
Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro introduced SB 190 which will allow a pharmacist to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives to any patient, and will require the State Plan for Medicaid and certain health insurance plans to provide certain benefits relating to self-administered hormonal contraceptives.
Pharmacists are highly trained professionals, with a doctorate degree, who are knowledgeable about treatment of diseases with appropriate medications. RAN is supporting this legislation and is working with the sponsor to amend the language to have the appropriate agency provide oversight. The Board of Pharmacy is the agency charged with regulating and disciplining pharmacy practice and RAN believes that this would be the appropriate agency to have oversight.
This is a preview of bills that RAN is supporting. There are other bills that RAN has testified in opposition to, such as AB 177. We are working with the sponsor, Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez-Thompson, on behalf of our members, to address the concerns with her language.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation affecting pharmacy practice during the 2021 session, please contact Liz MacMenamin by email at lizm@rannv.org or call 775-720-2528.