WEST virginia legislature

2019 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2849

By Delegates Howell, Pack, C. Martin, D. Jeffries, Dean and Hamrick

[Introduced February 4, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Health and Human Resources.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §30-5-11 and §30-5-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to establishing different classes of pharmacy technicians; establishing an application process for a registered pharmacy technician to obtain an endorsement as a pharmacy technician; establishing an application process for a nuclear pharmacy technician endorsement; expanding the scope of practice for a registered pharmacy technician endorsement; and defining the scope of practice for a nuclear pharmacy technician endorsement.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

article 5. pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns and pharmacies.

§30-5-11. Registration of pharmacy technicians.

(a) To be eligible for registration as a pharmacy technician to assist in the practice of pharmacist care, the applicant shall:

(1) Submit a written application to the board;

(2) Pay the applicable fees;

(3) Have graduated from high school or obtained a Certificate of General Educational Development (GED) or equivalent.

(4) Have:

(A) Graduated from a competency-based pharmacy technician education and training program as approved by legislative rule of the board;

(B) Completed a pharmacy-provided, competency-based education and training program approved by the board; or

(C) Obtained a national certification as a pharmacy technician and have practiced in another jurisdiction for a period of time as determined by the board.

(5) Have successfully passed an examination developed using nationally recognized and validated psychometric and pharmacy practice standards approved by the board;

(6) Not be an alcohol or drug abuser, as these terms are defined in §27-1A-11 of this code: Provided, That an applicant in an active recovery process, which may, in the discretion of the board, be evidenced by participation in a 12-step program or other similar group or process, may be considered;

(7) Not have been convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction within 10 years preceding the date of application for license, which conviction remains unreversed;

(8) Not have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in any jurisdiction if the offense for which he or she was convicted bearing a rational nexus to the practice of pharmacist care, which conviction remains unreversed; and

(9) Have fulfilled any other requirement specified by the board in rule.

(b) A person whose license to practice pharmacist care has been denied, revoked, suspended, or restricted for disciplinary purposes in any jurisdiction is not eligible to be registered as a pharmacy technician.

(c) A person registered to assist in the practice pharmacist care issued by the board shall for all purposes be considered registered under this article and may renew pursuant to the provisions of this article To be eligible to obtain a nuclear pharmacy technician endorsement, the applicant shall:

(1) Submit a written application to the board;

(2) Pay the applicable fees;

(3) Have graduated from high school or obtained a Certificate of General Educational Development (GED) or equivalent;

(4) Have successfully completed a pharmacy provided, competency-based nuclear pharmacy technician education and training program approved by the board;

(5) Have all applicable national certifications and comply with all federal rules and regulations;

(6) Not be an alcohol or drug abuser, as these terms are defined in §27-1A-11 of this code: Provided, That an applicant in an active recovery process, which may, in the discretion of the board, be evidenced by participation in a 12-step program or other similar group or process, may be considered;

(7) Not have been convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction within 10 years preceding the date of application for license, which conviction remains unreversed;

(8) Not have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in any jurisdiction if the offense for which he or she was convicted bearing a rational nexus to the practice of pharmacist care, which conviction remains unreversed; and

(9) Has fulfilled any other requirement specified by the board in any rule.

(d) A person whose license to practice pharmacist care has been denied, revoked, suspended, or restricted for disciplinary purposes in any jurisdiction is not eligible to be registered as a nuclear pharmacy technician.

§30-5-12. Scope practice for registered pharmacy technician.

(a) A registered pharmacy technician shall, under the direct supervision of the licensed pharmacist, perform at a minimum the following:

(1) Assist in the dispensing process;

(2) Receive new written or electronic prescription drug orders;

(3) Compound; and

(4) Stock medications;

(5) Perform pharmacy technician product verification, also known as tech-check-tech, where no clinical judgment is necessary;

(6) Complete a list of a patient’s current prescription and nonprescription medications to provide for medication reconciliation;

(7) Supervise registered pharmacy technicians and pharmacy technician trainees;

(8) Medial records screening; and

(9) Additional duties approved by the board.

(b) A registered pharmacy technician may perform the following under indirect supervision of a licensed pharmacist:

(1) Process medical coverage claims; and

(2) Cashier; and

(3) Additional duties approved by the board.

(c) A registered pharmacy technician may not perform the following:

(1) Drug regimen review;

(2) Clinical conflict resolution;

(3) Contact a prescriber concerning prescription drug order clarification or therapy modification;

(4) Patient counseling;

(5) Dispense process validation;

(6) Prescription transfer; and

(7) Receive new oral prescription drug orders;

(8) Any act within the practice of pharmacist care that involves discretion or independent professional judgment; or

(9) Any function which the registrant has not been trained and the function has not been specified in a written protocol with competency established.

(d) Indirect supervision of a registered pharmacy technician is permitted to allow a pharmacist to take one break of no more than 30 minutes during any contiguous eight-hour period. The pharmacist may leave the pharmacy area but may not leave the building during the break. When a pharmacist is on break, a pharmacy technician may continue to prepare prescriptions for the pharmacist's verification. A prescription may not be delivered until the pharmacist has verified the accuracy of the prescription, and counseling, if required, has been provided to or refused by the patient.

(e) A pharmacy that permits indirect supervision of a pharmacy technician during a pharmacist's break shall have either an interactive voice response system or a voice mail system installed on the pharmacy phone line in order to receive new prescription orders and refill authorizations during the break.

(f) The pharmacy shall establish protocols that require a registered pharmacy technician to interrupt the pharmacist's break if an emergency arises.

(g) Additional duties to be performed under either the direct or indirect supervision of a licensed pharmacist must be approved by the board. These duties shall be submitted to the board by the pharmacist-in-charge whom will oversee such duties and shall not be implemented prior to being approved by the board. The submission must include at a minimum:

(1) The duties to be performed by the pharmacy technician;

(2) The parameters for the indirect supervision of the pharmacy technician by the pharmacist;

(3) The specialized and advanced training of the pharmacy technician relative to the duties to be performed; and

(4) The ongoing evaluation of the program to ensure quality outcomes.

(h) A registered pharmacy technician who has obtained a nuclear pharmacy technician endorsement, may under the direct supervision of the licensed nuclear pharmacist, perform the following:

(1) Assist in the dispensing process;

(2) Receive new written or electronic prescription drug orders;

(3) Mix compound ingredients for liquid products, suspensions, ointments, mixes, or blend for tablet granulations and capsule powders;

(4) Prepare radiopharmaceuticals;

(5) Record keeping;

(6) File and organize prescriptions;

(7) Create reports;

(8) Inventory tasks;

(9) Handle raw materials and intermediate or finished products;

(10) Perform general maintenance as required on pumps, homogenizers, filter presses, tablet compression machines, and other like machines;

(11) Perform standard operating procedures to meet current good manufacturing practices (GMP);

(12) Maintain records;

(13) Monitor and verify quality in accordance with statistical process or other control procedures; and

(14) Stock medications.

(i) A registered pharmacy technician who has obtained a nuclear pharmacy technician endorsement may not perform the following:

(1) Drug regimen review;

(2) Clinical conflict resolution;

(3) Contact a prescriber concerning prescription drug order clarification or therapy modification;

(4) Receive new oral prescription drug orders.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to specify the registration process of a registered pharmacy technician with an endorsement as a pharmacy technician or a registered pharmacy technician with a nuclear pharmacy technician certificate and to specify the duties each category is permitted to perform under direct or indirect supervision of a licensed pharmacist.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.