February 9, 2024
APC submits comments on Hawaii, Mississippi bills
This week, APC submitted letters to two state legislatures—a joint letter with NCPA to Hawaii and a letter to Mississippi.
The Hawaii bill, HB 2554, would require “pharmacies, other than on-site pharmacies in institutional facilities, to make a pharmacy intern, pharmacy technician, pharmacy employee, or an employee of the retail establishment the pharmacy is located in available to assist a registered pharmacist at all times the pharmacy is open to the public.” Our comment letter asserts that there are conditions in which the Board of Pharmacy should not take action against a pharmacy for not complying with those requirements—for example, if the owner is the pharmacist-in-charge and is the only employee, or if there are sudden, reasonably unanticipated circumstances affecting an employee scheduled to work. The bill was deferred in a committee hearing on Tuesday.
This Mississippi bill, HB 648, would remove the requirement for IV vitamins to be prepared in a compounding pharmacy, allowing nurses and nurse practitioners to prepare IVs in a clinic with no mention of sterility requirements, putting patient safety at risk. APC strongly opposes the bill.
