State advocacy updates

Just as with the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee two weeks ago, we wrote a letter to the Washington (State) Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission about its new regulation requiring accessible labeling options on all prescription medications. We’re all for the idea of ensuring that visually impaired people have access to the important information that comes with medications — our concern is that “the financial implications [...] have not been adequately considered,” especially when it comes to small pharmacies. As with Utah, we would like the Washington State Department of Health to consider the simple question, “Who will pay for this?”

We also wrote to the executive director of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy asking for clarification on that state’s policies regarding 503Bs distributing compounded medications to 503A pharmacies. Apparently a state inspector there claimed 503Bs are not allowed to sell to 503As within the state. In addition to our request for clarification, we politely pointed out that “[FDA guidance] permits 503B outsourcing facilities to distribute compounded drugs to 503A pharmacies, provided these drugs are dispensed to patients pursuant to valid prescriptions and are not resold.”