April 1998 Newsletter

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS. The following disciplinary actions have been concluded by the Board during the time period December 1, 1997 to March 1, 1998.

Astrup, Daniel B., License #113575-4. A stipulated agreement was entered into between licensee and the Board, wherein licensee admitted to several practice-related deficiencies and violations of his responsibility as pharmacist-in-charge. Licensee was issued a formal reprimand by the Board and was placed on two years probation.

Hendrickson, Mark E., License #111963-1. A stipulated agreement was entered into between licensee and the Board, wherein licensee admitted to violating the terms of his previous probation with the Board relating to the consumption of alcohol. Licensee was issued a stayed suspension and was placed on three years probation.

Johnson, Thomas R., License #113480-7. A stipulated agreement was entered into between licensee and the Board, wherein licensee admitted to diverting controlled substance drugs from his previous employer for his personal use. Licensee was issued a stayed suspension and was placed on five years probation with the Board.

Stemp, David N., License #110794-4. A stipulated agreement was entered into between licensee and the Board, wherein licensee admitted to various practice-related deficiencies. Licensee was issued a formal reprimand by the Board and was placed on two years probation.

BOARD SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR INSPECTOR POSITION. At the beginning of the year, Pharmacy Board Surveyor Patricia Bellino resigned her position with the Board after nine years of dedicated service. The Board is now seeking applicants for the vacant Pharmacy Board Surveyor (Board Inspector) position. Applicants must be licensed to practice pharmacy in Minnesota, or must qualify to obtain such licensure. At least three years of experience as a licensed pharmacist is desirable. Pharmacists interested in applying for this position should contact the Board of Pharmacy for an application. Applications and résumés should be returned to the Board of Pharmacy office by April 30, 1998.

BOARD MEMBERS RE-APPOINTED. Governor Arne Carlson has re-appointed Pharmacist Board Member Carl Benson, community pharmacist from Morris, Minnesota, and Public Member Jean Lemberg, from Arden Hills, Minnesota, to new four-year terms on the Board. The terms of Ms. Lemberg and Mr. Benson were due to expire in January of 1998, but were extended to January of 2002, by the Governor's action.

We are pleased to have both of these valuable members re-appointed.

UPDATE: SYRINGE ACCESS INITIATIVE TO PREVENT HIV TRANSMISSION. The HIV prevention legislation, that the Minnesota Legislature enacted in 1997 regarding pharmacy access to limited quantities of needles and syringes, will become effective on July 1, 1998. The legislation was crafted after a similar effort in Connecticut, which resulted in a significant reduction in needlesharing among injecting drug users (IDUs). According to the Minnesota legislation, pharmacies may voluntarily participate in this initiative to sell, without a prescription, unused hypodermic needles and syringes in quantities of 10 or fewer. Participating pharmacies, however, are required to certify to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that they will participate in an activity that supports effective used syringe disposal. Types of activities, in which pharmacies may choose to participate to support syringe disposal, range from distribution of educational materials about proper personal disposal of syringes, to collection of used syringes from customers. In preparation for the implementation of this syringe access initiative, the MDH has sought input from a variety of stakeholders and has submitted an interim report to the Legislature outlining an implementation plan as well as a plan for evaluating the initiative's impact.

MDH continues to gather information from pharmacists and IDUs to assist implementation efforts. Materials are also being developed for distribution by pharmacists that describe the proper disposal of used syringes and provide for referral of IDUs to the state's HIV hotline in order to make referrals to health services and to provide HIV prevention and information. The Minnesota Pharmacists Association (MPhA) has formally adopted the recommendation made by its Government Affairs Committee to support the implementation of the syringe access law in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Health, and has invited MDH staff to provide a presentation about this initiative at the MPhA annual meeting in June. Plans are also underway to provide a presentation about this initiative at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Society of Health Systems Pharmacists in April.

For more information about this initiative or a copy of the legislative report, please call Elaine Collison or Gary Novotny, AIDS/STD Prevention Services Section, at (612)623-5698.

CONTINUING EDUCATION REPORTING DEADLINE NEARS. The deadline for Minnesota Pharmacists to report their continuing education participation, since October 1, 1996, is now only six months away. The following is taken from an information piece that is given to new licensees, describing continuing education information. With the continuing education deadline fast approaching, this information may be of value to all Minnesota pharmacists.

The final deadline for continuing education reporting is September 30 of every even-numbered year. Ideally, CE hours should be reported as soon as they are completed throughout the two-year period, instead of being held and then submitted at the deadline. This will help ensure that your CE hours are entered correctly. Early participation and submission of your hours will also avoid last minute problems for you. Remember, your license cannot be renewed, in the renewal period following the CE reporting deadline, until your CE requirement has been met (the renewal period begins January 1 of every year.) It is not necessary to submit certificates of attendance or other documents to the Board unless such documents are requested as part of a routine audit.

Commonly used sources of continuing education are the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, the Minnesota Pharmacist's Association, Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists, national pharmacy journals, and continuing education programming produced by some of the major drug companies.

The following is information and instructions regarding the reporting of continuing education participation, and the proper use of the CE cards for this reporting period.

ACPE Programs/Correspondence/Journal Articles:

If you attend or participate in a program, sponsored by an ACPE approved provider, you may simply send us copies of your certificates of attendance, either by attaching them to one of your cards or by making sure your name, address, and license number appear on each certificate. Another option is to write the pertinent information, from the certificates, on one or more cards, and then send us only the card.

Seminars (MN Approved Provider/MN Approved Program):

If you attend a live program, which is produced by a Minnesota approved provider or which has been approved as an individual program, you should submit one of your cards to the program provider at the time of your attendance. The provider will then send all of the cards from that program to the Board, along with the details of the program.

Pharm D Coursework:

Attach a copy of your transcript to a CE card and send it to the Board office.

Residencies or Fellowships:

Complete a pink-colored Program Attendee form and send it to the Board office, together with a letter from the program director attesting to your participation and providing a brief description of the program.

Programs Not Previously Approved:

If a program is not produced by an ACPE approved provider, is not produced by a Minnesota approved provider, or has not been reviewed and approved as an individual program, pharmacists may submit basic information about the program to the Board's Continuing Education Advisory Task Force on a pink-colored Program Attendee Form. This must be done within 45 days of attendance. If the program content is appropriate for pharmacists and the forms have been submitted in a timely manner, credit will be granted to the individual pharmacist who attended the program. If you attend such a program and complete the pink-colored Program Attendee Form, you do not need to submit a CE card to us or to the program provider, as we will enter the pertinent information from your pink form. If you do not submit the required form within 45 days, you may not receive credit.

Pharmacists living and working in IA, NE, ND, or SD:

Please send verification of licensure for the state in which you are practicing. You do not need to send in individual CE programs.

Continuing education cards and ACPE Certificates of Continuing Pharmaceutical Education Participation should be submitted to the Board as you complete the programs. This will serve to spread the work load out over the entire two-year period for Board staff, rather than swamping the staff with paperwork on September 30 of every even-numbered year, and will omit your last minute rush in submitting them.

The Board will send you a reminder, approximately six months prior to the September 30 reporting date in each even-numbered year, indicating the number of hours of credit that are recorded up to that time with the Board. This will allow you to plan effectively for completion of your continuing education credits.

Please remember to retain the continuing education certificates of attendance and other documents, such as canceled checks and program brochures, for all of the programs you attend. If you are one of the Minnesota pharmacists who is randomly selected for auditing, you will need to produce those documents.

Any pharmacist needing additional continuing education cards may obtain them by contacting the Board office either by phone or in writing, or you may photocopy the cards you have received.

Any remaining questions regarding continuing education should be directed to the Board of Pharmacy office.

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