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Minnesota Board of Pharmacy |
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Minnesota Board of Pharmacy |
DISCIPLINARY
ACTIONS The Board has taken the following disciplinary actions during
the months of December 2000, and January and February 2001.
Axelson,
Frederic C., License #111246-3. Mr. Axelson engaged in the use of alcohol in
a manner that could cause conduct endangering public health. Mr. Axelson’s
personal license to practice pharmacy was put on probation with the Board
subject, to certain specified conditions, effective December 6, 2000.
Williams,
Robert E., License #111668-9. Mr. Williams engaged in the use of alcohol in
a manner that could cause conduct endangering public health. Mr. Williams’
personal license to practice pharmacy was suspended effective January 10, 2001.
Not earlier than April 10, 2001, Mr. Williams may petition for the reinstatement
of his license to practice pharmacy and, if granted, Mr. Williams will be put on
probation with the Board subject to specified conditions.
LICENSURE/REGISTRATION
ISSUES. A couple of issues impacting the renewal of registrations for
pharmacy technicians and the renewal of licenses for pharmacists have recently
come to the Board’s attention. In both cases, some individuals use the address
of their employer (the pharmacy) as their “public” address. Individuals then
often request that their license renewal be mailed to the “public” address
listed. In most cases all of this works smoothly, but in some cases pharmacists
or technicians have changed their place of employment and the renewal of their
registration or license goes to a pharmacy at which they are no longer employed.
This often delays, or totally prevents, delivery of the renewal to the
individual involved.
Pharmacists
and technicians are encouraged to use their home address as the address to which
license renewals should be mailed. This will ensure that the renewal documents
will not be lost in the mail of the pharmacy or create a delay in the delivery
of the renewal.
Pharmacists
or technicians who are currently getting their license renewal mailed to their
place of employment and desire to change that to a home address can simply
request the change by phone, mail, or e-mail. Please provide us with your name,
license number, and home address together with a request that the change be made
in our computer system. The Board’s phone number is (612) 617-2201; the
Board’s e-mail address is Pharmacy.Board@state.mn.us
and the Board’s mailing address is 2829 University Avenue SE, Suite 530,
Minneapolis, MN 55414.
RULE
CHANGES UNDER DEVELOPMENT. The Rules and Legislation Committee of the
Board met in late January to identify sections of the Board’s rules that
needed to be updated or deleted and to identify subject areas where new rules
are needed. The Rules and Legislation Committee identified a number of different
areas that needed to be addressed and will begin taking input from the public
and will begin the rule-drafting process shortly. What follows is a brief
description of the subject areas under consideration by the Board.
u
Lunch Breaks for Pharmacists. The Board has received a request from
representatives of the chain drug industry to consider establishing a rule that
relates to lunch breaks for pharmacists and would attempt to address the issue
of how to provide a continuation of services while the pharmacist is at lunch.
u
Controlled Substance Rescheduling. Several changes in the schedules of
controlled substances have been made, by DEA, since the Board last updated its
rules relating to the scheduling of controlled substances. While most of the DEA
activity has involved Schedule I substances, that pharmacists are not involved
with, there have been some rescheduling activities involving Schedules II
through V drugs that need to be addressed at the state level. The movement of
Marinol from Schedule II to Schedule III is such an example.
u
Expiration Dates on Unit Dose Packaging.
Existing Board rules adopt the standard that previously had been in place
through the USP. In January of this year, the USP changed its standard for the
expiration date on unit dose packaging prepared by the pharmacist; so the Board
must now change its existing rule to reflect the new USP standard.
u
Returns of Medication from Long-Term Care Facilities.
Several individuals, including some Board members and the Food and Drug
Administration, have expressed concern regarding the practice of pharmacists
accepting returns of discontinued medications from long-term care facilities and
re-dispensing those drugs to others. Issues, such as informed consent by
patients and conditions under which medications may be recycled, need to be
explored.
u
Telepharmacy. Over the past couple of years, the Board has begun to receive requests
for consideration of telepharmacy projects, whereby various pharmacy services
are provided to a remote site through computer, two-way video, and telephone
linkages. At the present time, Board of Pharmacy rules do not address issues
relating to telepharmacy. Telepharmacy, however, does hold some promise for use
in providing pharmacy services to underserved rural areas.
u
OBRA Requirements for All Patients. When Minnesota implemented the requirements
of OBRA 90 legislation, the Board was unable to successfully make the case for
expanding the patient counseling and DUR requirements of OBRA to all patients.
As a result, Minnesota became one of only ten states that did not expand the
patient counseling and DUR requirements to everyone. The Board believes that
times have changed and that now is the time to revisit that issue with an eye
toward establishing uniform standards that would apply to all patients.
u
Electronic Scales. Currently, the Board of Pharmacy rules require that each pharmacy
maintain a prescription balance among the pieces of equipment in that pharmacy.
Electronic scales are now beginning to replace prescription balances and have
been shown to provide equal or greater accuracy than is available from the
standard prescription balance. The Board believes its rules should reflect this
reality and allow the use of electronic scales.
u
On-line Reference Books. As was the case with prescription balances, Board
rules require each pharmacy to maintain certain reference books at the pharmacy.
A number of those references are now available on-line and the Board rules need
to address that reality.
u
Reciprocity Exam. The Board’s current rule, relating to examination and licensure by
reciprocity, makes reference to a written and oral examination in pharmacy law.
The reciprocity exam, now used by the Board, is a computer-adaptive examination
developed by NABP. The language of the Board’s rule needs to be changed to
eliminate the reference to a written and oral examination.
u
Hospital ER Dispensing. Board rules address the issue of dispensing of
medications, out of hospital emergency rooms by nurse practitioners and PAs, in
the absence of physicians and pharmacists. Since PAs and nurse practitioners now
have received statutory authority to dispense medications, the Board’s rule is
outdated and can be repealed.
u
Accuracy Label Requirements. The state of Oregon has implemented, and other
states have considered, the issue of providing a description of the tablet or
capsule being dispensed on the label or on the information sheet provided to the
patient at the time of dispensing. By providing the patient with a description
of the tablet or capsule being dispensed, the patient can quickly identify a
dispensing error, should one occur.
u
Internship Hours. The Board’s Internship Advisory Committee has made recommendations
to the Board that some changes be made in the internship required by the Board
of candidates for licensure. Of particular concern to the Committee was the fact
that some candidates for licensure could meet the internship requirements with
as little as 400 hours of actual compounding and dispensing experience. The
Internship Committee members expressed their concern that students with such a
minimal amount of compounding and dispensing experience may not be ready to
assume dispensing activities of a licensed pharmacist.
u
Pharmacy Services to Correctional Facilities.
Inmates at correctional facilities require pharmacy services in the same manner
as patients of hospitals, nursing home residents, and the general public. Yet,
as might be imagined, pharmacy services to correctional facilities pose a unique
set of circumstances and problems. Currently the Board does not have any rules
relating to the provision of pharmacy services to correctional facilities.
u Two additional areas that will be in need of rule writing or rule revisions, but which are likely to be addressed at a future time, are rules relating to electronic prescribing through the use of various handheld electronic devices by physicians; and, the issue of whether education and/or training requirements for pharmacy technicians should be developed or whether certification of pharmacy technicians should be required. Again, both of these last two issues are likely to be addressed at a future time.
The
Board will make every effort to keep pharmacists informed of the progress of
rule writing addressing these issues and will seek input from pharmacists on a
regular basis.
INTERNS,
RESIDENTS, AND FELLOWS MUST BE REGISTERED. Pharmacists, who will be hiring
interns, pharmacy residents, or providing pharmacy fellowships, must keep in
mind that the individuals involved in these programs must either be registered
with the Board as pharmacist interns or must be licensed to practice pharmacy in
Minnesota. Please make sure that any interns, residents, or fellows employed at
your pharmacy are properly registered with the Board. Registration as an intern
or as a pharmacist in another state does not allow that individual to practice
as an intern, a resident, or a fellow in Minnesota.
