AB 43

This bill permits a pharmacist to prescribe and dispense hormonal contraceptive patches and self-administered oral hormonal contraceptives, subject to limitations described as follows.

The bill requires the Pharmacy Examining Board, after consultation with the Medical Examining Board, the Board of Nursing, and the Department of Health Services, to promulgate rules to establish standard procedures for the prescribing of contraceptives by pharmacists under the bill. The rules must require that pharmacists use a self-assessment questionnaire, developed in consideration of guidelines established by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, when prescribing a contraceptive. The self-assessment questionnaire must state and the patient must acknowledge on the self-assessment questionnaire that a hormonal contraceptive patch or a self-administered oral hormonal contraceptive is not protection against sexually transmitted diseases, and that it is strongly recommended that the patient annually meet with a physician or other medical professional to discuss the patient’s prescribed hormonal contraceptive treatment and other routine preventive care.

Under the bill, the rules promulgated by the Pharmacy Examining Board establishing standard procedures for the prescribing of contraceptives by pharmacists must include certain requirements for pharmacists such as requiring that the pharmacist report to the patient’s primary health care practitioner following a prescription and requiring that the contraceptive be dispensed as soon as practicable after the pharmacist issues the prescription order. Further, the rules must prohibit a pharmacist from prescribing or dispensing a contraceptive to a patient unless the patient has responded to the self-assessment questionnaire and undergone a blood pressure screening and unless the use of the contraceptive is not contraindicated based upon the results of the questionnaire and screening. A pharmacist who prescribes contraceptives as permitted under the bill must comply with those rules, as well as any other rules promulgated by the Pharmacy Examining Board. A pharmacist may only prescribe a contraceptive to a person who is at least 18 years of age.

The bill requires any pharmacist who prescribes hormonal contraceptives as provided in the bill to have in effect malpractice liability insurance coverage in the amounts specified for other health care providers under current law.

Finally, the bill requires that DHS ensure any contraceptives or contraceptive services that are covered under the Medical Assistance program are covered and reimbursed when prescribed, if a prescription is required under federal law, or provided by a pharmacist acting within the scope of his or her practice. The Medical Assistance program is a joint federal and state program that provides health services to individuals who have limited financial resources. The bill also requires DHS to certify pharmacists as providers of Medical Assistance services for the purposes of covering and reimbursing prescribed hormonal contraceptive patches and self-administered oral hormonal contraceptives.