SUMMARY

This bill implements the recommendations of the Pharmacy Act Review Group, which was established by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation to update the Maine Pharmacy Act.

The bill defines automated pharmacy systems and authorizes the Maine Board of Pharmacy to establish standards for their use. The bill redefines practitioner, reflecting the increased number of professions that are authorized to prescribe. It allows the board to use discretion in issuing a license by reciprocity, and aligns the board's license and continuing education cycles with the calendar year. The bill removes the automatic provision of executive session for informal conferences and adds breach of confidentiality to the area of unprofessional conduct. The bill allows a pharmacist to be in charge of more than one outlet with written permission from the board and allows drug outlets to open prior to state site inspection. The bill ties record retention requirements to those of federal Medicare laws and requires dispensed drug labels to include the beyond use date of the drug.

Finally, the bill establishes a statutory review committee to review the current scope of practice for pharmacists and to make recommendations for change if necessary. The review must address the issues of drug administration and collaborative practice and the current regulatory relationship between the Board of Pharmacy and institutional pharmacies. The review committee is charged with making recommendations back to the Governor and Legislature.