Legislative Affairs Committee

Legislative Affairs Committee

The Legislative Affairs Committee is committed to maintaining an active role in Maryland and national regulations and legislation important to pharmacy practitioners. This committee has worked on the Pharmacy Technician regulations, 797 sterile processing regulations, and tamper proof prescription pads. The Legislative Affairs Committee participates as a member organization of the Maryland Pharmacy Coalition which sponsors a Legislative Day education session, for the annual Legislative Day activities in Annapolis.

• Established in 1983, the committee monitors and responds to proposed legislation and regulations influencing pharmacy practice
• Monitor and address national issues – usually arising from the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)
• Recent Legislative Efforts:
  • State Board of Pharmacy – Board Membership and Delegated Pharmacy Acts Bill
    • Altering the membership of the State Board of Pharmacy to include a registered pharmacy technician; authorizing a licensed pharmacist, under certain circumstances, to delegate the entry of certain data into databases or patient charts to be performed at a remote location to a registered pharmacy technician and a registered pharmacy intern; prohibiting registered pharmacy technicians and pharmacy technician trainees from making decisions requiring the professional judgment of a pharmacist; etc.
  • Pharmacists- Therapy Management Contract – Form
    • Providing that a therapy management contract may be entered into in writing or orally; requiring, if a therapy management contract is entered into orally, the parties to the therapy management contract to reduce the contract to writing within 30 days after entering into the therapy management contract; and providing that a therapy management contract may be in electronic form.
  • Health Insurance- Reimbursement for Services Rendered by a Pharmacist-
    • Requiring the Maryland Medical Assistance Program, the Maryland Children’s Health Program, and certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for all services rendered to an enrollee by a licensed pharmacist within the pharmacist’s lawful scope of practice, rather than only certain services, to the same extent as services rendered by any other health care practitioner.

Chairs:

Farrah Tavakoli (Chair) and Courtney Henry (Vice-Chair)