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Kansas News: 2006 Legislative Changes
Published in the June 2006 Kansas State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.
The 2006 legislative session instituted several changes to the Kansas Pharmacy Act. House Bill (HB) 2830 amended existing pharmacy law regarding the registration of pharmacy technicians to require technicians to pass a Board-approved examination within 30 days of registration with the State Board of Pharmacy. Previously, an applicant for registration would have to pass the examination prior to registration. With this change the PIC will not have to certify on the pharmacy technician application that the applicant took and passed an examination. The test must be given within 30 days of the technician being registered with the Board and the test results shall be maintained at the pharmacy in a manner available for inspection by a Board representative. This change should provide for smoother transition in training technicians before they are required to pass an examination.
HB 2830 also added a provision to K.S.A. 65-1663, which will require any change to the pharmacist-to-technician ratio in the prescription area to be adopted by a vote of not less than five members of the Board.
HB 2678 repealed K.S.A. 65-1661, which required Medicare-approved renal dialysis facilities that kept prescription drugs as part of their services, to be registered with the Board of Pharmacy. This statute was enacted in 1998 and none of the facilities ever applied for licensure or complied with this law. Therefore, the legislature determined that the Board would no longer be responsible for these facilities.
As of the writing of this Newsletter there are several bills that are still in conference committee. The Wholesale Licensure and Prescription Medication Integrity Act is one topic that remains in committee. The original bill was introduced by Pfizer and mandated the Board of Pharmacy to implement paper pedigree and then electronic pedigree requirements in the state. It also included licensure provisions for prescription drug distributors rather than registration. After much debate, many meetings, sub-committees, and many amendments, the final language would require the Board of Pharmacy to conduct a study on the issue of licensing wholesale prescription drug distributors and the use of pedigree for prescription drugs and the penalty aspects for violation of any pedigree requirements. The results of such study shall be completed and presented along with a licensing and pedigree plan and recommendations for licensing and pedigree legislation to the legislature no later than January 15, 2007. Regardless of whether or not this bill becomes law the Board will conduct a study and present the legislature with proposed bill language next year. The pedigree requirement and wholesale prescription distributor licensing will help combat counterfeit drugs that gain access through the secondary drug distribution system. The Board supports this type of legislation and looks forward to the opportunity of drafting language that will revise our wholesale distributor requirements in a manner that will protect the public from counterfeit drug products.
