Minnesota News: Telepharmacy Guidelines

January 1, 2007 10:57 am Topics: Telepharmacy

Reprinted from the January 2007 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

At its October 18, 2006 meeting, the Board adopted new “Guidelines for Dispensing with Remote Distribution via Telepharmacy.” Those guidelines are available on the Board’s Web site for review or downloading. A couple of changes are particularly noteworthy. First, a pharmacy may not provide remote pharmacy services if a community pharmacy is located within the same community as the remote site. In rural areas, “community” is defined as the area within 30 minutes travel time of the remote site. Generally, a 30-minute travel time equates to about a 20-mile distance. Second, the Board recommends that a pharmacist working at the central pharmacy not certify more than an average of eight prescriptions per hour, assuming that all prescriptions are for patients of the remote site(s). The Board further decided to “grandfather” existing telepharmacies that do not meet the distance requirement mentioned above.

Requests for approval of telepharmacies will be treated as if they were applications for new pharmacies. Such requests must be made, in writing, at least 60 days prior to the anticipated opening date of the telepharmacy. A diagram of any proposed remodeling, a complete set of policies and procedures, required variance request forms, an estimate of the prescription count at both the remote and central sites, and plans for staffing both sites should accompany the request. No telepharmacy proposal will be approved without being considered at one of the Board’s regular business meetings.