North Carolina News: Item 2146 - Pharmacist Administration of Zostavax

October 1, 2007 4:11 pm Topics: Vaccinations

Reprinted from the October 2007 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

North Carolina Board of Pharmacy staff has received numerous questions about pharmacist administration of Zostavax^®. Many pharmacists have been asked by physicians around the state to administer this vaccine to patients. And, as most pharmacists are aware, the Medicare reimbursement scheme for Zostavax – which will go to a Medicare Part D only scheme January 1, 2008 – coupled with the vaccine’s omission from the current rule governing pharmacist administration of vaccines has made it difficult for many seniors to obtain the vaccination. Board staff began working with the North Carolina Medical Board in March of this year to amend the vaccination rule to permit pharmacist administration of Zostavax. While that process did not move as swiftly as Board staff would have preferred, Medical and Pharmacy Board staff have reached agreement on a proposed amendment that would classify Zostavax with the pneumococcal vaccine for purposes of pharmacist administration.

By the time this Newsletter is published, Board staff expects that the proposed amendment will be winding its way through the rulemaking process. One question that is certain to arise is whether the amended rule will be effective by January 1, 2008. Board staff hopes that this will be the case, but owing to the vagaries of the rulemaking process – in particular the requirement that the Rules Review Commission (RRC) pass any proposed rule amendment – staff believes that timeline to be optimistic. Board staff hopes that if the amendment is simply moving through the final procedural steps on January 1, Medical Board staff will agree to a practical means of dealing with that issue so that North Carolina seniors will have access to Zostavax. Pharmacists should monitor the Board’s Web site for further developments.