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Ohio News: New Pharmacy Board Rules Effective
Published in the November 2007 Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
By the time this Newsletter arrives, the Board should have new rules that have become effective. The full text of these rules can be found on the Board’s Web site. Click on “What’s New” and you will find the full text of the rules, showing changes. A major change this year deals with the immunizations that pharmacists may administer to patients, including influenza vaccine to patients 14 years of age and older. In addition, properly trained and certified pharmacy interns are now able to administer influenza vaccine to patients 18 years of age and older under the direct supervision of a pharmacist. Senate Bill 58 passed both the House and the Senate, was signed by the governor, and became law on August 30, 2007. The process of finalizing the rules meant that the implementation of the law was delayed until the rules could go through the state’s approval system. All of that is complete and the implementation of the law can now proceed.
Pharmacists may now administer influenza vaccine to patients 14 years of age or older. For patients 18 years of age or older, pharmacists may administer vaccines for pneumonia, tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningitis, diphtheria, and pertussis. In addition, pharmacists may have epinephrine or diphenhydramine available for administration in emergency situations.
As stated above, pharmacy interns may administer influenza vaccine to patients 18 years of age or older when they are directly supervised by a pharmacist who is able to administer immunizations.
One other change made in the law deals with the notification of the patient’s physician or the local board of health. It is no longer necessary to notify the physician or the board of health for influenza vaccines administered to patients 18 years of age or older. Even though notification is still required for the other injectables, this should cut down on the pharmacy’s paperwork requirements tremendously.
Please note that pharmacists who were trained prior to the recent changes to the laws and rules must receive additional training before they may begin to administer the new immunizations or administer influenza vaccine to patients in the 14- through 17-year-old age group. The Board has been approving programs that incorporate the new injections and many of them have indicated that they will offer a somewhat shorter course for those who were previously certified to be sure they are knowledgeable about the approved new injections.
