HB 112-PROFESSION OF PHARMACY  3:27:56 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 112, "An Act relating to the Board of Pharmacy; relating to the practice of pharmacy; relating to pharmacies; relating to prescription drug manufacturers; relating to prescriptions for epinephrine; relating to the administration of epinephrine; and providing for an effective date." 3:28:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 112. He stated that the proposed legislation has been worked over for the past several years by multiple chairs of the Board of Pharmacy, and the governor had requested this in regard to the use of "right-touch regulations." He pointed out the legislation is the result of a large rewrite of pharmacy regulations, citing that the pharmacy profession has undergone many changes over the past several decades. For example, he said, it has gone from pharmacists going through a bachelor's degree program to a doctoral degree program, and this produces pharmacists who are capable of clinical work and prescribing some medications. As a result of this change, he insisted that the regulations need to be updated. He noted that some of these changes would need to be statutory. He stated that the proposed legislation is a culmination of many changes, making it a lengthy bill consisting of multiple instances of clean-up language. 3:30:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER questioned the term "right-touch regulations." REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE responded that this is an initiative by the governor to update and alter the law by only regulating "what needs to be regulated, but don't overregulate." This would include clearing up any outdated regulations. 3:31:58 PM BRAEDEN GARRETT, Staff, Representative Justin Ruffridge, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Ruffridge, prime sponsor, gave the sectional analysis of HB 112. He stated that Section 1 would amend AS 08.08.010(a) by designating that one member of the Board of Pharmacy be a licensed pharmacy technician. He stated that the main proposed changes include: Section 2 would add an epinephrine auto-injector training program, with the remainder of the subsections being clean-up language; Section 3 would change internship details, along with more clean-up language; Section 4 would add out-of-state pharmacies and manufacturers to the list of entities that must be licensed and inspected; Section 5 would update the compliance requirement of the Drug Supply Chain and Security Act; Section 6 would add "pharmacy and manufacturer" to the list of out of state inspections; Section 7 would remove the word "registration" because the bill would mandate licensure of a facility; Section 9 would add a salary range option for the executive administrator; Section 10 would add the term "apothecary" to a list which cannot be used in media or advertising unless the store employs a licensed pharmacist with regular hours; and Section 11 would add "pharmacist" and "pharmacy technician" to the list of professions where a background check is required. 3:33:59 PM MR. GARRETT, continuing the sectional analysis, indicated that [Section 8], Section 12 through Section 16, and [parts of Section 18] would create and regulate the epinephrine autoinjector program. He stated that Section 17 would define the "board" as "the Board of Pharmacy". The remainder of Section 18 would repeal the requirement of the two affidavits attesting to an applicant's "good moral character," and the registration of pharmacies located outside of the state. He stated that Section 19 and Section 20 contain transitional language, with Section 21 and Section 22 pertaining to the effective date. 3:36:18 PM ASHLEY SCHABER, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, Chair, Alaska Board of Pharmacy, gave a PowerPoint presentation on HB 112, titled "House Bill 112: Profession of Pharmacy" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. She stated that she has been a practicing pharmacist in Alaska for over 15 years. She began the presentation by describing the Alaska Board of Pharmacy's strategic plan, as seen on slide 2. She stated that the board has seven members, with five being pharmacists and two being public members. She added that the board has been focused on the regulation changes for the past several years. She pointed out that the fourth goal listed on the slide would grow the economy by promoting community health and safety. She stated that many of the proposed changes are related to this particular goal, including the following: reviewing regulations with reduced barriers to licensure without compromising patient health and safety; advocating for licensure as the profession evolves with improved patient safety; and responding to the changes in the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. DR. SCHABER expressed the belief that the proposed legislation would align with the board's strategic plan and its mission, which is to promote, preserve, and protect public health, safety, and welfare through effective control and regulation of the practice of pharmacy. She pointed out on slide 3 the four goals that HB 112 would address, which are: streamlining licensure, compliance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, alignment with other relevant boards, and clarification of the role of pharmacists in epinephrine access. Moving to slide 4 she stated that streamlining licensure would entail eliminating unnecessary statutory forms, clarifying the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program requirements, and adding national background checks. 3:40:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER requested examples of the forms which would be eliminated. DR. SCHABER responded these would be the moral character affidavit forms for pharmacist applicants. These forms currently must be completed by two citizens and submitted to the division to be processed. She explained that it was determined that these forms are redundant and not required by other relevant boards. 3:42:04 PM DR. SCHABER moved to slide 5 which addressed compliance with the Drug Supply Chain and Security Act. She stated that the Act is federal legislation to protect the country's drug supply against harmful medication. She stated that pharmacies play a key role in this process. She added that this also addresses internet pharmacies. 3:43:30 PM DR. SCHABER, in response to a question from Representative Saddler, stated that harmful drugs mostly include counterfeit medications, and the proposed legislation would enable pharmacies in the state to moderate the drug supply chain. 3:44:37 PM DR. SCHABER, moving to slide 6, addressed the goal of aligning the board's statutes with other boards in Alaska and other states. She stated this would also allow one of the seats on the board to be a pharmacy technician, allow the board to adopt language for retired pharmacist status, and clarify the board's executive administrator's salary, allowing for a pharmacist to serve in this role. DR. SCHABER moved to slide 7, addressing epinephrine access. She stated that epinephrine training programs would be moved from the Department of Health to the Board of Pharmacy. This also would allow pharmacists to administer or prescribe epinephrine. She added that this closely resembles regulations concerning the administration of opioid overdose medication. She concluded the presentation by requesting that the committee support HB 112. 3:48:51 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that HB 112 was held over.