SB 247-EXTENDING BOARD OF PHARMACY  3:34:39 PM CHAIR OLSON announced that the next order of business would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 247(L&C), "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Pharmacy; and providing for an effective date." TIM BENINTENDI, Staff, Senator Donny Olson, Alaska State Legislature, paraphrased from the sponsor statement, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: This bill would extend the termination date of the Board of Pharmacy until June 30, 2018. According to the legislative audit for this panel, there were no issues discovered adversely affecting the public, but auditors commented that the Administration needs to improve support for this board and make more timely appointments. The Committee Substitute changed the bill in one way. As drafted, the original had the extension date as 2015, which was different from the recommendation in the audit. In S.L&C, we changed SB 247 to conform to their report. No opposition has surfaced to this bill or the Committee Substitute. 3:36:20 PM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH referred to the audit recommendations and asked for clarification. MR. BENINTENDI answered that the sponsor did not feel any elements contained in the audit report rose to the level of needing any response. 3:37:52 PM PAT DAVIDSON, Executive Director, Division of Legislative Budget and Audit, explained that this audit had three recommendations. The first one pertained to the collaborative protocol between a pharmacist and physician. For example, although pharmacists are not normally licensed to give shots, a person can go to a pharmacist to obtain a flu shot. An agreement between a physician and a pharmacist allows the pharmacist to give shots or whatever treatment is established under the collaborative protocol. In entering such an agreement, some monitoring and timeframes are established. As a general rule, the Board of Pharmacy had been allowing collaborative protocols to be in place for two years. However, the underlying agreement between the pharmacist and physician covered a much shorter timeframe. The auditor's concern was that the Board of Pharmacy was approving the protocols. Both the DCCED and the Board of Pharmacy agreed and said changes would be implemented. In response to Representative Buch, she stated that regulations were not required but adherence to the agreement was needed. 3:39:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT related that an eight-year extension for the board seemed like a long time. MS. DAVIDSON offered that a few years ago the statute was changed from "not to exceed four years" to "not to exceed eight years." She explained since boards issue annual reports and their activities are within the public's view such as the missions and measures that a lot of public information is available. Additionally, a legislator can request an audit at any time concern so the necessity of conducting a four-year audit seemed unnecessary. The auditors identified three recommendations. One recommendation addressed the board's operations and the other two pertained to the supporting agencies, such as the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, within the DCCED, which was not providing adequate support. She mentioned that the lack of DCCED support pertains to all of the boards. Further, the Office of the Governor has not been making timely appointments to the board, which compromises the board's ability to carry out its mission. Thus, the recommendations are primarily not identifying problems with the board's activities, but refer to other agencies' issues. In response to Chair Olson, she characterized this board as falling into the "not a problem board" category. 3:43:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH recalled deficiencies existed between pharmacists and physicians regarding prescription drugs. He said it seemed as though protocol was not being followed. He reminded members the importance of the oversight to be sure proper protocol is being followed. MS. DAVIDSON related one other issue in the report. She commented that the division received a $500,000 grant for a Controlled Substance Prescription Database. The Division of Legislative Budget and Audit has conducted audits in the past few years on personally identifiable information and the system security with respect to the various databases. She suggested that the division will monitor the development of the database. While $500,000 seems like a lot of money, very sensitive and personal information is contained in the proposed database, she stated. 3:45:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT recalled prior legislation that authorized the database. He asked whether the database has been developed. MS. DAVIDSON offered that one prior audit looked at the governance framework to control personally identifiable information. She stated that the culture is not as security conscious as it should be in this state. Thus, the LB&A's auditors provided a detailed review of several systems and made recommendations to the department. The administration responded to the audits and seemed to view the process as a work in progress. She did not know the exact status of the proposed database completion. 3:46:47 PM DIRK WHITE, Pharmacist, Board Member, Board of Pharmacy, explained that the Board of Pharmacy's primary mission is public protection from rogue pharmacists or dangerous practices that some pharmacists may undertake. Its secondary mission is the enactment of regulations. He explained the Board of Pharmacy has been working with the Department of Law on the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The audit questions were specifically; discussed at the March Board meeting. 3:48:32 PM REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES asked for an update on the Controlled Substance Prescription Database. MR. WHITE explained that the "money dried up." He recalled that about 23 states established the databases to date, with perhaps another 17 states in the process of doing so. Alaska received initial start-up funds to get the software up and running. The Board of Pharmacy anticipates performing some beta testing in October. 3:49:27 PM MR. WHITE, in response to Representative Chenault answered that the funding source for the Controlled Substance Prescription Database was federal funds. REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT said he would review the fiscal impact at the state level. MR. WHITE recalled the program was anticipated to be fully funded with federal funds and it was anticipated that when the federal funding "dried up" the program would either cease to exist or the state would need to find another funding source. 3:50:34 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked whether the Board of Pharmacy regulates medical marijuana. MR. WHITE answered that the day the bill became law he had three prescriptions presented to him. It took the Attorney General about eight months to promulgate regulations. Essentially, today "You have a get out of jail free card. You take the prescription to the police department, and you go find your marijuana wherever you want." As a practicing pharmacist and a Board member, he viewed medical marijuana as a highly dangerous situation since marijuana is unregulated and can be laced with opium to crack and other drugs. He stated that the Board of Pharmacy would like some method to control medical marijuana through the Board for the safety of Alaskans. CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on SB 247. 3:52:18 PM REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES moved to report CSSB 247(L&C) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objections, the CSSB 247(L&C) was reported from the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee. 3:52:55 PM The committee took an at-ease from 3:52 p.m. to 3:54 p.m. 3:54:52 PM