Home - ICHP KeePosted

Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists

Government Affairs
They're Back: The Collaborative Pharmaceutical Task Force and Other Legislative Poltergeists!

by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President

The 2019 Fall General Assembly Veto Session was productive in that SB2104 extended the Illinois Pharmacy Practice Act for another three years. The Governor signed the bill on December 20th with a full eleven days to spare! But SB2104 or Public Act 101-0621 as it is now known, does a lot more than just extend the Act, it resurrects the Collaborative Pharmaceutical Task Force with six new additional members. The Task Force will meet “for the purpose of continuing dialogue on the best practices for pharmacy in the State of Illinois”.

The new members of the Task Force will represent a statewide organization representing retailers, a statewide organization representing unionized pharmacy employees, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the House, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Minority Leader of the House, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate. These new members will bring a slight shift in perspective but hopefully will add to the flavor of the discussions and bring additional improvements to the Act. The Task Force will deliberate through most of the year, reporting to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation by no later than October 1, 2020 any additional recommendations for changes to the Act and Rules.

Other changes brought about by PA 101-0621 include the following:

Clarifies that a registered pharmacy technician (including certified pharmacy technicians) may be delegated to perform any task within the practice of pharmacy if specifically trained for that task, except for patient counseling, drug regimen review, or clinical conflict resolution.
Beginning on January 1, 2022, a new pharmacy technician is required to have graduated from a pharmacy technician training program that is standard nationally accredited education and training program, such as those accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) or the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
Pharmacies may not require a pharmacist, pharmacy student, or pharmacy technician to work longer than 12 continuous hours per day, inclusive of the breaks required under another section.
A pharmacist who works 6 continuous hours or longer per day shall be allowed to take, at a minimum, one 30-minute uninterrupted meal break and one 15-minute break during that 6-hour period. If such pharmacist is required to work 12 continuous hours per day, at a minimum, he or she qualifies for an additional 15-minute break.
A pharmacy may, but is not required to, close when a pharmacist is allowed to take a break, however, the pharmacist must remain on the premises of the pharmacy and only those prescriptions that have been refilled and verified by the pharmacist as not requiring additional counseling may be dispensed in the pharmacist’s absence.
In a pharmacy staffed by 2 or more pharmacists, the pharmacists shall stagger breaks so that at least one pharmacist remains on duty during all times the pharmacy is open for the transaction of business.
A pharmacy shall keep and maintain a complete and accurate record showing its pharmacists’ daily break periods.
Break period and shift limit requirements shall not apply when an emergency - as deemed by the professional judgment of the pharmacist - necessitates that a pharmacist, student pharmacist or pharmacy technician work longer than 12 continuous hours, or have a break interrupted in order to minimize immediate health risks for patients.
Before a prescription that has a refill on file may be included in an auto-refill program, a patient or patient’s agent must enroll each prescription in the auto-refill program.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, a pharmacy using the NCPDP SCRIPT standard for receiving electronic prescriptions must enable, activate, and maintain the ability to receive transmissions of electronic prescription cancellations and transmit cancellation response transactions.
Pharmacies may be disciplined for:
- Using advertisements or making solicitations that are false, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading, or include a claim regarding a professional service or product or cost that cannot be
substantiated.
- Requiring a pharmacist to participate in the use or distribution of advertisements that may jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of patients,
- Failing to provide a working environment for all pharmacy personnel that protects the health, safety, and welfare of the patient which includes, but is not limited to:
- Employ sufficient staff to prevent fatigue, distraction, or other conditions that interfere with a pharmacist’s ability to practice with competency and safety or creates an environment
that jeopardizes patient care,
- Provide appropriate opportunities for uninterrupted rest periods and meal breaks,
- Provide adequate time for a pharmacist to complete professional duties and responsibilities.
- Introducing or enforcing external factors, such as productivity or production quotas or other programs against pharmacists, student pharmacists, or pharmacy technicians, to the extent that
they interfere with the ability of those individuals to provide appropriate professional services to the public.
- Providing an incentive for or inducing the transfer of a prescription for a patient absent a professional rationale.
Any person who reports a violation of the Act to the Department is protected under the Illinois Whistleblowers Act.

As you can see, PA 101-0621 made many changes to the Pharmacy Practice Act in 2019 through the recommendations of the Collaborative Pharmaceutical Task Force. And it is our hope that more positive changes will arrive from the reformed Task Force in 2020 and 2021.

One other pharmacy-related bill that made it out of the Veto Session this fall and still awaits the Governor’s signature is SB0667 which limits the out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $100 or less for a 30-day supply for patients, covered by an insurance plan that provides insulin. This cost sharing plan should not impact pharmacies directly.

Finally, with license renewals coming in the end of March of this year, make sure you read the November 2019 Board of Pharmacy Update regarding the new requirement of one hour of CE credit on Sexual Harassment Prevention for pharmacists and certified pharmacy technicians. ICHP is offering members free-access to an online program that will meet this requirement. Go to www.ichpnet.org, sign-in and click on "Free Sexual Harassment Prevention CE" under "NEWS"!

BTW: The title of this article is the same as the title of the closing session at this year’s ICHP Spring Meeting in East Peoria on March 27 & 28. The program will update attendees on the deliberations of the re-convened Collaborative Pharmaceutical Task Force and new pharmacy and health care related legislation before the General Assembly this spring, so you may want to make sure you’re registered for that two-day session to stay up to date with all Illinois law and rule changes!

Until the next KeePosted Government Affairs Report in May, watch your e-mails (even the spam folder! Who knows why they sometimes end up there?) and social media for legislative and regulatory updates! Also, we hope to see many of you at this year’s Illinois Pharmacy Legislative Day – Under the Dome 14 on April 22nd!