The Florida Board of Pharmacy permits pharmacies serving residents and patients at long-term care facilities (nursing homes, ALFs, homes for DD residents, etc.) as either Special Closed System Pharmacies or Community...more
5/23/2024
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Kickbacks ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Prescription Drugs
The Florida legislature took aim at pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during the 2023 legislative session by enacting the Prescription Drug Reform Act, Chapter 2023-29, Laws of Florida (https://laws.flrules.org/2023/29) (the...more
Chapter 2022-60, Laws of Florida (http://laws.flrules.org/2022/60), that went into effect July 1, 2022, allows registered pharmacy technicians to seek certification to provide immunizations and become “Certified Registered...more
Whoever authored this new legislation (Chapter 2021-135, Laws of Florida) deserves a pat on the back for an idea whose time has come. When an applicant files for a change of ownership (“CHOW”) or change of location for one of...more
For most Florida prescribers whose licenses haven’t renewed since 2019, it’s time to commence electronic prescribing. In 2019, the legislature enacted legislation that required electronic prescribing. However, this...more
Pharmacists and other providers should beware of a medical consent requirement buried in the new “Parents’ Bill of Rights” signed by Governor Desantis. The law will be codified at Fla. Statutes § 1014.06 and became effective...more
While the COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 a trying year, one unintended benefit was that the Florida legislature allowed pharmacists to further expand their scope of practice to help patients with certain chronic conditions...more
Florida has been contemplating ways to increase patient access to care, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the anticipated increase in cases. Recognizing the accessibility of pharmacies, Florida is now...more
6/19/2020
/ Chronic Care Managment (CCM) ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Florida ,
Patient Access ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacist ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing
Pharmacists can now engage in a new role in the battle against COVID-19 – testing patients for the virus. Recognizing the advanced health care training that pharmacists receive and the unique consumer access to community...more
The catchphrase of the day is “social distancing” and it is the primary means of flattening the COVID-19 pandemic (the pandemic) curve by keeping contagious and healthy people apart. However, there is another kind of...more
Like many states, Florida requires consultant pharmacists to conduct on-site monthly visits to the facilities to which they provide pharmacy services. The visits are required for Modified Class IIB Pharmacy Permits, Special...more
Healthcare providers have special concerns for their employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health emergency....more
3/11/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Pharmaceutical Distribution ,
Pharmacies ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Screening Procedures ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
International export pharmacies took another step forward towards a separate, distinct licensure in Florida as the Florida Board of Pharmacy held a specially called Rules Sub-Committee Meeting on June 27, 2019, to address the...more
7/24/2019
/ Biologics ,
Exports ,
Florida ,
Imports ,
Licensing Rules ,
Medical Devices ,
Permits ,
Pharmaceutical Distribution ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Standards ,
State and Local Government
Governor Desantis recently signed House Bill 831, which will require certain healthcare practitioners to “electronically transmit prescriptions”. Unfortunately, the legislature left this term undefined, creating some...more
7/2/2019
/ Controlled Substances ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Florida ,
Health Care Providers ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
The Florida legislature passed HB 21, which imposes a number of new requirements on prescribers and pharmacists regarding controlled substance prescribing and dispensing. Part of the law requires pharmacists to verify the...more
At the close of the 2018 session, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 675, which if allowed to become law by the Governor, will help hospitals and their facilities that are under common control manage their...more
3/19/2018
/ Controlled Substances ,
Drug Distribution ,
Florida ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescribing Authority ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Oversight
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), as a whole, did not have a significant impact on pharmacy services per se. However, a complete repeal would likely impact certain areas of pharmacy services including the drug benefit for the...more
1/31/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Patients ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Repeal ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
During the 2016 legislative session, Florida granted authority to both advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to prescribe controlled substances, subject to approval by their...more
The Florida Board of Pharmacy (BOP) recently amended the rules regarding community pharmacy hours of operation to reduce required daily operating hours from 40 to 20 hours per week. As before, the hours have to be posted and...more
The 2016 Florida Legislature enacted substantial legislation (Ch. 2016-212, Laws of Florida) to bring Florida’s Drug and Cosmetic Act (Ch. 499, Florida Statutes) in line with the federal Drug Supply Chain and Security Act...more
4/20/2016
/ Drug Distribution ,
DSCSA ,
Exemptions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Publix ,
Wholesale
Pharmacies, dispensing prescribers, and certain healthcare facilities in Florida will soon have an easier time complying with controlled-substance reporting requirements. Florida established its Prescription Drug Monitoring...more
Florida’s 2015 Legislative Session ushered in two new laws affecting pharmacies: One addressing pharmacist immunizations (HB 279) and the second clarifies that veterinarians are authorized to dispense compounded drugs and...more
7/13/2015
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Compliance ,
DQSA ,
Drug Compounding ,
Florida ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacist ,
Vaccinations ,
Veterinarians
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently refused to bless a specialty pharmacy's request to pay a per-prescription fee to retail pharmacies for "support services" to be...more
The Florida Board of Pharmacy rules allow pharmacies to engage in office-use compounding. Rule 64B16-27.700, FAC. This allows pharmacies to compound drugs for physicians to use in treating their patients in the office without...more
A new declaratory statement from Florida regulators clarifies the restrictions on intracompany sales of pharmaceuticals. Previously, if one pharmacy in Florida wanted to send a bottle of prescription medicine to its sister...more