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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 30, 2017 03:31 PM |
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| From: | Representative Ryan E. Mackenzie |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Emergency Prescription Refill |
| In the near future I will be introducing the companion legislation to Senator Browne’s “Emergency Prescription” bill, to amend the Pennsylvania Pharmacy Act. This legislation will allow a pharmacist to dispense emergency prescription refills for up to thirty days while still following the already established restrictions. Controlled substances, including opioids, will be prohibited from an emergency prescription refill. Currently in Pennsylvania, a pharmacist may only refill a prescription limited to a seventy-two hour emergency supply. Certain medications, such as insulin, are not available in a seventy-two hour supply and are not able to be dispensed for an emergency supply. This legislation will provide an individual who is dependent upon a life sustaining medication that is essential to maintaining a consistent drug therapy, a thirty day refill without a prescription. The Pennsylvania Pharmacy Act requires that a pharmacist must first attempt to obtain an authorization from the prescriber before dispensing a medication. The pharmacist must also determine that an interruption of the drug therapy would result in an undesirable health consequence including physical or mental discomfort or a life-threatening situation. Once the prescription is filled, a pharmacist would have seventy-two hours to notify the prescriber that an emergency supply was dispensed. These restrictions already in place for a pharmacist when dispensing an emergency prescription would not be affected by this legislation. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation that could prevent the unnecessary interruption of an individual’s essential drug therapy during an emergency situation. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB1186