Hot Off the Press: Mississippi Board of Pharmacy Files Proposed Rule on Shared Pharmacy Services

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On June 10, 2022, the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy filed their much-anticipated proposed rule on pharmacy shared services, starting the clock on the 25-day public comment period. The Board simultaneously filed its proposed amendments to the definitions found in Title 30 Part 3001, to remove outdated definitions and add new ones to clarify the Board’s regulations.

While the full text of the proposed Shared Services rule can be found here, notable highlights include the following:

  • Shared Pharmacy Services means performing only a portion of the medication management process, which may include data entry, prior authorizations, reviewing therapeutic interventions, or reviewing chart orders.
  • The originating pharmacy must be the filling and dispensing pharmacy.
    • Specifically, the pharmacy that originally received the prescription must perform all filling functions, final verification, and delivery.
  • All pharmacies involved in the arrangement must be licensed with and comply with the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy regulations, including technician to pharmacist ratio. This includes resident and non-resident pharmacies.
  • Among other requirements, the pharmacies involved must have the same owner or common practice setting, a written contract or agreement, and share a common electronic file or technology that allows access to necessary information.
  • Any pharmacy that is utilizing shared pharmacy services must provide sufficient on-site pharmaceutical services that meet the needs of the patients, including an on-site licensed pharmacist directing this service.
  • Before using any shared pharmacy services provided by another pharmacy, a pharmacy must notify patients, allow a pathway for the patient to opt-out, and provide the name of that pharmacy or, if not under common ownership, notify the patient that any of the network pharmacies may assist.

Notably, the proposed rule includes a section on remote work. Specifically, the rule allows an individual pharmacist licensed in Mississippi, who is an employee of or under contract with a pharmacy, to access that pharmacy’s electronic system from inside or outside the pharmacy and perform non-filling order functions permitted by the Mississippi Pharmacy Act. All of the following conditions must be met:

  1. The pharmacy establishes controls to protect the confidentiality and integrity of patient information.
  2. The remote pharmacist is licensed in Mississippi.
  3. None of the information is duplicated, downloaded, or removed from the pharmacy’s electronic system.
  4. The remote accessing of the pharmacy record is not permitted by non-pharmacist support staff without the direct supervision of a co-located pharmacist.

The proposed effective dates of the rule on shared services, and amended definitions, is July 10, 2022.

If you have any questions regarding the proposed rule and proposed amendments to definitions, please contact your Quarles & Brady attorney or:

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