SB 1254: Hospital pharmacies: medication profiles or lists for high-risk patients.

Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists, intern pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacies by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing regulatory law requires a pharmacy to maintain medication profiles on all patients who have prescriptions filled at that pharmacy, except under specified circumstances. A knowing violation of the Pharmacy Law is a crime.

This bill would require a pharmacist at a hospital pharmacy to obtain an accurate medication profile or list for each high-risk patient upon admission of the patient under specified circumstances. The bill would authorize an intern pharmacist or a pharmacy technician to perform the task of obtaining an accurate medication profile or list for a high-risk patient if certain conditions are satisfied. The bill would require the hospital to establish criteria regarding who is a high-risk patient for purposes of the bills provisions, and determine a timeframe for completion of the medication profile or list, based on the populations served by the hospital. The bill would exclude the State Department of State Hospitals from the bills provisions.

By placing new requirements on a pharmacist, this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime and would, therefore, impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.