Nevada Laws Expand Patients' Access to Pharmacist Services

The Nevada Legislature has passed three bills advancing pharmacist scope of practice and reimbursement in the state. The bills include:

• Expanding Collaborative Practice: Nevada Senate Bill 229 revises rules governing pharmacist collaborative practice agreements (CPAs), removing barriers for practitioners and broadening the scope of eligible pharmacist-provided services, including prescribing and administering controlled substances. The bill also formally designates pharmacists as healthcare providers, paving the way for plans to reimburse pharmacists for services authorized under CPAs.
• Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP): Nevada Senate Bill 325 requires the state Board of Pharmacy to establish protocols allowing pharmacists to prescribe, dispense, and administer drugs to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The bill also requires all state regulated health plans, including Medicaid and state employee plans, to provide coverage and reimbursement for medications and related pharmacist clinical services at a rate equal to other practitioners.
• Hormonal Contraception: Nevada Senate Bill 190 requires the Board of Pharmacy to establish protocols allowing pharmacists to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives to eligible patients without a prescription. The bill also requires health plans to cover hormonal contraceptives when dispensed by a pharmacist pursuant to a Board protocol.

ASHP congratulates the Nevada Society of Health-System Pharmacists and its members for their work on this legislation. We anticipate that the governor will sign these bills.

'States are increasingly recognizing the value of pharmacists as providers of clinical services,' said Tom Kraus, ASHP's vice president of government relations.

Nevada, Virginia, Missouri, and Utah have all passed legislation this year allowing pharmacists to order drugs to prevent HIV infection. They join Colorado, Oregon, and California, which already permit pharmacists to order these medications. Nevada, Arkansas, and Illinois also joined 13 other states plus Washington, DC, which allow pharmacists to order hormonal contraceptives without a collaborative practice agreement.

'The Medicare program is increasingly out of step with the way care is delivered in states. It is past time for the Medicare program to recognize pharmacists as healthcare providers,' Kraus said.

Please take action by telling your members of Congress to support pharmacist provider status.

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