The Alabama Legislature in its 2017 regular session revised pharmacy operating practices under the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy.
Act No. 2017-422 clarifies that a pharmacist is a health care provider, sets qualifications for a laboratory, increases some maximum pharmacy permit fees, increases frequency of registration for chain pharmacies from every two years to annually, adds more businesses in the supply chain to the list of those required to register, deals with shipping of legend drugs, sets discipline for fraudulently registered pharmacists and revises pharmacy tech requirements along with other changes. The new law is effective Aug. 1.
“Forty-nine states consider a pharmacist a health care provider,” the law’s author, Rep. Elaine Beech, D-Chatom, told her colleagues, adding her legislation makes it 50 states. Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, authored the companion legislation.
The law retains the current fee rate for a new pharmacy permit of not less than $100 and no more than $200. It also maintains the renewal rate of not less than $50 and no more than $150.
Other fees will see an increase under the Pharmacy Board supported law. It increases the maximum fee for out-of-state renewals from $150 to $750. The fiscal note says that change could increase receipts to the Alabama Board of Pharmacy by $358,000 every two years.
In addition, the law increases the permit fee for new out-of-state pharmacies from a minimum of $100 to a minimum of $750 and from a maximum of $200 to a maximum of $2,000. The fee to transfer ownership would go from a minimum of $50 to $150 and the maximum from $150 to $500.
It adds new licensees – including packager, third-party logistic provider, private-label distributor and pharmacy businesses identified in the supply chain – to those that must be licensed by the board.
This article is part of the Alabama Retail Report, a communication for Alabama Retail Association members. Not a member? Join us!