RULES

rules that, once passed, would implement the law, which allows certain pharmacists to provide additional types of care to patients beginning July 1.

Members of the Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine have been told that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration wants the rules fast-tracked as the state battles the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

To that end, a Board of Pharmacy committee is slated to finalize the proposed rules during a meeting Thursday.

But some members of the two physician-licensing boards who attended the joint meeting complained about a dearth of details in the proposed rules, which are meant to spell out how pharmacists will work in tandem with doctors.

A proposed rule on “collaborative pharmacy practice agreements” would require pharmacists to submit any modifications or updates to the state pharmacy licensing board within five days. But Board of Osteopathic Medicine Chairman Joel Rose, a Tampa physician, said the rule doesn’t define modification.

“I would think after a while there could be a lot of modifications … if doctors want to utilize those services,” said Rose, who chaired last week’s joint meeting with the Board of Medicine to discuss the proposed rules. “I thought in the rule they may want to specify what a modification is.”

Rose also suggested that the Board of Pharmacy might want to come up with a standardized form that could be submitted when modifications and updates are made.

But the proposed rules don’t detail how the collaborations between physicians and pharmacists would work.

Under the new law, physicians can enter into collaborative agreements with certain pharmacists and designate the names of certain patients that the pharmacists can treat for chronic medical conditions.

Coral Springs physician Shailesh Gupta said he thought the proposed rule regarding collaborative agreements should include standardized language, which it currently does not.

“That way people aren’t just aren’t free writing this as much as possible. I think there is certainly going to be a trial and learning period where everybody tries to understand how this is going to all work,” said Gupta, a member of the Board of Medicine.

House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, used his considerable legislative power to revamp parts of the health-care system during the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions. A big part of his platform was expanding the scope of practice for advanced registered nurse practitioners and pharmacists, which he maintained would lower the costs of health care, including for uninsured people.

Oliva during the 2020 session convinced lawmakers to pass the measure (HB 389) that expands the scope of practice for pharmacists, allowing them to work with physicians and provide more primary care to patients.