Date: 03/11/2014

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB14-1290

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE & HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment C). The motion p
Refer House Bill 14-1290, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection
PASS



03:01 PM -- HB14-1290

Representative Becker introduced House Bill 14-1290, which concerns the operation of remotely located telepharmacy outlets. She distributed amendment L.004, a strike-below amendment (Attachment C), and described its provisions. Amendment L.004 amends the definition of "other outlet" to include a telepharmacy outlet; amends the definition of "supervision" to allow for a pharmacist to supervise a pharmacy technician at a telepharmacy outlet; and defines a telepharamacy outlet as a remote pharmacy site that is registered as an other outlet, is located more than 20 miles from the nearest prescription drug outlet, is connected via computer, video, and audio to a central pharmacy, and has a pharmacy technician on site who is under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist In addition, the amendment authorizes the State Board of Pharmacy to adopt rules governing telepharmacy. Representative Becker responded to questions from the committee regarding stakeholder support for the bill.

14HsePHS0311AttachC.pdf14HsePHS0311AttachC.pdf

03:07 PM -- Brad Young, Rx Plus Pharmacies, testified in support of the bill and described the process of drafting the legislation. He noted that amendment L.004 contains language that is acceptable to all stakeholders, and that he believes the State Board of Pharmacy has the ability to implement appropriate controls over telepharmacy. Representative Becker and Mr. Young discussed how a telepharmacy would work in a rural area. They continued to respond to committee questions regarding oversight of pharmacies and pharmacists, how telepharmacies would be established in rural communities, and how telepharmacies differ from mail order pharmacies.

03:28 PM -- Val Kalnins, Colorado Pharmacists Society, testified in support of the bill and described how a telepharmacy may be established in a rural community. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the differences in education levels and the scope of practice of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

03:36 PM -- Ronne Hines, Department of Regulatory Agencies, testified regarding the history of regulation of "other outlets." She described how other outlets operate, and stated that adding telepharmacy to Colorado's statutes would allow Colorado to keep pace with modern technology.

03:38 PM -- Chris Gassen, Board of Pharmacy, Department of Regulatory Agencies, responded to questions from the committee regarding how many telepharmacies may be established as a result of the bill and how telepharmacies would determine which drugs to stock.

BILL:HB14-1290
TIME: 03:41:02 PM
MOVED:Schafer
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Everett
VOTE
Conti
Everett
Ginal
Joshi
Landgraf
McCann
Schafer
Singer
Stephens
Tyler
Wilson
Young
Primavera
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection



03:43 PM -- Mr. Gassen returned to the table to respond to questions from the committee regarding the individuals who may establish telepharmacies.

BILL:HB14-1290
TIME: 03:44:50 PM
MOVED:Young
MOTION:Refer House Bill 14-1290, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0, with one member excused.
SECONDED:Schafer
VOTE
Conti
Yes
Everett
Yes
Ginal
Yes
Joshi
Yes
Landgraf
Yes
McCann
Excused
Schafer
Yes
Singer
Yes
Stephens
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Young
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS