California should empower all pharmacists to prescribe drugs, allowing them to treat millions of patients each year with everyday medical problems.
In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill authored by Sen. Scott Wiener that makes it easier for Californians to obtain PrEP and PEP, drugs that prevent HIV infection, without a doctor’s prescription.
California already allows pharmacists to prescribe these drugs, but patients are limited to a 30-day supply. The new law extends that to 90 days, making it easier for Californians to avoid infection with this dangerous virus.
But lawmakers can do more to expand access to other important treatments by expanding pharmacists’ ability to prescribe. Today, more than half of all pharmacists have a doctoral degree (PharmD) and receive as much coursework and clinical supervision as physicians. They often know more about drug interactions and side effects than doctors, and doctors often consult pharmacists before deciding which drugs to prescribe.
As our new policy brief explains, Canada’s most populous province and Australia’s most prominent state are exploring what is possible if pharmacists use their training to better serve their patients. is shown. In Ontario, pharmacists prescribe medications for 19 common conditions, including urinary tract infections (UTIs), menstrual cramps, and hay fever. In her first six months of 2023 alone, Ontario pharmacists filled more than 250,000 prescriptions, reducing pressure on overbooked clinics and helping patients get relief more quickly and conveniently. I made it possible for you to receive it.
The Australian state of Queensland, with a population of more than 5 million people, pioneered the use of pharmacists to prescribe drugs to treat urinary tract infections, and recently added wound care and shingles to the conditions pharmacists can treat. Research from the University of Queensland suggests the reforms will allow many women to receive treatment for urinary tract infections more than two days earlier than if a doctor’s appointment was still required.
Expansion of pharmacists’ prescribing authority is also being pioneered in places close to home. In Colorado, which passed the Pharmacist Prescription Act in 2021, patients now have access to UTI medications, EpiPens, diabetes supplies, and several other prescription treatments without doctor intervention. This is in contrast to California, where the only prescription treatments pharmacists can unilaterally dispense are her HIV prevention, smoking cessation, and contraception, all of which are also available from pharmacists in Colorado.
Colorado’s pharmacist prescribing law follows a model originally enacted in Idaho and recently enacted in Montana. The law allows pharmacists to prescribe if at least one of the following four conditions is met: Patients when a new diagnosis is not required, the symptoms being treated are mild and generally self-limiting, the diagnosis is a guiding condition that is exempt from testing under the Federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act, or a prescription is not readily available. In the event of an emergency that threatens the health or safety of.
California has previously attempted broader pharmacist prescribing reforms without success. In 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation creating a new category of advanced practice pharmacists with prescribing authority. Unfortunately, the law’s strict requirements for certification deterred all but a handful of pharmacists from pursuing certification. Instead, California should empower all pharmacists to prescribe and require special training if necessary.
There are far more pharmacies than clinics. Many are open 24 hours a day. California has a growing shortage of primary care workers, and if lawmakers enacted a law similar to Colorado’s, it would eliminate the bottlenecks many patients face in getting regular doctor visits. It may be possible to contribute to the solution. Pharmacists treat everyday medical problems for millions of patients each year, potentially reducing unnecessary doctor visits, increasing convenience, and promoting patient relief and recovery.
Mark Joffe is a federalism and state policy analyst at the Cato Institute. Dr. Jeffrey Singer is a senior research fellow in health policy research.
