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04/04/2020

Pharmacists Get Licensing Leeway to Help Fight COVID-19

Ohio and many other states are already operating under loosened restrictions

State-run pharmacy boards around the country are mirroring federal efforts to relax restrictions for health-care workers by easing local rules on licensing and drug distribution as the nation battles a pandemic.

At least thirteen states have offered some kind of reprieve for pharmacy professionals. Some of the biggest changes are green-lighting remote work, giving pharmacists more autonomy to handle certain prescriptions, and allowing out-of-state pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to practice locally if they’re licensed elsewhere. Some states, such as Arizona and California, are also letting out-of-state drug distributors sell products to local pharmacies, which could ease bottlenecks in local supply chains.

More states will likely ease burdens on local pharmacists and distributors to promote a broader network of care as cases of Covid-19 increase, regulatory lawyers predict. Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, and Texas have already loosened restrictions on out-of-state pharmacists working in their communities.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Bloomberg Law.

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