SD Pharmacy Board minutes

Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, November 12, 2007 -- 11:00 a.m. EST
Dakota Plains Surgery Center
701 8th Avenue NW
Aberdeen, SD 57401

Members Present: President Arvid Liebe, members Stephen Statz, Jeff Nielsen, Duncan Murdy, and Arlene Ham-Burr.

Others present: Executive Secretary Ron Huether; Sue Schaefer, Executive Director, SD Pharmacists Association; Dana Darger, Pharmacy Director at Rapid City Regional Hospital; Alvin Haugen, Pharmacy Director at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital; Rene Hixon, Board of Pharmacy Secretary.

The meeting was called to order by President Liebe at 11:00 a.m.

OLD BUSINESS

Motion made and carried to approve the minutes of October 15, 2007, board meeting.

Tamper-Resistant prescription Pads
An update was given by Sue Schaefer. Requirements as stated in previous meeting minutes have been changed to October 31, 2008. Discussion was held on mistakes occurring from electronic prescribing. The board members are receptive to electronic prescribing but feel that software enabling electronic prescribing needs to be improved to prevent mistakes and insure security.

Minutes of Hearing on Telepharmacy Proposed Rules
There were two corrections noted. A motion was made and carried to accept the hearing minutes with the two corrections.

Financial Reports
The financial reports were reviewed and approved. The activity report was discussed. Board members requested additional information on future reports (i.e., number of rural pharmacies).

Sue Schaefer gave the financial report for the South Dakota Pharmacists Association. The budget reflected projected revenue from the Board of Pharmacy pharmacists’ license renewals and projected expenditures coming out of that revenue. Board members expressed their appreciation for the work that Schaefer put into preparing the report. A motion was made to accept report. Seconded and carried.

ACPE
Schaefer reported that SDPhA may discontinue ACPE credit for convention programs. ACPE has put more restrictions on approval of continuing education. The SD Board can approve the programs for South Dakota pharmacists. Discussion was held regarding out-of-state pharmacists who would need ACPE for their respective state licenses. It was suggested that Bernie Hendricks be consulted on continuing education requirements and possibly invited to an upcoming meeting.

Report from Executive Secretary

Pennington County Jail requested approval to use emergency kits for medications. Inspector Earl McKinstry will visit with Karen Romey at Pennington County and report back on his findings.
A hospital administrator in South Dakota inquired whether the Board of Pharmacy would allow a pharmacist to reciprocate into South Dakota based on a license in another state that was not the original license. Current laws and rules require reciprocity from the original state of licensure. Board members decided not to change this rules or issue a variance.
A letter to Carmen Catizone, Executive Director of NABP, was signed by President Liebe indicating the Board of Pharmacy’s approval to admit Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists into District V NABP/AACP.
An inspection was requested by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy at Pet Medicine Chest in Tea, South Dakota. Huether accompanied the two Iowa inspectors and reported on the history and results of the investigation.

Pierre Visit
Secretary Huether spent two days in Pierre visiting with various staff members from the Department of Health and Bureau of Personnel.

Bob Stahl, Department of Health – discussed pharmacy-related deficiencies and how they can be reported to the Board. He indicated that reports from the Insurance Commission on pharmacy-related pay-outs can be sent to the Board of Pharmacy.
Beth Cooper and Vanessa Gardner, Bureau of Personnel – The vacant East River inspector position will be posted this week as either full-time or part-time. The emphasis at this time is on selecting the most qualified applicant.
The Board of Pharmacy staff will also be trained on using Electronic Time Forms rather than submitting paper forms.
Laurie Gill, and fiscal staff from Department of Health explained procedures for purchasing, printing and travel.
Tom Martinec, Department of Health, will be a good resource for rule making.
Barb Buhler, Department of Health webmaster, will assist in improving the Board’s web site.

Report from Task Force on Telepharmacy Rules for Hospitals
Huether gave background on how the task force was implemented. At its first meeting on October 31, Dana Darger was selected as liaison to report to the Board. Darger provided informative discussion on the changes recommended by the task force. Overall, the task force members supported having these rules implemented by the Board of Pharmacy. It was suggested that copies of the task force revisions be sent to the smaller hospital pharmacies that may not have representation on the task force.

Election of Officers
A motion was made to elect Duncan Murdy as board president and Jeff Nielsen as vice-president for the upcoming year. Motion seconded and carried.

OTHER BUSINESS

Contract Employees
An information sheet from Laurie Gill compared state employee status versus contract employee. After reading the pros and cons, it was agreed that state employee status for a full-time executive secretary was the most logical choice.

Rules Review from Other States

Fining Authority – Over 80 percent of other state boards of pharmacy have fining authority. Bob Stahl from Department of Health says studies show fining doesn’t necessarily mean that the level of service to the public will improve. Tom Martinec suggests working with legal counsel and having stipulation agreements drawn up for correction of deficiencies, then ask for reimbursement of expenses incurred while investigating the case.
Nonresident Pharmacy PIC – Only six states now require the pharmacist-in-charge in a nonresident pharmacy to also be licensed in the state where the nonresident pharmacy is seeking licensure. The Board will continue to monitor this trend.
Medication Error Reporting – After reviewing different states’ plans, the most thorough one was Nebraska. The board members would like to see this required for all health-related boards, not just pharmacy. Huether will contact the Division of to request information on insurance claims against pharmacies and pharmacists.

Customer Satisfaction Survey
Plans are underway to implement a survey form that can be completed by pharmacists and pharmacies who have recently had dealings with the board staff. Another suggestion was to place the survey on the board’s web site.

Forms Revision
Many of the board’s forms will be evaluated and updated if necessary. Plans are to post these on the web site and also to improve the web site.

Pharmacy Law Book
South Dakota Pharmacists Association does not plan to continue printing the Pharmacy Law Book. The decision was made for financial reasons. Legislative Research Council will not allow it as a money-making venture. The Board would like to see the book continue being published and will research how this can be continued through another source.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

The next meeting will be held December 19, 2007, at Sanford USD Medical Center, 1305 West 18th Street, Sioux Falls, SD, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Agenda items include:

                    Pharmacy Scholarships
                    Telepharmacy Rules
                     Pharmacy Law Book
                     Stipulated Agreements for Correction of Deficiencies