NABP/ASCP joint report: model rules for long-term care pharmacy practice.

Executive Summary: The National Association of Board of Pharmacy's (NABP) Model State Pharmacy Act and Model Rules (Model Act) serves as a resource to the state boards of pharmacy to promote uniform regulatory standards. As the number of our nation's seniors has grown, so to have the demands and challenges placed upon the pharmacists serving those seniors who live in long-term care facilities. Since the practice of pharmacy has evolved over the years with increased workload demands, changing roles of pharmacy technicians, and new technologies, so too have the regulatory guidelines and oversight responsibilities of the state boards. Not only will the practice of pharmacy need to adapt to the needs of seniors in long-term care facilities, but state boards of pharmacy and the pharmacists under their purview must understand the impact of these changes. Pharmacists practicing in long-term care must collaborate with state boards of pharmacy to update practice acts to ensure the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public. In late 2005, at the direction of the NABP Executive Committee, NABP convened its Task Force on Model Regulations for Long-Term Care (LTC Task Force), assisted by the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP). The goal of the meeting was to review issues defined by and impacting the practice of pharmacy in long-term care settings and identify provisions of the Model Act that may necessitate revision with respect to long-term care pharmacy practice. As a result of the efforts of the Task Force, several practice areas within the long-term care setting were identified as areas in need of updating or inclusion within the Model Act. Most of these practice areas reflected the increasing level of service in long-term care settings and represented current standard of care that is regularly provided to patients in such settings. The suggested revisions to the Model Act, most of which were in the Model Act's Model Rules for Institutional Pharmacy, attempted to bridge the gap that currently exists between state pharmacy law and the level of service being provided in long-term care settings. recommended amending the Model Act to provide a more extensive regulatory framework for telepharmacy practice, including the use of remote dispensing systems in institutional and long-term care settings. In sum, the revisions to the NABP Model Act suggested by these Task Forces represent an effort to recognize current standards of care in long-term care settings with appropriate regulation. …