News

• CBD Sales in Pharmacies

  4/17/2019
  

  April 12, 2019

  Re: CBD Sales in Pharmacies

  Dear Licensee:

  On June 25, 2018, the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy ("the Board") voted to prohibit the sale of non-FDA approved cannabidiol ("CBD") products in the pharmacy setting. After further consideration of both state and federal regulations regarding these products, the Board is withdrawing that prohibition, effective immediately.

  While the Board no longer specifically prohibits these sales of CBD products in its licensed pharmacies, it offers no opinion on the legality of such sales under federal law. Additionally, selling or possessing CBD products that contain THC or other controlled substances could be violations of both state and federal laws. Recent testing of retail CBD oil samples from across West Virginia, indicated that over a third of the samples tested contained Delta 9 THC, which is a Schedule I controlled substance. Therefore, it is up to each pharmacy to determine whether they will sell CBD products, and to carefully consider the impact that any state and federal regulations may have on such sales. This notification should not be construed as a defense to prosecution for any criminal charges related to the sale or possession of these CBD products.

  The Board encourages pharmacies electing to sell CBD products to stay aware of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerts and warning letters issued regarding CBD containing products. FDA information regarding these products can be found at https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm421168.htm.  

  Sincerely,

  Michael L. Goff

  Executive Director & CSMP Administrator

• 2019 Renewal Notice

  4/10/2019
  Open renewal period will begin on May 1st and run through June 30th. Per Rule §15-1-14.4.2 renewal forms must be RECEIVED in our office by June 15th in order to allow time to process by June 30th. Any licensee not renewed by June 30th is not permitted to practice pharmacy in the state of West Virginia until their license has been renewed. There are no grace periods for expired registrations. All renewal forms RECEIVED in our office after June 30th will be required to pay a late fee. Late renewal period will run from July 1st-August 31st. Practitioner late renewals will be required to pay a late fee. If renewal form has not been RECEIVED by August 31st licensee must complete a reinstatement form to reactivate their license/registration. Online Renewals: • Beginning May 1st online renewals can be completed on our website at www.wvbop.com. • Online renewals will be processed within 5-7 business days. • Online renewals are payable by credit/debit payments only. These payments will be subject to a 2.25% processing fee. • Licensees may check the status of their online renewal on our websites application status page only. Status requests will not be accepted by phone unless applicant’s renewal was submitted over 2 weeks prior and there is no information available on our online application status page. Paper Renewals: • If you wish to still submit a paper renewal you may print your renewal form from our website at https://www.wvbop.com/practitioners/resources.asp. Once completed you must mail your renewal to West Virginia Board of Pharmacy, 2310 Kanawha Blvd. E, Charleston, WV 25311. • Paper renewals will be processed within 2-3 weeks. • Paper renewals are payable to WVBOP by check or money order only. • Licensees may check the status of their online renewal on our websites application status page only. Status requests will not be accepted by phone unless applicant’s renewal was submitted over 2 weeks prior and there is no information available on our online application status page. Renewals will not be accepted before May 1st. Any renewal received prior to May 1st will be returned to applicant The Board has 30 days to process any renewal received after June 15th

• NOTICE TO WV PHARMACIES & PHARMACISTS-Legislative Rules Effective Immediately (March 22, 2019)

  4/10/2019
  NOTICE TO WV PHARMACIES & PHARMACISTS Legislative Rules Effective Immediately (March 22, 2019): Reciprocity for Pharmacy Technicians: A pharmacy technician who has obtained a national certification and practiced in another jurisdiction for at least a year is eligible to apply for reciprocity in WV.  He/she must still apply as a pharmacy technician trainee and complete the 20 site-specific training program.  The individual must be in good standing in the original state of jurisdiction. Then, the individual will apply to be a pharmacy technician providing satisfactory proof to the Board of his or her licensure status with the BOP in the state in which the individual was licensed.  If states where there is no technician licensure, a notarized document of proof of satisfactory employment by the previous pharmacist in charge is sufficient.  Also, provide the proof of national certification. Pharmacy Technician Trainee Hours: Pharmacy technician trainees now are required to have a minimum of 500 hours employment within a 12-month period under the direct supervision of a pharmacist to complete the on-the-job, competency-based pharmacy technician training program.  This is a reduction in hours required from the 960 hours in 15 months.  The pharmacy technician trainee has 90 days to pass the national test and get registered at a pharmacy technician after obtaining the required hours.  If an individual is currently registered as a pharmacy technician trainee and has 500 hours (including the 20 hour site specific training program), he/she may go ahead and apply to take a national pharmacy technician certification exam.  Once the exam is passed, he/she is may apply to be a WV pharmacy technician through  the usual process. Cashiers in the Pharmacy: A person who handles the prescription drug only during the point of sale to provide the prescription drug to a patient and accept payment is NOT subject to the licensure requirements of 15-7 (the pharmacy tech).  This handling process includes the cashier having access to the pharmacy’s operating system to unique information for each patient. A pharmacy may require an individual to complete a criminal background check before he or she is hired. 

• Notice to Pharmacy Providers

  10/15/2018
  STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES BUREAU FOR MEDICAL SERVICES Commissioner’s Office 350 Capitol Street, Room 251 Charleston, West Virginia 25301-3712 Telephone: (304) 558-1700 Fax: (304) 558-1451 Notice to Pharmacy Providers On October 17, 2018, prescription claims will deny for Medicaid members whose prescribers are not enrolled with Medicaid. West Virginia Medicaid is required to deny these prescriptions in order to comply with Federal regulations. If a prescription denies for one of your patients due to edit 7091 (Prescriber not enrolled with Medicaid), please ask the member to contact the prescriber’s office and request that an enrolled prescriber in that office provide them with a prescription which can be written, electronically prescribed or transmitted via telephone or fax. Exception: if a patient is prescribed a drug used to treat a behavioral health condition (depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, etc) and it results in a denial with Edit 7091 (prescriber not enrolled with Medicaid), please use the NPI of the behavioral health facility in which your patient is being treated. You may call the facility, the Molina Pharmacy Help Desk at 888-483-0801 or the Bureau for Medical Services Pharmacy Office at 304-558-1700 to obtain the NPI number. This is a temporary measure while Molina enrollment continues to process enrollment applications through 2018. For claims prescribed by pharmacists, you may temporarily use the NPI of your pharmacy. But please continue to pursue your individual pharmacist enrollment with Molina. You will be notified in the future when the enrollment process has been completed and you can begin using the individual prescriber’s NPI. Thank you for your help in this matter. For more information, you may call the Molina Pharmacy Help Desk at 888-483-0801 or the Bureau for Medical Services at 304-558- 1700.