News

• West Virginia Board of Pharmacy Announces Statewide Electronic Health Record Integration of Presription Data

  7/6/2018
  

  WEST VIRGINIA BOARD OF PHARMACY ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD INTEGRATION OF PRESCRIPTION DATA

  The West Virginia Board of Pharmacy has partnered with Appriss Health to utilize, analyze, and present information from West Virginia’s Controlled Substances Monitoring Program (CSMP) into the clinical workflow of both prescribers and pharmacists via the comprehensive platform NarxCare.  All practitioners who dispense Schedule II, III, IV and V controlled substances or opioid antagonists to residents of West Virginia, must provide the dispensing information to the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy CSMP each 24-hour period.  RxDataTrack/CSAPP is the online CSMP software (Mahantech Corp.) used by the Board to track these substances.  NarxCare will integrate this CSMP information, as well as additional data sources, into Electronic Health Records or Pharmacy Management Systems to empower clinicians to identify patients that may be at risk for prescription drug addiction, overdose and death, and equips those clinicians and care teams with the advanced analytics, tools and technology they need to help those patients. These invaluable insights and tools can be presented and accessed within clinical workflow, up front, for every patient, every time.

  NarxCare provides machine learning and artificial intelligence-based patient risk scores, prescription data, patient safety alerts and other information in a visually interactive format to help prescribers and pharmacists quickly identify potential signs of addiction/overdose. NarxCare also helps clinicians connect patients with additional resources within their community if needed, such as medication-assisted treatment. By obtaining CSMP prescription information through PMP Gateway, which can include data from neighboring states, this one-click workflow process eliminates the need for prescribers and pharmacists to manually log into the WV CSMP website separately and then enter a patient’s name and demographics to search for them.

  The new NarxCare platform will be made available at no cost to all West Virginia healthcare providers via their electronic health record and pharmacy management system vendors. (It is important to note that not all vendors are currently integrated. Your integration process and duration time is dependent upon your vendor). For more detailed information about the integration process, please visit:

  https://info.apprisshealth.com/wvehrintregrationrequest

• Informational Fax 5/15/2018

  5/15/2018
  West Virginia Board of Pharmacy 2310 Kanawha Boulevard East Charleston, WV 25311 (304) 558-0558 An information FAX for WV pharmacies from the Chief Compliance Officer      1.    One of the most significant actions the West Virginia Legislature undertook during the 2018 Regular Session was the enactment of The Chronic Pain Clinic Licensing Act of 2018 which will take effect on June 7, 2018. This Act has far reaching limitations on the prescribing of opioid drugs. Pharmacists need to be fully aware of the restrictions it places on most all medical and dental providers. Those limitations are too many to try and list in a one-page fax, but they can be found in the section §16-54-4. Opioid prescription limitations outlined in the code titled: CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH. ARTICLE 5H. CHRONIC PAIN CLINIC LICENSING ACT. Below is a link that you can use to find and download a copy of this law: (You might also find the law by googling WV SB 273 of 2018) http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2018_SESSIONS/RS/bills/SB273%20SUB2%20ENR.pdf      2.    Additional action by the Legislature places gabapentin in the list of Schedule V Controlled Drugs and now requires ALL Schedule V drugs to be reported to the monitoring program.    3.    A PDF version of the WVBOP Law & Rule Book is now available on the Board website and may be downloaded for your personal use. It may be found by pointing at the LAWS tab on the  upper right-hand corner of the Home Page and then clicking on Most Recent Law Editions. The 2018 edition includes actions taking by the Legislature this year. If you have an up to date version of Adobe Reader you should be able to search the book for answers by using key words. Please be advised that your pharmacy must also have a printed copy of the most recent published version (currently 2017).    4.    The DEA has won a case in court and CBD Oil (which may contain up to 15% CBD) is now considered a Schedule I drug and should not be stocked or sold in a pharmacy. Hemp Oil or Hempseed oil, which is an extract of hemp seeds, contains less than 25 parts per million CBD may be sold in West Virginia at present.    5.    The WVBOP Legislative Rules committee is working on changes in the Rules to permit the employment of non-registered cashiers in the pharmacy area. That change has been submitted to the Legislature but probably will not be approved until the 2019 session.    6.    Effective today, May 7, 2018, the medical license of Stephen Scott Brown, M.D. was revoked by the West Virginia Board of Medicine.  Accordingly, Dr. Brown is no longer authorized to prescribe.  Effective at 11:59 p.m. today, May 7, 2018, the podiatric license of Steven Scott Melek, D.P.M. will be suspended by the West Virginia Board of Medicine.  Please be advised that while his license is suspended, Dr. Melek is not authorized to prescribe. 

• Continuing Education Information

  3/8/2018
  Continuing Pharmacy Education Info -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions on CPE Hours Given Recent Changes Q.  By when must I complete the new required 3 CPE hours for best practices prescribing and dispensing for pain (Drug Diversion CPE)? A.  The statute and rules require the Drug Diversion CPE to be completed every reporting period.  So, if you are up for renewal on July 1, 2014, then you must have completed the 3 hours as required for your renewal this time around.  If you are up for renewal July 1, 2015, you must have completed it for your reporting period for your July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015, license period.  However, if you are a newly licensed pharmacist, you must complete this requirement during your first year of practice, regardless of when you come up for renewal.  Q.  Do I still need to complete the "End of Life Care" CPE that was mandatory for all first time license renewals?   A.  No, the end of life CPE requirement was deleted from the law.  The statute now requires the Drug Diversion CPE each reporting period.  So, you will have to get 3 hours of this CPE every 2 years going forward as part of your 30 hours, but end of life care is no longer required. Q.  I am registered as a consultant pharmacist [and/or immunizing pharmacist] and registered pharmacist.  Can the CPE hours I've completed for my consultant license [and/or immunizing pharmacist permit] be applied towards the 30 hours needed to renew my pharmacist license? A.  Yes, the hours can count toward your 30 required total CPE hours.  The same is also true for the new best practices prescribing and dispensing for pain hours (Drug Diversion CPE). To find out about CPE programs provided by the WVU School of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Pharmacy Education click here. Consulting Practice | Application for Continuing Education INFORMATION SHEET CONTINUING PHARMACY EDUCATION IN CONSULTING PRACTICE Rule 23.3 of the Board's Legislative Rules, 15 CSR 1, requires all pharmacists registered as consultants to have three (3) hours of CPE in the subjects of consulting practice each year. All programs offered by the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) are acceptable programs to meet this requirement. Any other program not offered by ASCP must be submitted to the Board's continuing education committee for approval and assignment of a number. Programs in the subjects of consulting practice may include, but are not limited to, topics related to: Depression in the Elderly Arthritis Alzheimer's Disease Nutritional Status in the Elderly Wound Care Osteoporosis Congestive Heart Failure Strokes Issues with HCFA Regulations Special Considerations in the Elderly Recordkeeping requirements Prevention and Recognition of Drug Events in the Elderly Population or programs provided by: WVU Geriatric Education Center Programs WV Center of Aging Program  West Virginia Board of Pharmacy's Application for Continuing Pharmacy Education Credit NOTE: (Application only required for general CPE programs not already approved by ACPE or for programs submitted to meet Drug Diversion Training and Best Practice Prescribing of Controlled Substances or consulting practice CPE requirements.) All applications must be received by the end of each month. Applicants will be notified by the 20th of the following month if the program was approved or disapproved. If approved, continuing education certificates issued to participants must list the title of the program, number of CPE hours awarded, WV Board of Pharmacy Program Number, signature of administrator of the program, and date signed. A record of the participant’s attendance and copy of the CPE certificate must be maintained for a period of 4 years from the program’s date. PROVIDER / RPH INFORMATION: Date of Submission: Applicant (Check One): CPE Provider____ Pharmacist ____ Name of CPE Provider/Pharmacist: Street Address: City: State: Zip Code: Phone Number: Fax Number: Contact Person: Phone Number: PROGRAM INFORMATION: The following 3 items must also be submitted with each application: Agenda with times of events Listing of all faculty and brief bio sketch for each faculty member Learning Objectives for each Session (List the session title followed by at least 3 learning objectives. Each objective should start with a behavioral verb such as describe, list, state and others. Additional sheets may be attached if needed.): Date of Program: Title of Program: Location (Facility, City and State): Number of hours of CPE requested: Type of CPE credit requested (Check One): Consulting ____ General ____ Live_____ Drug Diversion Training and Best Practice Prescribing of Controlled Substances____

• Manufacturers vs Wholesale Drug Distributors

  3/8/2018
  Manufacturers and Wholesale Drug Distributors:  In the past, West Virginia licensed non-resident manufacturers as wholesale drug distributors when they distributed their product into the state.  Federal law requires a new scheme.  Anyone manufacturing prescription-only drugs in West Virginia must be licensed by the state as a manufacturer to do so.  Likewise, if you are a drug manufacturer located outside of West Virginia, but distribute any of your product into West Virginia, either yourself or through the use of a Third-Party Logistics Provider (3PL), you must be licensed by this state as a manufacturer (in other words, if you distribute or have your product distributed into West Virginia on your behalf, you must be licensed). If you are a virtual manufacturer (you own the product, but someone else manufacturers it for you on contract or otherwise at their facility), if any of that product is to be manufactured in West Virginia, or shipped in or into West Virginia on your behalf, you must get a manufacturer's license.  Of course, the actual manufacturer will have to be licensed as a manufacturer if it is in West Virginia.  If the actual manufacturer is outside West Virginia, it does not need licensed if it never sends the product into West Virginia on your behalf (i.e., it transfers it to a 3PL or wholesaler outside of West Virginia, and it is that other entity that actually sends it into West Virginia).  If it is manufacturing the drugs on behalf of a virtual manufacturer, and it sends that product into West Virginia on behalf of the virtual manufacturer or otherwise, it must be licensed as a manufacturer.  In other words, if it is located outside of West Virginia and it distributes any of the product into West Virginia, it must get a manufacturers license.   If controlled substances are involved, the actual manufacturer must have a controlled substances handling permit as well. If you are a virtual manufacturer which does not handle the product, then you do not have to also get the CS handling permit since you won't actually touch the product. If you are a virtual manufacturer and use a 3PL to distribute your product in or into West Virginia, you must have a manufacturer's license,  and your 3PL must have a 3PL distributor's license.  If controlled substances are involved, the 3PL must have a controlled substances handling permit as well.  If you do not handle the product, then you do not have to also get the CS handling permit since you won't actually touch the product. Wholesale Drug Distributors:  If you are a wholesale drug distributor and distribute drugs in or into West Virginia, you must be licensed as a wholesale drug distributor.  In the past, West Virginia licensed 3PL's as a wholesale drug distributor.  However, federal law requires a new scheme.  West Virginia will now have a 3PL distributor's license category to distribute any drug products in or into West Virginia as a 3PL. If controlled substances are involved, the 3PL must have a controlled substances handling permit as well.  For any product you are shipping in on behalf of a virtual or actual manufacturer or other party who actually owns title to and control over the drug, that virtual manufacturer, actual manufacturer, or other party must be properly licensed as a manufacturer.