As Provider Status Looms, will PharmD Programs Lag Behind Regulation?

Abstract

California Senate Bill 493, for instance, authorizes pharmacists to administer vaccinations, provide patient assessments, order and interpret lab tests related to drug therapies, provide medication therapy management, and prescribe various medications [1]. This bill also authorizes the California State Board of Pharmacy to recognize advanced practice pharmacists to perform additional duties [1]. At the federal level, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act, in which pharmacists would be granted provider status under the Medicare program, has received additional cosponsors and is gaining ground [2].