House Bill 4035 approved by the House of Delegates Health and Human Resources Committee, January 18, permits pharmacists to furnish naloxone hydrochloride in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols developed and approved by both the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy and West Virginia Board of Medicine. The proposed legislation must now be approved by the House of Delegates Judiciary Committee before it can go to the full House of Delegates for passage. It would then be sent to the Senate for consideration in passage.
In developing standardized procedures or protocols, the two boards shall include the following:
(1) Procedures to ensure education of the person to whom the drug is furnished, including, but not limited to, opioid overdose prevention, recognition, and response, safe administration of naloxone hydrochloride, potential side effects or adverse events, and the imperative to seek emergency medical care for the patient.
(2) Procedures to ensure the education of the person to whom the drug is furnished regarding the availability the availability of drug treatment programs.
(3)(a) Procedures for the notification of the patient’s primary care provider with patient consent of any drugs or devices furnished to the patient, or entry of appropriate information in a patient record system shared with the primary care provider, as permitted by that primary care provider, and with patient consent.
(b) A pharmacist furnishing naloxone hydrochloride pursuant to this section may not permit the person to whom the drug is furnished to waive any consultation required by the two boards (Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medicine).
(c) Prior to performing a procedure authorized under this section, a pharmacist must have completed a training program on the use of opioid antagonists that consists of at least one hour of approved continuing education on the use of naoloxone hydrochloride.
(d) The WV Board of Pharmacy and WV Board of Medicine are each authorized to ensure compliance with this section. Each board is specifically charged with enforcing this section. Each board is specifically charged with enforcing this section with respect to its respective licensees. This section does not expand the authority of a pharmacist to prescribe any prescription medication.
(e) The boards shall propose legislative rules to implement this section.
