HomeMy WebLinkAbout45-85 - Res. Dispensing of Medicines RESOLUTION NO. 45-85
WHEREAS, all health departments in the State of Washington, including the
Mason County Health Department, operate clinical services for the control
and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis, in
conformance with WAC 248-99-030 to 040 and WAC 248-100-230, respectively; and
WHEREAS, clients served by these and other clinical services provided by
health departments are, for the most part, low-income and disenfranchised
individuals who have difficulty in accessing mainstream health care
services; and
WHEREAS, the aforementioned clinical services include, as a necessary com-
ponent, drug therapies provided for by a small number of drug entities; and
WHEREAS, both access to the drugs required for treatment of tuberculosis,
sexually transmitted diseases and other communicable diseases, and
compliance with the associated drug therapy requirements, is of central
importance to the cure, mitigation and control of the communicable disease
and to prevention of future communicability; and
WHEREAS, it has been demonstrated that the traditional drug delivery system
is unable to meet the specific needs of the majority of individuals served
by public health clinical programs because of the specific characteristics
of the population (low-income, limited mobility, etc.) and those of the
provider system (need for reimbursement, lack of physical continuity with
clinical programs) ; and
WHEREAS, most if not all health departments use clinic nursing staff to
dispense drugs in response to a specific physician order or protocol, to
clients of the clinical programs, using a formulary of a few basic drugs
to support that function; and
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WHEREAS, use of registered nurses to deliver drugs to clients of clinical
programs does not constitute an undue risk to those clients, owing to the
high level of training, experience and specialization of the nursing staff,
together with the professional prepackaging by registered pharmacists of
the drugs to be used; and
WHEREAS, state statutes and regulations provide neither a clear prohibition
nor a clear authorization for nurses to deliver medications under the
circumstances described above; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Board of Pharmacy is considering draft regulations
in an attempt to clarify the nurses' role in the delivery of drugs; and
WHEREAS, regulations which would provide for a pharmacist-controlled system
are unnecessary and would present unacceptable economic hardships and
programmatic problems to health departments; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Health has seen no evidence that the long standing use
of registered nurses by the Mason County Health Department in the drug
delivery process has resulted in problems which could have been avoided
through use of the traditional pharmacy system; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Health recognizes the potential assistance that local
pharmacists can provide in a collaborative, supportive, multiprofessional
teamwork approach;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health urges the Washington
State Board of Pharmacy to avoid using a regulatory approach which incorporates
Board of Pharmacy/Pharmacist approval of and control over the delivery of
drugs by nurses to clients of public health clinical programs, but rather
incorporates the following:
Page Three - Resolution No. 45-85
1. Involvement of a local pharmacist in a consultative mode as
a member of a health department committee, to assist in the
development of policies, procedures and appropriate manuals
and materials associated with the drug delivery process;
2. Requirement that drugs to be delivered by registered nurses
be prepackaged in suitable form and format by registered
pharmacists; and
3. Maintenance and retention of appropriate records to document
the delivery of drugs to clients of the public health
department programs.
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May 2 , 1985
Clerk of the Board 4Da