Hawaii 2024 Regular Session

Hawaii House Bill HR124 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 124 THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE RESOLUTION URGING THE GOVERNOR AND BOARD OF PHARMACY TO SUPPORT THE LANAI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER's TELEPHARMACY pilot demonstration and research project AS A METHOD OF EXPANDING the ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
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3	3	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 124
4	4	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
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7	7	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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9	9	H.R. NO.
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11	11	124
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13	13	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
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17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
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29	29	HOUSE RESOLUTION
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35	35	URGING THE GOVERNOR AND BOARD OF PHARMACY TO SUPPORT THE LANAI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER's TELEPHARMACY pilot demonstration and research project AS A METHOD OF EXPANDING the ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
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43	43	WHEREAS, the State's federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) provide safety net services to underinsured and uninsured individuals throughout Hawaii; and WHEREAS, these services include the provision of low-cost prescription drugs through the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B); and WHEREAS, state law prohibits the filling, compounding, or receipt of prescription drugs unless a registered pharmacist is personally and immediately in charge of the pharmacy; and WHEREAS, because the number of patients of some neighbor island health centers is too small to make employing a full-time pharmacist cost-effective, these health centers provide pharmacy services through contract pharmacies; and WHEREAS, this solution presents complications because of the small populations of certain neighbor island communities; and WHEREAS, for example, the only FQHC on the island of Lanai must contract with a pharmacy on the island of Maui for 340B pharmacy services; and WHEREAS, nevertheless, one FQHC situated in a rural area with a small population desires to add pharmacist services to those already offered to patients; and WHEREAS, in January 2021, the Lanai Community Health Center (LCHC) received the approval of the Board of Pharmacy to conduct a pilot demonstration and research project for innovative applications in the practice of pharmacy; and WHEREAS, under this project, a licensed pharmacist located on the island of Maui supervised LCHC staff working at LCHC's campus on the island of Lanai via two-way, real-time, audiovisual telecommunications in the receipt, filling, and dispensing of prescriptions to patients at the LCHC campus; and WHEREAS, before the pilot project began, the Board of Pharmacy required LCHC to obtain a pharmacy license for its LCHC campus, which necessitated review, inspection, and prior approval by the Board and the Department of Public Safety's Narcotics Enforcement Division to ensure that all controlled substances were adequately secured and monitored at all times; and WHEREAS, the LCHC telepharmacy pilot project commenced on June 9, 2022, processing 5,838 total prescriptions for 1,124 patients under the pilot project, or a monthly average of 486.5 prescriptions processed as of June 15, 2023; and WHEREAS, these patients received their prescriptions and refills more quickly than if they had needed to wait for the medications to arrive through the mail; and WHEREAS, the medications were also less expensive because of LCHC's participation in 340B; and WHEREAS, because the only retail pharmacy on Lanai is not a 340B participant, the discounts would not otherwise have been available; and WHEREAS, on June 15, 2023, the Board of Pharmacy informed LCHC that the statutory authority for the Board to conduct the pilot project was not absolute and that at some point, state law must be amended to authorize telepharmacy; and WHEREAS, based on the success and beneficial results of the pilot project, the innovative practice of telepharmacy should be made permanent and authorized statutorily; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Governor and Board of Pharmacy are urged to support the Lanai Community Health Center's telepharmacy pilot demonstration and research project as a method of expanding the accessibility and affordability of prescription drugs to vulnerable populations and rural communities throughout the State; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Pharmacy is requested to report on the LCHC's telepharmacy pilot demonstration and research project, including expressing an official position on whether the Board recommends that telepharmacy be authorized statutorily; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Pharmacy is requested to submit this report, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Chairperson of the Board of Pharmacy, Mayor of the County of Maui, Interim Executive Director of the Lanai Community Health Center, and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Primary Care Association. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Lanai Community Health Center; Telepharmacy; Pilot Project
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45	45	WHEREAS, the State's federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) provide safety net services to underinsured and uninsured individuals throughout Hawaii; and
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49	49	WHEREAS, these services include the provision of low-cost prescription drugs through the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B); and
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53	53	WHEREAS, state law prohibits the filling, compounding, or receipt of prescription drugs unless a registered pharmacist is personally and immediately in charge of the pharmacy; and
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57	57	WHEREAS, because the number of patients of some neighbor island health centers is too small to make employing a full-time pharmacist cost-effective, these health centers provide pharmacy services through contract pharmacies; and
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61	61	WHEREAS, this solution presents complications because of the small populations of certain neighbor island communities; and
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65	65	WHEREAS, for example, the only FQHC on the island of Lanai must contract with a pharmacy on the island of Maui for 340B pharmacy services; and
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69	69	WHEREAS, nevertheless, one FQHC situated in a rural area with a small population desires to add pharmacist services to those already offered to patients; and
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73	73	WHEREAS, in January 2021, the Lanai Community Health Center (LCHC) received the approval of the Board of Pharmacy to conduct a pilot demonstration and research project for innovative applications in the practice of pharmacy; and
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77	77	WHEREAS, under this project, a licensed pharmacist located on the island of Maui supervised LCHC staff working at LCHC's campus on the island of Lanai via two-way, real-time, audiovisual telecommunications in the receipt, filling, and dispensing of prescriptions to patients at the LCHC campus; and
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81	81	WHEREAS, before the pilot project began, the Board of Pharmacy required LCHC to obtain a pharmacy license for its LCHC campus, which necessitated review, inspection, and prior approval by the Board and the Department of Public Safety's Narcotics Enforcement Division to ensure that all controlled substances were adequately secured and monitored at all times; and
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85	85	WHEREAS, the LCHC telepharmacy pilot project commenced on June 9, 2022, processing 5,838 total prescriptions for 1,124 patients under the pilot project, or a monthly average of 486.5 prescriptions processed as of June 15, 2023; and
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89	89	WHEREAS, these patients received their prescriptions and refills more quickly than if they had needed to wait for the medications to arrive through the mail; and
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93	93	WHEREAS, the medications were also less expensive because of LCHC's participation in 340B; and
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97	97	WHEREAS, because the only retail pharmacy on Lanai is not a 340B participant, the discounts would not otherwise have been available; and
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101	101	WHEREAS, on June 15, 2023, the Board of Pharmacy informed LCHC that the statutory authority for the Board to conduct the pilot project was not absolute and that at some point, state law must be amended to authorize telepharmacy; and
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105	105	WHEREAS, based on the success and beneficial results of the pilot project, the innovative practice of telepharmacy should be made permanent and authorized statutorily; now, therefore,
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109	109	BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Governor and Board of Pharmacy are urged to support the Lanai Community Health Center's telepharmacy pilot demonstration and research project as a method of expanding the accessibility and affordability of prescription drugs to vulnerable populations and rural communities throughout the State; and
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113	113	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Pharmacy is requested to report on the LCHC's telepharmacy pilot demonstration and research project, including expressing an official position on whether the Board recommends that telepharmacy be authorized statutorily; and
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117	117	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Pharmacy is requested to submit this report, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and
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121	121	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Chairperson of the Board of Pharmacy, Mayor of the County of Maui, Interim Executive Director of the Lanai Community Health Center, and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Primary Care Association.
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129	129	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
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133	133	OFFERED BY:
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135	135	_____________________________
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141	141	Report Title:
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143	143	Lanai Community Health Center; Telepharmacy; Pilot Project