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Model Practice of Pharmacy Act, Part III: A New Practice Model
In the final installment of this series, Mark Munger, PharmD, wraps up his discussion on the Model Practice of Pharmacy Act and suggests updated language for a new practice model.
There are fundamental changes to the Model Practice of Pharmacy Act that should be rewritten as soon as possible.
These changes include the elimination of areas of the act that deal with parts of the profession that have little or nothing to do with focusing on the patient and the critical need for practice transformation. Furthermore, these changes are specific to an area in Article II of the Act which states:
“Board of Pharmacy, Discipline, Licensing of Facilities, Other, Rules for Pharmacy Interns, Rules for Institutional Pharmacy, Rules for the Practice of Pharmacy (facility, security, personnel, prescription drug order processing, recordkeeping, shared pharmacy services, automated pharmacy systems, return and reuse of prescription drugs, prescription drug repository programs, disposal of controlled substances, prepackaging, unprofessional conduct), Rules for Public Health Emergencies, Rules for Nuclear/Radiologic Pharmacy, Rules for Compounded or Repackaged Pharmaceuticals, Rules for Outsourcing Facilities, Rules for Licensure of Manufacturers, Repackagers, Third-Party Logistics, Providers, and Wholesale Distributers, Rules for Licensure of Medical Gas and Medical Gas Related Equipment Wholesale Distributers, and Rules for the Privacy of Individual Identifiable Health Information.”
These are all inconsequential to the practice of pharmacy for most pharmacists across the US. Rather, they benefit legislatures, regulators, investigators, attorneys—the status quo. They do not benefit the profession. How many of the above apply to the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists? None! They can be written as Regulatory Articles, not as Practice Articles. It is far time to remove them from the Model Pharmacy Act.
It is time for a new practice model, one that focuses on the transformation of practice towards the patient. Here are suggestions to the current practice of pharmacy using the Federation of State Medical Boards Essentials of State Medical and Osteopathic Practice Act:
- The practice of pharmacy is a privilege granted by society through their elected representatives.
- Offering or undertaking to conduct a medication harmonization for use by the patient, a pharmacist, or prescriber.
- Offering or undertaking a medication safety review from a medication harmonization using a research established clinical decision support system to diagnose, correct, and/or treat using medications upon any person.
- Rendering a written documented medication safety opinion concerning the diagnosis, correction, and/or treatment using medications by a registered trained pharmacist in enhanced comprehensive medication management.
- Rendering a determination of medication necessity or decision affecting the diagnosis, correction, and/or treatment of a patient.
Medication knowledge, skills, and training are what our future must become. Not a listing of so-called Practice Articles that are outdated, nonessential to the future of practice, and serve the status quo.
It is time to transform our profession into addressing medication safety as our primary goal and practice mantra.
Read part I of Dr Munger's commentary on the Model Practice of Pharmacy Act.
Read part II of Dr Munger's commentary on the Model Practice of Pharmacy Act.
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