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A state lawmaker wants to add Pennsylvania to the list of states that allow pharmacists to dispense medications to help those battling addiction wean themselves from illegal substances.
Rep. Danielle Otten, D-Exton, is circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation that would use a portion of the state's opioid settlement money to expand the provider workforce for opioid use disorder treatment, support pharmacist training efforts and DEA registration for buprenorphine prescribing authority, Board of Pharmacy administrative costs for statewide protocol development, reimbursement infrastructure for pharmacist MOUD clinical services through Medicaid and commercial insurance, and outreach and implementation support for rural and independent pharmacies.
Otten said she wants to increase access to medication assisted treatment for opioid addiction across the state.
"The problem is access," Otten said. "Across Pennsylvania, rural communities, working-class neighborhoods, and underserved areas face a shortage of addiction treatment providers. People who want and need treatment cannot get it because they do not live in proximity to anyone who is authorized to provide it. Meanwhile, approximately 90% of Pennsylvanians live within five miles of a community pharmacy. Pharmacists are trusted, trained healthcare professionals, who see patients more frequently than any other provider. But under current Pennsylvania law, they are largely blocked from managing OUD treatment."
Maryland became the latest state to give pharmacists expanded authority to participate in opioid use disorder treatment when Gov. Wes Moore signed House Bill 838 into law. The program took effect July 1. Pharmacists participating in the programs must satisfy applicable registration, training and protocol requirements and review information from Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program before initiating or modifying controlled substance therapy.
In 2013, New Mexico became the first state to grant pharmacists independent prescriptive authority of naloxone after completion of the Naloxone Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority Certification. In 2022, Congress passed the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, removing the "X-waiver" requirement for buprenorphine prescriptions. The federal act allowed pharmacists who are registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe Schedule III drugs, thereby allowing prescriptions of buprenorphine directly to patients. The Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act was signed into law in 2023 and requires health care providers, including pharmacists, to complete an 8-hour training on substance use disorders (SUD) before renewing their DEA license. Building on the MAT Act and the MATE Act, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act allows pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine after completing an 8-hour training. Implementation remains subject to state-level authorization.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy said in February that many states already allow pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine, but only under a Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA) with a physician. The goal of the federal SUPPORT Act, the association said, is to move more states toward independent authority.
Otten's proposal would provide that authorization in Pennsylvania.
"Ten states and the Veterans Health Administration already authorize pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine for OUD through independent practice or collaborative practice agreements. My legislation would make Pennsylvania the next to allow pharmacists to manage buprenorphine care," Otten wrote in her co-sponsorship memorandum.