STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2441

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2810

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2810, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize pharmacists to provide medication therapy management to qualified QUEST patients.

The measure also:

     (1)  Requires each participating pharmacist to have a written collaborative pharmacy practice agreement on file for each qualified patient; and

     (2)  Requires pharmacies to maintain prescription records electronically, including electronic acceptance and transmittal of prescription information.

     Comments in opposition to this measure were received from the Board of Pharmacy.  Your Committee also received comments on this measure from Walgreens.  The written comments may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that medication therapy management is an effective tool to lower health care costs and improve health outcomes by correcting the misuse of medication and providing patients with information to enable constructive participation in the patients' own health care.

     Your Committee amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the provision that required every pharmacy and remote dispensing pharmacy to have the capacity to maintain prescription records electronically and to accept and transmit prescription information electronically;

     (2)  Changing the effective date of this measure to July 1, 2055, to facilitate further discussion; and

     (3)  Making technical amendments for clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2810, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2810, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair