Virginia Board of Pharmacy Recent Changes to Board Regulations

Recent Changes to Board
Regulations
Effective August 2, 2013, Regulation 18VAC110-20-
355 was amended to remove the requirement in Section
C that the counting device be run dry every 60 days;
clarify action to be taken in the event of a drug recall;
and require the counting device to be cleaned and maintained in accordance with recommended manufacturer
guidelines and specifications. Also, effective September
25, 2013, and resulting from a statutory amendment of

§54.1-3408 (B) of the Virginia Drug Control Act, Regulation 18VAC110-20-500 was amended to recognize
emergency medical service personnel administering
drugs pursuant to standing protocols and eliminate the
need for the administration record to be signed by the
prescriber. The administration record, however, must
still accompany the drug kit when it is returned to the
pharmacy for exchange.
Lastly, resulting from Governor Bob McDonnell’s
Regulatory Reform Initiative to reform regulations that
are unnecessarily burdensome, the following regulations were amended effective September 26, 2013:
18VAC110-20-20; 18VAC110-20-40; 18VAC110-
20-105; 18VAC110-20-270; 18VAC110-20-420;
18VAC110-20-425; and 18VAC110-20-710. The amendments (i) facilitate electronic renewal of licenses; (ii)
accommodate verification of practical experience
for pharmacy interns coming from other states; (iii)
eliminate the requirement for pharmacy technicians to
submit documentation of CE to renew registration; (iv)
allow for more than one pharmacist to be involved in
verifying the accuracy of a prescription and clarifying
documentation for each involvement; (v) modify the
requirement for labeling in unit-dose dispensing systems to protect patient privacy; (vi) allow for current
technology that uses compliance packaging instead of
a unit-dose dispensing system in hospitals or long-term
care facilities; and (vii) eliminate the requirement for
an alarm system for teaching institutions that only stock
Schedule VI drugs.
The current revision of the Regulations Governing
the Practice of Pharmacy, effective September 26, 2013,
may be accessed at www.dhp.virginia.gov/pharmacy/
pharmacy_laws_regs.htm.

quoted from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy November 2013 Newsletter