STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2464

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2459

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2459 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REMOTE DISPENSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to help meet the pharmaceutical needs of patients in the State by authorizing the use of remote dispensing pharmacies that are continuously supervised by an on-site pharmacist.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Pharmacists Association.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Ho‘ola Lahui Hawaii.  The Board of Pharmacy submitted comments.

     Your Committee finds that the use of remote dispensing pharmacies supported by modern telecommunication technologies offers an innovative and efficient method of providing residents of rural areas of the State with the prescription medications they need.  Your Committee further finds that requiring on-site pharmacist supervision is too restrictive, particularly for federally qualified health centers that are located in rural areas, and has caused the unintended effect of ceasing the operations of some remote dispensing pharmacies.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by removing its language and replacing it with language that:

     (1)  Authorizes remote pharmacies in any county with less than 100,000 residents and outside of a ten mile radius of an existing pharmacy for counties with greater than one hundred residents;

     (2)  Provides that a remote dispensing pharmacy will be under the direct supervision of a registered pharmacist;

     (3)  Ensures a secure physical set-up connected remotely to a responsible pharmacy that enables consumers to consult privately with a pharmacist;

     (4)  Stipulates that a pharmacist be in control of the facility's operation and approve prescriptions before they are dispensed;

     (5)  Prohibits the dispensing of controlled substances from remote dispensing pharmacies;

     (6)  Provides that records are kept of prescriptions filled at a remote dispensing pharmacy;

     (7)  Exempts physicians from the stipulations of this measure;

     (8)  Requires the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the use of remote dispensing pharmacies and their financial impact on near-by pharmacies; and

     (9)  Repeals the measure on January 1, 2013.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2459, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2459, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair