What's happening
This bill allows licensed pharmacies in New York to employ up to four unlicensed assistants per pharmacist.
Why it matters
Could impact pharmacy workflow and customer service. Allowing each pharmacist to supervise up to four unlicensed assistants may help pharmacies process prescriptions, manage inventory, and handle customer inquiries more efficiently, potentially reducing wait times for customers.
Raises questions about oversight and safety. Increasing the number of unlicensed assistants per pharmacist may put more responsibility on licensed pharmacists to ensure that all tasks performed by assistants comply with regulations and do not cross into work requiring a license, which could have implications for medication safety and error rates.
May affect job opportunities and workforce structure. The change could lead to more entry-level job openings in pharmacies for those without pharmacy technician licenses, possibly affecting the demand for licensed pharmacy technicians and altering the career pipeline in the field.
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Who cares
Licensed pharmacies
The bill would expressly permit them to employ up to four unlicensed assistants per pharmacist for work other than the practice of pharmacy.
Pharmacists
The bill would set a staffing allowance of up to four unlicensed assistants per pharmacist in licensed pharmacies.
Unlicensed pharmacy assistants
The bill would permit their employment within that ratio while retaining the restriction against practicing pharmacy.
Headline styles
Allow Pharmacies More Assistants
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to rules
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6380
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 7, 2019
Introduced by Sen. THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to permitting pharmacies to employ unlicensed assistants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 6807 of the education law, as amended by chapter 881 of the laws of 1972 and such subdivision as designated by chapter 18 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
a. Unlicensed assistants from being employed in licensed pharmacies for purposes other than the practice of pharmacy. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a licensed pharmacy shall be permitted to employ up to four unlicensed assistants per pharmacist;
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13263-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to permitting pharmacies to employ unlicensed assistants
Purpose or general ideal of bill
Authorizes pharmacists to supervise up to four unlicensed pharmacy assistants.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill authorizes a licensed pharmacist to employ up to four unlicensed assistants per pharmacist.
Justification
This bill provides needed assistance to pharmacists across the state. Pharmacy assistants are the individuals that directly aid licensed phar- macists in dispensing prescriptions and managing medication inventory. Pharmacy assistants also are under the direct supervision of the pharma- cist ensuring patient safety. At no time does a pharmacy assistant have independent authority over medication and the licensed pharmacist must check all prescriptions filled by an unlicensed assistant before they are dispensed to patients.
Under current regulations, a licensed pharmacist is only permitted assistance from no more than two unlicensed persons. Current regulations also specify the tasks that unlicensed individuals are allowed to perform. The unlicensed assistants may receive prescriptions, type prescription labels, enter data into a computer system, get drugs and files from stock, count dosage units of drugs and place them in contain- ers, and handle/deliver completed prescriptions to the patient and advise them of the availability of counseling. The unlicensed persons specifically cannot measure, weigh, compound or mix ingredients, counsel patients, or substitute drugs. This legislation in keeps the existing standards in place and only expands the number of individuals a licensed pharmacist may utilize, all under his direct supervision.
This legislation is needed because many pharmacists are currently performing tasks that could adeptly be performed by pharmacy assistants. Licensed pharmacists are presently being forced to perform these tasks are because they are only allowed to have two unlicensed individuals working under them at a time. In a recent survey conducted by New York State Council of Health-system Pharmacists, 83% of responding pharma- cists agreed that working with assistants allowed them to spend more time on patient care, including needed services such as patient educa- tion. Finally, additional support that pharmacy assistants provide will allow the licensed pharmacist to devote more of their time and attention to duties that are solely in their purview such as measuring, weighing, compounding or mixing drugs. This additional attention that can be paid to licensed pharmacist's principal duties help lower risk of an error and increase patient safety.
Prior legislative history
New Bill
Fiscal implications
None to the state
Effective date
90 days after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.