During the 2011-2012 session of the North Carolina General Assembly legislators debated a proposed bill that would have allowed pharmacists to administer any CDC recommended immunization to patients in a retail setting without a prescription.

The NCMS, together with the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians and the North Carolina Pediatric Society, opposed this legislation.  Existing law permits the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB), Board of Nursing and Pharmacy Board to jointly evaluate the process by which pharmacists administer vaccines and approve rules to allow additional immunizations be added to the list of pharmacist-administered vaccinations.

Following the 2011-2012 session, the medical community urged these three boards to consider the appropriateness of expanding pharmacist-administered vaccinations by rule-making in lieu of the proposed legislation. The boards have done just that, and held a large stakeholder meeting in December to discuss the issue. The NCMS participated in this meeting. 

Following positive stakeholder discussion in December, the NCMS has recently received notice from the NCMB that the three regulatory boards have further discussed the issue and will offer a recommendation in the very near future.  Here is the letter from the NCMB. 

Six weeks in to the 2013 Legislative Session we have yet to see additional legislative proposals seeking to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice, and the NCMS is hopeful that any proposal from the three regulatory boards will appropriately address the issue via rule-making.