Pharmacist Collaborative Practice Certification

Section 465.1865, Florida Statutes, provides that a pharmacist wishing to practice under a collaborative practice agreement must meet the following requirements:

1. Hold an active and unencumbered license to practice pharmacy in this state.
2. Have earned a degree of doctor of pharmacy or have completed 5 years of experience as a licensed pharmacist.
3. Have completed an initial 20-hour course approved by the board, in consultation with the Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
4. Maintain at least $250,000 of professional liability insurance coverage. However, a pharmacist who maintains professional liability insurance coverage pursuant to s. 465.1895 satisfies this requirement.
5. Have established a system to maintain records of all patients receiving services under a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement for a period of 5 years from each patient’s most recent provision of service.

A pharmacist acting under a collaborative practice agreement may not:

1. Modify or discontinue medicinal drugs prescribed by a health care practitioner with whom he or she does not have a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement.
2. Enter into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement while acting as an employee without the written approval of the owner of the pharmacy.

A physician may not delegate the authority to initiate or prescribe a controlled substance as described in s. 893.03 or 21 U.S.C. s. 812 to a pharmacist.

Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreement Information

Section 465.1865(3), Florida Statutes, requires each collaborative pharmacy practice agreement include terms and conditions that are appropriate to the pharmacist’s training and the services delegated to the pharmacist must be within the collaborating physician’s scope of practice.

A list of chronic health conditions for which a pharmacist can provide patient care services to under a collaborative practice agreement can be located in Rule 64B16-31.007, F.A.C.

The collaborative practice agreement must include the following information:

1. Name of the collaborating physician’s patient or patients for whom a pharmacist may provide services.
2. Each chronic health condition to be collaboratively managed.
3. Specific medicinal drug or drugs to be managed by the pharmacist for each patient.
4. Circumstances under which the pharmacist may order or perform and evaluate laboratory or clinical tests.
5. Conditions and events upon which the pharmacist must notify the collaborating physician and the manner and timeframe in which such notification must occur.
6. Beginning and ending dates for the collaborative pharmacy practice agreement and termination procedures, including procedures for patient notification and medical records transfers.
7. A statement that the collaborative pharmacy practice agreement may be terminated, in writing, by either party at any time.

The collaborative pharmacy practice agreement shall automatically terminate 2 years after execution if not renewed. The pharmacist, along with the collaborating physician, must maintain on file the collaborative pharmacy practice agreement at his or her practice location, and must make such agreements available to the department or board upon request or inspection.

A pharmacist who enters into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement must submit a copy of the signed agreement to the board before the agreement may be implemented.

The rules relating to the Collaborative Practice Certification can be found here.