House Bill 1042

Chair's Name: Sharon Cooper

Committee: Health & Human Services    

House Sponsor: Sharon Cooper

HB 1042 would prevent a pharmacist from selecting or substituting a drug that is prescribed as part of immunosuppressive therapy for a patient receiving a transplant without first obtaining the consent of the patient and the prescribing physician or designee. If the pharmacist, after reasonable attempts, is unable to contact the prescribing physician, the pharmacist may substitute a generically equivalent drug for a period of no longer than 96 hours until communication can be established.

The Rules Committee approved a floor amendment that would prevent the maximum allowable cost pricing of the immunosuppressive drugs from being imposed.

This bill comes to the House Floor under the Modified Structured Rule.

Chairman Cooper’s Opinion of this legislation:

This bill requires that any pharmacist who is dispensing immunosuppressive to transplant patients must consult the prescribing physician prior to any change in medication, so as to prevent the rejection of organs due to a variance in the medicine prescribed and the medicine that was substituted. The legislation includes a provision for a substitution basis if the physician cannot be reached. Immunosuppressive drugs are very finely tuned so any change in the medication may cause an adverse reaction and could potentially put the transplanted organ at risk.