Abstract
Pharmacy technicians are essential for inner workings of pharmacy teams and their depth of involvement in roles continues to evolve. An innovative role for pharmacy technicians, administration of vaccines, has emerged. With Idaho, Rhode Island, and Utah recently implementing changes that allow pharmacy technicians to safely perform this role, the need arose for a detailed examination of the law climate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A nine-question survey was sent out to all 51 state boards of pharmacy inquiring to legislative and regulatory environment of pharmacy technician vaccine administration. Additionally, a protocol driven, peer-reviewed process of state-specific regulations and statutes revealed categorized trends pertaining to this topic. Each state was classified per protocol into four different categories. The categorization resulted in identification of nine states in which pharmacy technician administered vaccination may be considered “Not Expressly Prohibited”. A majority of states were categorized as prohibited (either directly or indirectly). Board of pharmacy respondents (43%) reported varying viewpoints on technician administered vaccines. While three states (Idaho, Rhode Island, Utah) have already made changes to allow for pharmacy technician administered vaccinations, opportunities exist for other states to consider changes to statutes or rules.
Highlights
Vaccines remain one of the most cost-effective preventative health measures available and have been estimated to reduce direct financial burden on healthcare by $9.9 billion [1]
Kamal et al identified various factors that may contribute to low rates of vaccination such as apathy, misconceptions, cost, distance to clinics, wait times, and inconvenient hours [4]
When it comes to barriers to receiving immunizations, less talked about or mentioned are the statutes and regulations surrounding them or who may be authorized to provide them
Summary
Vaccines remain one of the most cost-effective preventative health measures available and have been estimated to reduce direct financial burden on healthcare by $9.9 billion [1]. Pharmacies represent the second most common location for an adult to receive an influenza vaccination [2]. With an estimated 42,000 adult and 300 child deaths per year on average attributable to influenza alone, opportunity exists to improve access to this crucial preventative health intervention through expansion of patient access to vaccinations [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that vaccinations prevent between two and three million deaths each year [3]. Given that pharmacies are one of the most accessible health destinations for the general public, they have served as a gateway to increase vaccination rates and improve access to care
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