BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2077
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2077 (Solorio) - As Amended: April 22, 2010
Policy Committee: Business &
Professions Vote: 9-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill modifies the definition of "hospital pharmacy" and
"manufacturer" to allow acute care hospitals associated with one
another through a consolidated hospital license to compound and
repackage drugs. Under current law hospitals are only able to
provide pharmaceutical services to patients on the same hospital
grounds.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable workload to the California Board of Pharmacy to
continue oversight of hospital-based pharmacies.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is co-sponsored by the California
Hospital Association (CHA) and the California Society of
Health-System Pharmacists (CSPH). The CHA represents 400 acute
care hospitals statewide and the CSPH represents 4,000
pharmacy professionals statewide. This bill modifies current
law definitions to allow hospitals operating under a
consolidated license to use centralized barcoding and
packaging of prescriptions. According to the author and
sponsors, providing pharmacy services in a centralized fashion
and under specified conditions improves patient safety and
reduces medication errors.
2)Suggested Amendment . This bill, as currently in print, is a
narrow bill with minimal fiscal impact to regulators, which
allows hospitals to increase both quality and efficiency.
Staff recommends deleting legislative intent language in lines
7 through 15 on page 3 of the most recently amended version of
the bill. This language creates cost pressures outside the
scope of this bill.
AB 2077
Page 2
3)Background . The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulates the compounding of patient prescriptions. Recent
communication with the FDA indicates this federal regulator
may allow California to pursue the centralized strategy
established by this bill. This bill allows a single hospital
pharmacy to prepare compounded drugs, repackage and prepare
unit dose packages to patients in several hospitals under
common ownership. This standardization allows for increased
efficiency and may reduce dosing errors.
4)Concerns . Laborers' International Union of North America,
Locals 777 and 792 have been concerned about a possible
reduction in hospital-based pharmacists and an associated
reduction in pharmacy technicians.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081