Bill Text: NJ A588 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Regulates provision of pharmaceutical services in nursing homes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee [A588 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A588-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Speight
SYNOPSIS
Regulates provision of pharmaceutical services in nursing homes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning nursing homes and pharmaceutical services and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this act:
"Nursing home" means a long-term care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) to provide professional nursing care on a daily basis and includes intermediate care facilities pursuant to P.L.1975, c.397 (C.26:2H-29 et seq.), as well as the distinct part of another health care facility or continuing care retirement community that is licensed to provide skilled nursing care services pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.). For the purposes of this act, nursing home shall not include: an acute care hospital; assisted living facility; comprehensive personal care home; dementia care home; residential health care facility; adult day health care facility; alternate family care program; adult family care program; home health care agency; State psychiatric hospital; county health care facility, including, but not limited to, county geriatric center, county nursing home or other county long-term care facility; the New Jersey Firemen's Home; or a health care facility operated by the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs.
"Pharmacist" means a pharmacist licensed pursuant to P.L.2003, c.280 (C.45:14-40 et seq.)
b. Each nursing home shall have a consultant pharmacist and either a provider pharmacist or, if the facility has an in-house pharmacy, a director of pharmaceutical services.
c. A New Jersey licensed pharmacist shall serve as director of pharmaceutical services or as consultant pharmacist. The pharmacist shall comply with federal and State statutes, rules, regulations, and currently accepted standards of practice.
d. Each nursing home shall have an interdisciplinary pharmacy and therapeutics committee, appointed by and reporting to the facility's administrator and consisting of at least the administrator, a representative of the nursing staff, and the facility's consultant pharmacist, with oversight as needed by the facility's medical director. The committee may include a licensed pharmacist representing the provider pharmacy. The committee shall hold meetings at least quarterly. Records, including the dates of meetings, attendance, activities, findings, and recommendations, shall be maintained by the committee.
e. Each nursing home shall
appoint a consultant pharmacist who is not also the director of pharmaceutical
services or pharmacist provider, and who attests that he or she does not have
an
affiliation with either the facility's director of pharmaceutical services or
the facility's pharmacist provider. Following the appointment of the
consultant pharmacist, the consultant pharmacist shall avoid all real or
potential conflicts of interest with the facility's director of pharmaceutical
services or the facility's pharmacist provider.
f. If a nursing home keeps emergency injectable or oral controlled substances, the facility shall ensure that a current Drug Enforcement Administration registration and controlled dangerous substance registration for that location is available.
2. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill codifies current Department of Health regulations concerning the provision of pharmaceutical services in nursing homes, and establishes an additional requirement to aid in preventing certain conflicts of interest.
Under the bill, each nursing home is to have a consultant pharmacist and either a provider pharmacist or, if the facility has an in-house pharmacy, a director of pharmaceutical services. A New Jersey licensed pharmacist is to serve as director of pharmaceutical services or as consultant pharmacist. The pharmacist is required to comply with federal and State statutes, rules, regulations, and currently accepted standards of practice.
The bill provides that each nursing home is to have an interdisciplinary pharmacy and therapeutics committee, appointed by and reporting to the administrator of the facility and consisting of at least the administrator, a representative of the nursing staff, and the facility's consultant pharmacist, with oversight as needed by the facility's medical director. The committee may include a licensed pharmacist representing the provider pharmacy. The committee is to hold meetings at least quarterly. Records, including the dates of meetings, attendance, activities, findings, and recommendations, are to be maintained by the committee.
Under the bill, a nursing home
is to appoint a consultant pharmacist who is not also the director of
pharmaceutical services or pharmacist provider. The bill establishes an
additional requirement for consultant pharmacists to attest that the consultant
pharmacist does not have an affiliation with either the facility's director of
pharmaceutical services or the facility's pharmacist provider. The bill
specifies that, following the appointment of the consultant pharmacist, the
consultant pharmacist is to avoid all real or potential conflicts of interest
with the facility's director of pharmaceutical services or the facility's
pharmacist provider.
