COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Pharmacists could soon test and treat Ohioans for respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, strep throat, and RSV under new legislation a state senator says will expand health care access, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to primary care physicians is limited.<\/p>\n
Senate Bill 230<\/a> would authorize pharmacists to conduct screenings, order and administer laboratory tests, evaluate results and provide treatments for the aforementioned ailments and other respiratory conditions \u201cas determined by rule.\u201d <\/p>\n The legislation builds upon the lessons learned during the coronavirus pandemic, when pharmacists played an integral role in testing, vaccination, and treatment delivery. Sen. Mark Romanchuk, an Ontario Republican, who provided sponsor testimony on Wednesday. <\/p>\n \u201cDuring that time, pharmacies were on the front lines of the states and the nation\u2019s vaccine response, administering over 14 million vaccines to Ohioans, including 756,000 to children in just two and a half years,\u201d he said. \u201cThese numbers clearly demonstrate the need for more health care providers and show that our constituents use this access.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the bill, pharmacists would operate under protocols adopted by the State Board of Pharmacy, ensuring that there are consistent standards statewide. The legislation specifically references the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, which are federal regulations that establish quality standards for clinical laboratories in the United States. Pharmacists would continue to refer patients for further evaluation when necessary.<\/p>\n One goal of the legislation is to lessen the burden on overly taxed emergency rooms and urgent care facilities, Romanchuk said. It also seeks to fill gaps in healthcare accessibility in medically underserved communities, especially rural areas. <\/p>\n The bill, which Romanchuk noted mirrors successful models that have been implemented in over 20 states, would ensure that health insurers and Medicaid reimburse pharmacists providing health care in the same manner as equivalent services provided by other qualified health care professionals.<\/p>\n Romanchuk said that the change would not create new covered services but would allow existing coverage to apply when a pharmacist provides the service. <\/p>\n \u201cWithout this parity, many pharmacies, particularly independent ones, cannot sustainably offer these critical services even when patients need them the most,\u201d Romanchuk said. <\/p>\n Members of the Senate Health Committee had a wide range of clarifying questions regarding the legislation, including age requirements and how pharmacists would integrate their testing and treatment into patients\u2019 medical records. <\/p>\n Romanchuk expressed an openness to integrate his colleagues\u2019 thoughts and perspectives into the bill.<\/p>\n If the bill moves through committee vetting and is approved by the Senate, it still would have to clear the House before it could become law.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Pharmacists could soon test and treat Ohioans for respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, strep throat,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":{"0":"post-288339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}