In a major win for pharmacists and their patients, California’s state legislation, SB 493, expanded scope of practice and recognized pharmacists as providers. Passed in 2013 and effective in 2014, implementation is ongoing. In part 2 of my blog about expanding pharmacist roles in California, I’d like to take a look at the progress the state is making to implement this legislation.

A lot has been going on in the background these past 2 years, and the governor of California has charged all of the departments lined up under the state Secretary for Health and Human Services with developing recommendations for best practices and innovations in health delivery that bend the cost curve and expand access to care, particularly for California’s expanded Medicaid program. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) white paper that highlights comprehensive medication management services provided by pharmacists is one of those seminal recommendations. California’s Medicaid program now covers 12 million lives, or one-third of all Californians.

California pharmacists have provided great leadership to APhA over the years, including our current APhA President LB Brown and APhA President-elect Designate Nancy Alvarez, as well as dozens of other great volunteer leaders like Mike Pavlovich, Bob Gibson, Charlie Green, Bob Johnson, Mary Munson Runge, Wilma Wong, Clark Gustafson, and so many others (please don’t beat me up for leaving out numerous names).

Check out the April issue of Pharmacy Today for an in-depth look at this important topic!