WASHINGTON, DC – On June 11, Oregon State Governor Kate Brown signed into law landmark legislation that helps expand patient access to pharmacists patient care services. The legislation, HB 2028, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, permits insurance carriers to add pharmacists to its network of providers and expands existing laws related to collaborative drug therapy management among other wins.

“We applaud the state legislators in Oregon for recognizing that the future of health care is about access, quality and team-based care, and congratulate the Oregon State Pharmacy Association for their tireless work on this effort,” said Thomas E. Menighan, American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Executive Vice President and CEO. “This transformative legislation will improve patients’ access to patient care from pharmacists, while also allowing for greater collaboration among health care providers, both of which will result in improved patient outcomes.”

Through the legislation, patients will now have access to the specialized care services pharmacists provide including medication management, disease prevention and wellness and post-diagnostic disease management. Pharmacists and doctors can now work together to design and implement collaborative agreements to increase access to pharmacists’ patient care services and improve patients’ health.

Overt inclusion of pharmacists on the health care team continues to gain momentum across the country, as California and Washington State recently passed similar legislation. States cannot resolve the issues alone. The American Pharmacists Association is leading efforts to promote patient access to and coverage of pharmacists’ patient care services at the federal level too.

In late January, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act was introduced in both the U.S. House (H.R. 592) and Senate (S. 314). Passage of this legislation is a critical step in better utilizing pharmacists to positively impact patients and health care. Today there are 145 bipartisan co-sponsors on the House bill and 19 co-sponsors on the Senate bill.

“APhA and the Patient Access to Pharmacists’ Care Coalition, a coalition of more than 30 organizations representing patients, pharmacists, and pharmacies, as well as other interested stakeholders, urges members of Congress to take steps now to improve Medicare beneficiary access to health care services through pharmacists and their services,” continued Menighan. “As highly accessible and educated health care professionals, pharmacists are in a position to improve quality of care and patient outcomes, especially for those patients living in medically underserved areas.”