Legislation Introduced to Formally Recognize California Pharmacists as Healthcare Providers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) applauded Senator Ed Hernandez for announcing legislation to expand the use of pharmacists to meet community health care needs during a news conference at WellSpace Community Clinic in Sacramento, California. This legislation would officially recognize pharmacists as healthcare providers in the state of California.

“We thank Senator Hernandez for introducing this legislation, which allows highly-trained pharmacists to be recognized as healthcare providers”

This legislative proposal is sponsored by Californians for Accessible Health Care, a coalition that includes the California Pharmacists Association, California Society of Health System Pharmacists, California Association of Nurse Practitioners and the California Optometric Association.

“We thank Senator Hernandez for introducing this legislation, which allows highly-trained pharmacists to be recognized as healthcare providers,” said Jon R. Roth, CAE, CPhA CEO. “Acknowledging pharmacists as providers will allow them to provide expanded services to their patients while filling a void that is absolutely critical to ensuring that Californians who will receive insurance through the Medi-Cal program in 2014 have a place to access that care.”

CPhA and CSHP worked with Senator Hernandez on this issue as a way to address the shortage of healthcare providers in the state and to ease the transition of more than 7 million Californians who will obtain health insurance in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act.

Pharmacists are appropriately trained to do far more than what most are allowed to do in practice currently. With the impending number of new beneficiaries coming into the system, coupled with California’s primary care shortage, the need for pharmacists to be recognized as healthcare providers has never been greater and will help create pathways for them to begin operating at the top of their education and training.

Currently, patients and physicians often do not have access to the patient care services that pharmacists are trained to provide because the systems are not in place. Studies and practice-based experience have shown that when pharmacists are involved in the provision of patient care services as members of the health care team, patient outcomes improve, patients report higher rates of satisfaction and overall health care costs are reduced.

About the California Pharmacist Association (CPhA)

The California Pharmacists Association represents pharmacy professionals from all practice settings whose mission is to promote, expand and defend the profession of pharmacy and the role of pharmacists in California.