Pharmacy Board

Description

The mandate of the Board of Pharmacy is to protect the public’s health and safety and to promote the welfare of the state by regulating the competency and quality of professional health care providers under their jurisdiction. The Board accomplishes this mandate through a variety of activities in collaboration with the Department of Health, Health Professions Quality Assurance.

Board duties include:

• Regulating pharmaceutical care by licensing personnel and firms, set standards of practice, and follow up on complaints or violations by pharmacists, interns, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, pharmacies, and other pharmaceutical firms
• Regulating the competency and quality of professional health care providers under its jurisdiction by establishing, monitoring, and enforcing qualifications for licensure
• Establishing and monitoring compliance with continuing education requirements
• Ensuring consistent standards of practice
• Developing continuing competency mechanisms
• Assessing, investigating and making recommendations related to complaints against health care providers under its jurisdiction and pharmaceutical firms which may range from a Notice of Correction to a Revocation of license/credentials
• Serving as reviewing members on disciplinary cases and serve on disciplinary hearing panels
• Serving as members of standing committees, when appointed
• Developing rules, policies, and procedures that promote the delivery of quality health care to the residents of the state

Qualifications

The Board is made up of five pharmacist and two public members appointed by the Governor. Pharmacist members shall be representative of the areas of pharmacy practice and geographically representative of the state of Washington. Pharmacist members must have been licensed to practice pharmacy in Washington for at least the past five years.
All members must be citizens of the United States and must be residents of Washington.

Public member representatives shall be appointed from the public at large but shall not be affiliated with any aspect of pharmacy.

Board Participation Expectation Guidelines

The following expectation guidelines are intended to serve as a reference for current members and for prospective appointees of the BOP:

• Attend regular BOP meetings, scheduled for one to two days during business hours on Wednesday and Thursday every six weeks. BOP establishes its meeting schedule one year in advance. The typical time commitment ranges between 19 to 24 days per year which also includes an annual BOP workshop, and the Department of Health one-day Board, Commission, Committee conference.
• Prepare for all meetings by reading materials one to two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting date. The packets take an average of two to four hours to read prior to each business meeting. In addition, between four-and-ten hours are spent reviewing complaint files prior to each meeting.
• Participate on disciplinary panels that may meet by telephone or in person several times per year. Sometimes panels meet with short advance notice in order to respond to emergent situations to protect the public.
• Assist newly appointed BOP members as necessary.

Total Annual Time Commitment

Performance Guidelines-Newly Appointed Board Members

Attend an initial orientation about BOP and the Department of Health presented by Department of Health staff. This is approximately a day in length. Initial orientation outlines the legal authority of BOP, the roles and responsibilities of BOP members, ethics, confidentiality, the legal liability of BOP members and the Department of Health, the organizational structure of the Department of Health, roles and responsibilities of Department of Health staff, roles and responsibilities of staff attorneys and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs), disciplinary processes, rule-making and other issues.

Current Meeting Schedule

Become a Board, Commission or Committee Member.