HBA-MPM H.B. 2528 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2528 By: Van de Putte Higher Education 3/29/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The shortage of pharmacists in Texas is due to several factors, including the following: _an aging population which requires more prescription drugs; _the introduction of drug options which keep patients out of hospitals and nursing homes; _a shift in pharmacy education from a five to six-year program; _an increase in the number of Texans covered by insurance programs offering prescription benefits; and _pharmacy graduates who leave Texas to participate in out-of-state residency programs. Currently, there are limited federal grants available to fund pharmacy residency programs, however, additional grants alone may not solve the pharmacist shortage, as they only fund programs in hospital settings. A major component of the pharmacist shortage is in rural areas, many of which do not have hospitals. H.B. 2528 establishes the Roberta High Memorial Pharmacy Residency Program, which provides funding by state stipend to aid pharmacy residencies in community settings and creates more residencies in hospital settings. This bill also provides that the cost of each residency will be shared by the state, the employer, and the college of pharmacy, with the state's share not to exceed $10,000 per residency site. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 61, Education Code, by adding Subchapter T, as follows: SUBCHAPTER T. ROBERTA HIGH MEMORIAL PHARMACY RESIDENCY PROGRAM Sec. 61.851. DEFINITIONS. Defines "community pharmacy," "compensation," "faculty preceptor," "institutional pharmacy," "nuclear pharmacy," "pharmacy residency program," " primary teaching pharmacy," "resident pharmacist," and "school of pharmacy" for purposes of this subchapter. Sec. 61.852. COMPENSATION OF RESIDENT PHARMACIST. Requires a school of pharmacy to compensate each resident pharmacist (resident) being educated, trained, developed, and prepared for a career in pharmacy while undergoing education, training, development, and preparation at or under the direction and supervision of the school. Sec. 61.853. NUMBER OF AVAILABLE RESIDENT PHARMACIST POSITIONS. Prohibits the total number of compensated first-year residents from exceeding 50 percent of the total number of persons in the preceding year's combined or graduating classes of all schools of pharmacy in each year. Provides that at least 50 percent of the combined total number of resident positions to be in community pharmacy practice. Sec. 61.854. PREFERENCE TO APPLICANT FOR PRACTICE IN MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS. Requires each school to give priority consideration to an applicant for a resident position who demonstrates a willingness to practice pharmacy in medically underserved areas of this state, as defined by the Texas Department of Health. Sec. 61.855. DURATION OF PHARMACIST RESIDENCY. Prohibits a person from holding a resident position for more than two years, or for a period longer than that usually required for a resident to complete a graduate pharmacy education program approved by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (board) for the specialty in which the resident seeks certification. Sec. 61.856. PROGRAM FUNDING. Authorizes the legislature to appropriate revenue to the board to fund the pharmacy residency program. Prohibits funds appropriated and distributed under this subchapter from being transferred or diverted from the pharmacy resident program. Requires the comptroller of public accounts to issue a warrant to the pharmacy school or other entity designated by the board to receive funds under this subchapter. Sec. 61.857. STATE SUPPORT OF RESIDENT PHARMACIST COMPENSATION. (a) Authorizes the board, to supplement compensation of residents, to provide grants to schools of pharmacy in amounts that do not exceed $10,000 per fiscal year for each resident position the board approves and that is filled by the applicable school for that year. (b) Authorizes a school of pharmacy to receive funds under this section for a resident position in any year only if the school and primary teaching pharmacy each contribute at least $10,000 toward the compensation of the resident for that year. (c) Requires a school of pharmacy to reduce proportionately the compensation paid to a resident who does not perform in that capacity during an entire fiscal year to cover only the part of the year during which the person performed duties as a resident. (d) Requires a school of pharmacy, if a person is compensated by an agency or institution of the federal government or by any other agency or institution, other than a primary teaching pharmacy, to reduce the compensation that would otherwise be paid the person by an amount equal to that received by the person from the agency or institution. (e) Provides that if the school receives from an agency or institution of the federal government or from any other agency or institution, compensation for a person's performance of the person's duties as a resident to or for the benefit of the agency or institution, the compensation that may be paid to the resident from funds awarded for that position is reduced by the amount received from the other agency or institution. (f) Specifies that a resident must enroll for at least nine semester credit hours (hours) each fall and spring semester and for at least six hours each summer term in graduate pharmacy education experiential courses to qualify for supplemental compensation provided under this section. Exempts the resident from fees required for enrollment, other than tuition. Sec. 61.858. PLACEMENT OF RESIDENT PHARMACISTS IF FULL FUNDING NOT AVAILABLE. (a) Authorizes a school of pharmacy to assign and place for education and training a resident who cannot be supported adequately with available funds in a primary teaching pharmacy with which the school has a resident affiliation agreement if the school determines that it does not have sufficient available funds from legislative appropriations and other sources to adequately support the full number of residents the school considers necessary to carry out the purposes of the school. (b) Requires a resident to receive compensation primarily from a primary teaching pharmacy during the period for which the resident is assigned and placed in a pharmacy under this section. (c) Provides that a resident pharmacist affiliation agreement between the school and the primary teaching pharmacy must describe the exact method and manner of compensating the resident. Sec. 61.859. ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT GRADUATE PHARMACY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. (a) Requires the board to administer a program to support graduate pharmacy education programs in this state consistent with the state's needs for graduate pharmacy education and the training of residents in appropriate fields and specialties. (b) Authorizes the board, from available funds, to make grants or formula distributions to a school of pharmacy or other entity to achieve certain goals. (c) Provides that in order to be eligible for a grant or distribution under this section a school or other entity must incur the costs of faculty education or supervision in a graduate pharmacy education program or the costs of compensating a resident in the program. Requires the board to take those incurred costs into account when making grants or formula distributions under this section. (d) Provides that the program is funded by appropriations, gifts, grants, and donations made to support the program, and by any other funds the board obtains, including federal grants. (e) Authorizes an amount granted or distributed to a school or other entity under the program to be used only to cover expenses of training residents participating in the particular program or activity for which the grant or distribution is made in accordance with conditions imposed by the board. Prohibits this amount from being spent for the general support of the school or other entity. Sec. 61.860. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) Requires the board to appoint an advisory committee (committee) to advise the board regarding the development and administration of the pharmacy residency program, including evaluating requests for grants and establishing formulas for distribution of funds under the program. (b) Sets forth the composition of the committee. (c) Provides that of the members of the committee who are pharmacists in private practice, two must be in community pharmacy practice and two must be active in hospital pharmacy practice. (d) Specifies that committee members serve staggered three-year terms. Requires the board to appoint the initial members to terms of one, two, or three years as necessary so that one-third of the member's terms expire each year, as nearly as practicable. (e) Requires the committee to elect one member as presiding officer for a one-year term. (f) Requires the committee to meet at least once yearly and as often as requested by the board or called into meeting by the presiding officer. (g) Prohibits a committee member from receiving compensation for committee service, but authorizes that member to receive reimbursement for travel to official meetings according to policies established by the board. Sec. 61.861. DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE. Requires the committee to perform certain duties. Sec. 61.862. APPLICATION BY SCHOOL OF PHARMACY FOR FUNDING. Provides that a school of pharmacy must include in an application for funds under this subchapter certain information. Sec. 61.863. FUNDING OF FACULTY PRECEPTOR POSITIONS (a) Authorizes a school of pharmacy to apply and receive a grand under this section to support full-time, affiliated faculty preceptors who supervise accredited pharmacy residencies. (b) Requires the committee to recommend to the board an allocation of faculty preceptor positions that are to receive funds under this section. (c) Provides that an allocation of funds under this section must take into consideration certain factors. (d) Requires the board to continue to grant funds to support that position for a period not to exceed one additional calendar year once funds are granted to support a faculty preceptor position affiliated with a school. Requires the school, after that time, to provide an amount equal to the annualized amount of the grant in its operating budget to maintain the level of compensation for the position for two years after the grant period has ended. (e) Prohibits the board from using more than 10 percent of the total amount appropriated to the pharmacy residency program under this subchapter to fund faculty preceptor positions. (f) Authorizes the board to solicit, receive, and spend grants, gifts, and donations from public and private sources for purposes of this section. SECTION 2. Requires the comptroller to transfer $850,000 from the State Board of Pharmacy fund account to the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund on the effective date of this Act. Authorizes the legislature to appropriate these funds only for the pharmacy residency program established by this Act. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.