HBA-NRS H.B. 3554 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3554 By: Coleman Public Health 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE While most chemotherapy treatment for cancer is administered intravenously, many oral anti-cancer treatment drugs are either currently available or under development. Consistent with the national trend toward patient-focused care, some states currently allow physicians participating in an oncology protocol to dispense oral cancer drugs to their patients. Dispensing of oral chemotherapy drugs by physicians is convenient to patients who would otherwise have to visit a pharmacy to receive such drugs, reduces costs associated with treatment, and does not have any of the detrimental effects or complications associated with receiving chemotherapy intravenously. In addition, some low-income Medicare patients who require treatment of cancer through oral medication attempt to obtain their medication through pharmacies and are unable to pay full price while waiting for their Medicare reimbursement. House Bill 3554 authorizes physicians participating in an oncology protocol to dispense oral medication for the treatment of cancer directly to their patients. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 3554 amends the Occupations Code to authorize a licensed physician to dispense drugs pursuant to an oncology protocol and to charge for such drugs without obtaining a license to practice pharmacy. The bill provides that the Texas Pharmacy Act does not prevent a practitioner from dispensing drugs to a patient of the practitioner pursuant to an oncology protocol. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.