Bill > HB1150

This bill, the Rapid Testing and Preventive Care Act, expands the role of pharmacists in Maryland by allowing them to prescribe, dispense, and administer certain drugs and devices, as well as perform and interpret specific laboratory tests, particularly for minor conditions and the prevention and treatment of HIV. It repeals the existing Nonoccupational Postexposure Prophylaxis (nPEP) Standing Order Program, which was a specific program for HIV prevention medication, and instead authorizes the Maryland Department of Health to create statewide written protocols. These protocols will guide pharmacists in treating minor conditions, which now include conditions like influenza, COVID-19, and certain skin and respiratory illnesses, and in providing HIV prevention and treatment services, including prescribing and dispensing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) medications, and performing HIV tests. The bill also allows pharmacists to use certain laboratory tests classified as "waived" under federal regulations for clinical decision-making and permits them to delegate some testing tasks to registered pharmacy technicians and interns.