A national licensing model may soon allow pharmacists licensed in other states to practice in Guam without applying for a local license, Guam Board of Examiners for Pharmacy member Angie Eustaquio said at a board meeting on Thursday.
Eustaquio, the island鈥檚 voting delegate, returned from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy鈥檚 annual meeting in Florida, held May 13 to 17, with word that an 鈥渋nterstate privilege model鈥 is approaching adoption among member states.
鈥淭he interstate privilege model might be coming very soon,鈥 she told fellow board members. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like the nursing compact, where, if you participate as being one of these privileged states, then you can have licensee, not necessarily get a license on Guam but if they have a license in another privileged state, then they can pretty much operate in the capacity of as if having a license.鈥
Participation in the model would be voluntary for states and territories but no firm rollout date has been announced, she said.
鈥淲e might hear some chatter about whether or not we want to participate in this interstate privilege model,鈥 Eustaquio added. 鈥淚f Idaho is a privileged state and we are, then if they have a licensee in Idaho and us, then we can just pretty much, yeah, with each other. But they have to have a license in the state that is also privileged.鈥
She also presented updates on NABP鈥檚 Pulse platform, which is a new verification system developed under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act to combat counterfeit or misbranded medications.
鈥淚t鈥檚 this huge database where you get a scanner and you scan the QR codes, and it鈥檚 supposed to tell you exactly where and when the product has been and whether or not it鈥檚 legitimate,鈥 Eustaquio said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e spending a lot of money to make sure that this technology is offered to all the states to help eliminate misbranded and products that…don鈥檛 hold a true integrity.鈥
Pulse is currently in beta testing and may become available nationwide as states continue to address issues around drug tracking and consumer safety.
Weight loss medicine
However, Eustaquio warned board members about increasing concern across states regarding GLP-1 drug compounding, which is medications originally for diabetes that are now widely used for weight loss, especially due to the rise of its unauthorized distribution through weight-loss clinics.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that that鈥檚 necessarily an issue for us right now, but it鈥檚 just something to be aware of with high demand,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e got an email before for a misbranded, even for like, our wholesaler.鈥
She urged careful scrutiny when considering out-of-state license applications, particularly from entities presenting as weight-loss clinics.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stuff going on in the states that I think are suspicious, that we may not necessarily see directly, but it鈥檚 possible,鈥 Eustaquio added.