Here is some info i found on the topic...
PHARMACIST CLINICIAN
The State of New Mexico has one of the most progressive pharmacy practice acts in the United States. Currently, all pharmacists actively licensed in New Mexico have the ability to administer immunizations (both children and adult) and to provide emergency contraception without the order of a physician. In order to provide these services, the pharmacist must provide the Board of Pharmacy (BOP) with documentation of completion of a BOP approved certificate-training program and have a protocol approved by the BOP.
In addition to the above, New Mexico enacted the Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority Act. This act grants pharmacists that have met the requirements of a pharmacist clinician prescriptive authority according to a BOP approved protocol or guideline. Prescriptive authority means the authority to prescribe, administer, monitor or modify drug therapy. Monitoring drug therapy involves the following: obtaining patient medical and medication histories, ordering and interpreting pertinent laboratory studies, and measuring routine vital signs and, if necessary, performing appropriate physical examination procedures.
In order to become certified as a pharmacist clinician, pharmacists must meet one of the following requirements:
1. If the applicant is an actively licensed pharmacist, achievement of national certification as a physician assistant; or
2. Satisfactory completion of an academic curriculum which includes a minimum of sixty (60) hours of physical assessment training followed by nine (9) months of supervised clinical experience involving assessment skills (all Pharm.D. graduates); or
3. Satisfactory completion of a 60- hour physical assessment course approved by the Board and a 150-hour, 300 patient contact preceptorship supervised by a physician and approved by the Board, and achievement of a passing score as defined by the Board on an appropriate exam approved by the Board; or
4. If the applicant is certified by the Indian Health Service's Pharmacist Practitioner Program, documentation of 600 patient contacts within the past two years as a pharmacist practitioner, accompanied by a supporting affidavit from the supervising physician.
Therefore, all Doctor of Pharmacy graduates from the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy are eligible to become pharmacist clinicians based on criteria #2 above. In addition to the above requirements, a certified pharmacist clinician seeking to exercise prescriptive authority must submit an application to the BOP.
The guidelines or protocol must include the following:
1. Name of the practitioner authorized to prescribe drugs and name of the pharmacist clinician;
2. Statement of the types of prescriptive authority decisions the pharmacist clinician is authorized to make, including, but not limited to:
a. types of diseases, drugs or drug categories involved and the type of prescriptive authority authorized in each case;
b. procedures, decision criteria or plan the pharmacist clinician is to follow when exercising prescriptive authority;
3. Activities to be followed by the pharmacist clinician while exercising prescriptive authority, including documentation of feedback to the authorizing practitioner concerning specific decisions made; documentation may be made on the prescriptive record, patient profile, patient medical chart or in a separate log book;
4. Description of appropriate mechanisms for reporting to the supervising practitioner; and
5. Description of the scope of practice of the pharmacist clinician.
A pharmacist clinician may prescribe controlled substances, provided that a New Mexico Controlled Substances registration and a Drug Enforcement Agency registration have been obtained and controlled substances prescribed are within the parameters of written guidelines or protocols.
Currently there are approximately 100 pharmacist-clinicians that are certified with the BOP. These clinicians are practicing in a multitude of healthcare environments, such
as long term care (nursing homes), institutional (hospital), physician offices, and community pharmacies. There is currently no additional fee to apply for pharmacist clinician certification. However, pharmacist clinicians must renew their license annually and are required to obtain an additional 10 hours of annual continuing education (either American Council of Pharmaceutical Education approved or Category I of the American Medical Association approved live continuing education) in addition to the 15 hour annual requirement for active pharmacist licensure. The New Mexico Pharmaceutical Associations website has more detailed information regarding the pharmacist clinician regulations and also has several examples of pharmacist clinician protocols posted
http://www.nm- pharmacy.com/pharmacist_prescribing.htm.
