An Act To Allow Collaborative Practice Agreements between Authorized Practitioners and Pharmacists
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1134
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: CUSHING, MALABY, COLLINS, HAMPER, KATZ, THIBODEAU, HARVELL, NUTTING, PARRY, SIROCKI
Amends: 32 MRSA §13702-A, 32 MRSA §13735

Legislative Document 
No. 1134 
S.P. 395 
In Senate, March 21, 2013 
An Act To Allow Collaborative Practice Agreements between 
Authorized Practitioners and Pharmacists 
Reference to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator CUSHING of Penobscot. 
Cosponsored by Representative MALABY of Hancock and 
Senators: COLLINS of York, HAMPER of Oxford, KATZ of Kennebec, THIBODEAU of 
Waldo, Representatives: HARVELL of Farmington, NUTTING of Oakland, PARRY of 
Arundel, SIROCKI of Scarborough. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  32 MRSA §13702-A, sub-§§2-A and 2-B are enacted to read: 
2-A.  Collaborative drug therapy management.  "Collaborative drug therapy 
management" means the initiating, monitoring, modifying and discontinuing of a patient's 
drug therapy by a pharmacist in accordance with a collaborative practice agreement.  
"Collaborative drug therapy management" includes collecting and reviewing patient 
histories; obtaining and checking vital signs, including pulse, temperature, blood pressure 
and respiration; and, under the supervision of, or in direct consultation with, a 
practitioner, ordering and evaluating the results of laboratory tests directly related to drug 
therapy when performed in accordance with approved protocols applicable to the practice 
setting and when the evaluation does not include a diagnostic component. 
2-B.  Collaborative practice agreement.  "Collaborative practice agreement" means 
a written and signed agreement between one or more pharmacists with training and 
experience relevant to the scope of the collaborative practice and a practitioner that 
supervises or provides direct consultation to the pharmacist or pharmacists engaging in 
collaborative drug therapy management that: 
A.  Defines the collaborative practice, which must be within the scope of the 
supervising practitioner's practice, in which the pharmacist or pharmacists may 
engage; 
B.  States the beginning and ending dates of the period of time during which the 
agreement is in effect; and 
C.  Includes individually developed guidelines for the prescriptive practice of the 
participating pharmacist or pharmacists. 
Sec. 2.  32 MRSA §13702-A, sub-§28, as amended by PL 2011, c. 577, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
28.  Practice of pharmacy.  "Practice of pharmacy" means the interpretation and 
evaluation of prescription drug orders; the compounding, dispensing and labeling of 
drugs and devices, except labeling by a manufacturer, packer or distributor of 
nonprescription drugs and commercially packaged legend drugs and devices; the 
participation in drug selection and drug utilization reviews; the proper and safe storage of 
drugs and devices and the maintenance of proper records for these drugs and devices; the 
administration of vaccines licensed by the United States Food and Drug Administration 
that are recommended by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or successor organization, for 
administration to adults; the performance of collaborative drug therapy management; the 
responsibility for advising, when necessary or regulated, of therapeutic values, content, 
hazards and use of drugs and devices; and the offering or performing of those acts, 
services, operations or transactions necessary in the conduct, operation, management and 
control of a pharmacy. 
Sec. 3.  32 MRSA §13735, first ¶, as amended by PL 2009, c. 308, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
An annual renewal license may not be issued by the board until the applicant certifies 
to the board that, during the calendar year preceding an application for renewal, the 
applicant has participated in not less than 15 hours of approved courses of continuing 
professional pharmaceutical education as set out in this section. Of the 15 hours to be 
completed, at least 2 hours must be in board-approved courses on drug administration as 
described in section 13702-A, subsection 28.  A pharmacist who enters into a 
collaborative practice agreement must agree to complete, in each year of the agreement, 5 
of the 15 hours required in this section in the areas of practice covered by the agreement.  
The continuing professional pharmaceutical educational courses consist of postgraduate 
studies, institutes, seminars, workshops, lectures, conferences, extension studies, 
correspondence courses or such other forms of continuing professional pharmaceutical 
education as may be approved by the board. 
Sec. 4.  32 MRSA c. 117, sub-c. 14 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 14 
COLLABORATIVE DRUG THERAPY MANAGEMENT 
§13841.  Authority 
1.  Engage in collaborative drug therapy management.  A pharmacist licensed in 
this State who meets the qualifications and requirements of section 13842 and rules 
adopted by the board may engage in collaborative drug therapy management pursuant to 
a collaborative practice agreement with a practitioner. 
2.  Scope of authority.  A pharmacist engaging in collaborative drug therapy 
management pursuant to subsection 1 is entitled to adequate access to a patient's history, 
disease status, drug therapy and laboratory and procedure results and may: 
A.  Collect and review a patient's history; 
B.  Obtain and check vital signs; 
C.  Order and evaluate the results of laboratory tests directly related to drug therapy 
under the supervision of, or in direct consultation with, a practitioner and in 
accordance with approved protocols applicable to the practice setting and when the 
evaluation does not include a diagnostic component; and 
D.  Initiate, monitor, modify and discontinue drug therapy for a particular patient 
pursuant to the collaborative practice agreement with the practitioner. 
§13842.  Qualifications 
In order to enter into a collaborative practice agreement with a practitioner under this 
subchapter, a pharmacist must: 
1.  License.  Hold a valid unrestricted pharmacist license in this State; 
2.  Training.  Submit evidence acceptable to the board that the pharmacist: 
A.  Possesses certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties or successor 
organization or has completed an accredited residency program.  If the residency 
program is not in the area of practice covered by the agreement, the pharmacist must 
complete a continuing education certificate program or at least 15 hours of continuing 
education in the area of practice covered by the agreement; 
B.  Has graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from a college of pharmacy 
accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, has 2 years of 
professional experience and has completed a continuing education certificate program 
or at least 15 hours of continuing education in the area of practice covered by the 
agreement; or 
C.  Has graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from a college of 
pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, has 3 
years of professional experience and has completed a continuing education certificate 
program or at least 15 hours of continuing education in the area of practice covered 
by the agreement. 
§13843.  Collaborative practice agreement 
A pharmacist may engage in collaborative drug therapy management pursuant to a 
collaborative practice agreement in accordance with this section. 
1.  Submit to board.  The pharmacist shall submit a copy of the collaborative 
practice agreement to the board prior to the commencement of the collaborative practice. 
2.  Review and revision.  The signatories to a collaborative practice agreement shall 
establish a procedure for reviewing and, if necessary, revising the procedures and 
protocols of the collaborative practice agreement. 
3.  Health information privacy.  Services provided pursuant to a collaborative 
practice agreement must be performed in compliance with the federal Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 United States Code, Section 1320d et seq. 
and its regulations, 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 160-164. 
4.  Amendments to agreement.  Amendments to a collaborative practice agreement 
must be documented, signed and dated. 
5.  Assessment; risk management.  A collaborative practice agreement must include 
a plan for measuring and assessing patient outcomes and must include proof that liability 
insurance is maintained by all parties to the agreement. 
6.  Contents of agreement.  A practitioner and a pharmacist desiring to engage in 
collaborative practice in accordance with this subchapter shall execute a collaborative 
practice agreement that must contain, but is not limited to: 
A.  Identification and signatures of the parties to the collaborative practice agreement, 
the dates the agreement is signed and the beginning and ending dates of the period of 
time during which the agreement is in effect; 
B.  A provision that allows either party to cancel the collaborative practice agreement 
by written notification; 
C.  Specification of the site and setting at which the collaborative practice will occur; 
D.  Specification of the qualifications of the participants in the collaborative practice 
agreement; and 
E.  A detailed description of the types of diseases, drugs or drug categories involved 
and collaborative drug therapy management allowed in each patient's case. 
§13844.  Conditions or diseases managed; scope of practice 
1.  Generally accepted standards of care.  A pharmacist may engage in 
collaborative drug therapy management pursuant to a collaborative practice agreement 
only for conditions or diseases with generally accepted standards of care. 
2.  Prohibition.  A pharmacist who is engaged in collaborative drug therapy 
management pursuant to a collaborative practice agreement may not, as part of the 
collaborative practice, participate in research or clinical or investigational trials. 
3.  Limitation. A collaborative practice agreement may include only the conditions 
or diseases to be managed that meet the qualifications and scope of practice for each 
party to the agreement. 
§13845.  Practice protocols 
A pharmacist may engage in collaborative drug therapy management in compliance 
with a treatment protocol established by the practitioner with whom the pharmacist has a 
collaborative practice agreement.  A copy of the treatment protocol must be submitted to 
the board.  At a minimum, the treatment protocol must include a statement by the 
practitioner that describes the activities in which the pharmacist is authorized to engage 
and a provision that allows the practitioner, when appropriate, to override a collaborative 
practice decision made by the pharmacist. 
§13846.  Rules 
The board, after consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services and 
the Board of Licensure in Medicine, shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. The 
rules must include rules establishing record-keeping and documentation procedures and 
reporting requirements and must allow for electronic filing when possible.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes licensed, qualified pharmacists in the State to engage in 
collaborative drug therapy management pursuant to a collaborative practice agreement 
with an authorized practitioner.