Ohio governor signs Emily’s Law, adds regulations for pharmacy techs
COLUMBUS, Ohio A bill to strictly regulate the activities and qualifications of pharmacy technicians is now the law in Ohio.
On Jan. 7, Gov. Ted Strickland signed the bill, known as Emily’s Law, culminating a major initiative to create regulatory and practice standards for pharmacy technicians following the death in 2006 of two-year-old Emily Jerry at the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. Her death, following a prescription error with saline solution by a pharmacy technician, prompted an acceleration in the training and certification of pharmacy techs.
The case drew national attention, and renewed calls for a national accreditation standard for pharmacy techs. It has also pushed Congress to consider federal legislation, introduced in the House last year by Ohio Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette and dubbed Emily’s Act, to require that pharmacy technicians be trained, registered and certified across the country.
Gov. Strickland signed the bill into law in a ceremony Wednesday that included the Jerry family, the Ohio pharmacy board and the National Pharmacy Technician Association [NPTA], which had worked with Emily’s mother, Kelly Jerry, for passage of the bill. With Strickland’s action, Ohio joins a list of some 40 states that have adopted regulations governing pharmacy technicians, according to the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
The law will require that pharmacy techs be at least 18 years of age, register with the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy and pass a board-certified competency exam. Emily’s Law also stipulates new standards on training and education, criminal records and disciplinary actions.
Pharmacy techs currently practicing in the state will have 210 days to become compliant with the new rules, according to the NPTA.
Mike Johnston, chairman and chief executive of the group, called Emily’s Law “a significant step in protecting the citizens of Ohio from preventable medication errors.”