Tag Archives: Pharmacy Board

Ohio Board of Pharmacy Takes Additional COVID-19 Response Efforts

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On March 24, 2020, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (“OBP”) took additional COVID-19 response efforts to protect the health and safety of Ohioans during the COVID-19 outbreak. These efforts include, but are not limited to:

  • Authorized expedited licensure of drug distributors; and
  • Authorized sale and shipment of non-reportable dangerous drugs that are in shortage by unlicensed, out-of-state facilities.

The OBP also reminded its licensees that pharmacies and terminal distributors of dangerous drugs are not required to submit a notification to the OBP for any temporary closures or reduction in operating hours. If modifying operating hours, a pharmacy must update signage to reflect the change in store hours.

Read more HERE and HERE.

As a reminder, the OBP also implemented required infection control procedures effective March 19, 2020.

Read more HERE.

If you are seeking guidance concerning obtaining expedited licensure as a drug distributor or have questions concerning OBP requirements during COVID-19, contact Todd Collis.

 

REMINDER – Ohio Licensed Practical Nurses: Renew Your Nursing License Now

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Reminder to all LPNs: Renewal of Ohio licensed practical nurse (“LPN”) licenses began on July 1, 2018 and ends on October 31, 2018.  At this time, you have less than a week left to renew your license.

It is a disciplinable offense to engage in the practice of nursing having failed to renew a nursing license.  An Ohio LPN license which is not renewed will lapse on November 1, 2018.  An Ohio LPN whose nursing license has lapsed is not authorized to work as a nurse until their nursing license is reinstated by the Ohio Board of Nursing.

The renewal fee is $65.00, plus a $3.50 transaction fee.  A late processing fee goes into effect on September 16, 2018.  An Ohio LPN who renews their nursing license on or after September 16, 2018 must pay an additional $50.00.  Fees must be paid online at the time of renewal with a credit or debit card (Master Card, VISA or Discover), or pre-paid card.  The renewal application will not be processed until all required fees are submitted.  All fees are non-refundable.

The renewal application includes, but is not limited to, questions concerning criminal, licensure, mental health matters, and alcohol/drugs matters.  All information provided in the renewal application is required to be true and accurate.  Depending on the response given to certain questions in the renewal application, uploading an explanation and Certified copies of certain specific documents is also required.

In certain cases, the renewal application may be forwarded to the Ohio Board of Nursing Compliance Unit for review and an Ohio Board of Nursing investigator may contact the LPN to obtain additional information.  In other cases, a Consent Agreement may be offered to the LPN to resolve a disciplinable offense instead of preceding to an administrative hearing.

If you do not understand a question in your LPN renewal application, or do not know what additional information to upload with your renewal application, it is recommended to obtain experienced legal counsel to assist you before submitting your LPN renewal application, speaking with an Ohio Board of Nursing investigator, or signing a Consent Agreement. Feel free to contact on of the attorneys at Collis Law Group LLC at (614) 486-3909 if you would like to schedule an appointment for a consultation for assistance to complete the renewal application.

For additional renewal application information from the Ohio Board of Nursing, see: http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/PDFS/Licensure/Renewal/Renewal_Momentum.pdf

As always, if you have questions about this post or the Ohio Board of Nursing, contact one of the attorneys at Collis Law Group LLC at (614) 486-3909.

Do you have a prescription for that?

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In most nursing positions, nurses are subjected to random, unannounced drug screens by their employer. Usually nurses are prepared to provide a drug test as a pre-condition for employment. However, once nurses have been working in a location for a while, they forget that employers may ask them to submit to a drug screen for cause (ie. if there are missing medications), when they are moved to a new unit, or just on a random basis.

If the drug test is positive for an illegal drug, the nurse may face suspension or termination from their job and the positive test result will also be reported to the Ohio Board of Nursing. However, often nurses test positive for prescription medications. If the nurse is able to provide their employer with a copy of a prescription showing that they have been prescribed the medication by their doctor, then it is not a problem. But, in many cases, nurses do not have prescriptions for medications they have taken. On occasion, nurses will take their friends’, spouse’s or kids’ medications, resulting in a positive drug screen.

Testing positive on a drug screen for a medications which has not been  prescribed,  may result in negative ramifications with your employment and your nursing license. The Ohio Board of Nursing regularly takes disciplinary actions against nurses who test positive for prescription medications, which have not been prescribed to them.

I recently spoke to a nurse who told me that her doctor told her to keep any old narcotic medications in her cabinet in case she or another family member might need the medication. This is improper advise. Medications can only be taken by the person who has been prescribed the medication. You can’t just keep a “stash” of prescription medications in your cabinet to be used by anyone who has access to the cabinet.

If you have left over medications, follow appropriate disposal procedures to discard the medication. Do not store unused narcotic medications in an unsecure location where other family members (including teenagers) may have access to the drugs.

Finally for nurses, if you have not been prescribed a medication, you should not ingest it as it may lead to a positive drug screen that may jeopardize your employment and license to practice as a nurse in Ohio.

As always, if you have any questions about this post or the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, please feel to check out my website www.collislaw.com or email me at beth@collislaw.com or call me at (614) 486-3909.

Hello Ohio Nurses!

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Hi, in my practice as an attorney I exclusively represent professionals before their state licensing boards in Ohio.  As a former Ohio Assistant Attorney General, I am familiar with the disciplinary process of Boards such as the State Medical Board of Ohio, Ohio Board of Nursing, Ohio Board of Pharmacy, Ohio Chiropractic Board and many, many more licensing agencies.

I regularly help applicants apply for a professional license in Ohio or wade through the disciplinary process. I have started this blog to answer many of the common questions that I receive in my practice on a weekly basis from nurses throughout Ohio. Such as, “should I apply for a license in Ohio if I have a criminal conviction on my record?” “what will happen with my professional license if I get a DUI?” “what should I do if contacted by a board or criminal investigator?”. I hope over  the next few months to answer many of your questions.