Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration has further improved Pennsylvania patients’ access to vaccines and injectable medications by solidifying pharmacy technicians’ and interns’ regulatory authority to provide that care.
The new regulation from the State Board of Pharmacy was approved March 19 by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC). It adds pharmacy technicians and interns to the list of trained people who can administer injectable medications, biologicals, and vaccines.
The change matches the Pharmacy Board’s regulations to statutory amendments established in Act 80 of 2022 and Act 77 of 2024.
“Extending pharmacists’ ability to delegate administering these medicines and vaccines to well-trained, capable interns and registered pharmacy techs increases Pennsylvanians’ access to health care,” said Arion Claggett, Acting Commissioner of the Department’s Bureau of Professional & Occupational Affairs. “By unanimously approving this regulation, the Pharmacy Board continued the Shapiro Administration trend of cutting red tape and delivering positive outcomes for Pennsylvanians.”
In his budget address earlier this year, Governor Shapiro directed the Department of State to streamline regulations as part of his push to make Pennsylvania more competitive.
The pharmacy regulation also solidified the legal changes that lowered the age ranges of patients who can receive certain injectables and adjusted requirements related to the immediate supervision that must be provided when pharmacy interns and registered technicians administer injectables.
Additionally, the IRRC also approved new regulations March 19 that require prescribers under the State Board of Medicine and the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine to obtain continuing education in prescribing and dispensing opioids as part of their biennial license renewal. This also matches the boards’ regulations to existing statutory amendments that are aimed at improving pain management and reducing opioid addiction.
“The Shapiro Administration has worked tirelessly with our state boards to ensure our regulations are up to date, our permitting processes are streamlined, and our licensees remain well trained while also eliminating red tape,” Claggett said. “Altogether it means the Commonwealth continues to be more competitive with nearby states by incentivizing workers and, in the case of these new regulations, solidifying better health care access for all Pennsylvanians.”
Claggett also noted that streamlining via these new regulations builds upon work the Shapiro Administration has already done to help Pennsylvanians get on the job faster. For pharmacists, that’s meant reducing license wait times from 26 days to as little as one day since Governor Shapiro took office.
It’s also meant cutting red tape to help new pharmacies open quickly, protecting consumers by holding pharmacies accountable, and earning national recognition for improving professional licensing processes.
The new pharmacy regulation went into effect April 11 upon final publication in the Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin. The new medicine and osteopathic medicine regulations will go into effect after publication in the Code & Bulletin later this month.