To renew their pharmacist licenses, pharmacists are required to complete pharmacist continuing education approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) or by the Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy (Board). Of the total 30 contact hours that pharmacists must complete, continuing education in the following special topics is required:
- 2 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting continuing education. A list of Board-approved courses is posted here – Board Approved Act 31 of 2014 Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Continuing Education Providers. The same program or a different program must be completed each renewal period.
- At least 2 hours of pharmacist continuing education in pain management, the identification of addiction or in the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids. This continuing education must be ACPE-approved or Board-approved. Note: Board-approved programs will be posted on the Board of Pharmacy’s web site (www.dos.pa.gov/pharm) once programs have been approved.
- 2 hours in the ACPE topic designator “Patient Safety.” The ACPE topic designator for “Patient Safety” is “05.” The topic designator appears near the end of the Universal Activity Number (ex. xxxx-xxxx-xx-xxx-x05-P).
- If a pharmacist also holds the authorization to administer injectables, at least 2 hours must concern the administration of injectable medications, biologicals and immunizations, including, but not limited to, disease epidemiology, vaccine characteristics, injection technique, emergency response to adverse events and related topics.
Reduction in the total number of hours that must be completed for renewal:
To renew, individuals who reciprocate to Pennsylvania during the current renewal period will have the number of hours required to be completed prorated, on a quarterly basis, from the date of licensure to the next date of renewal. For this purpose, each quarter will consist of 3 months, and will be credited for 3.75 contact hours (.375 CEU). The pharmacist will be required to begin accumulating contact hours at the beginning of the next quarter following licensure. The “special topic” continuing education noted above in items 1, 2, 3 and 4 must be completed by these individuals, even if the number of prorated hours is fewer than the special topic requirements. All pharmacist continuing education must be ACPE or Board-approved.
A newly graduated licensee will be exempt from most of the continuing education for the license renewal immediately following licensure. However, the Board is unable to exempt these licensees from the requirements of Act 31 and Act 124. To renew their license, these licensees must complete 2 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting continuing education and at least 2 hours of pharmacist continuing education in pain management, the identification of addiction or in the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids. All pharmacist continuing education must be ACPE or Board-approved.
See the Board’s regulations at Section 27.32 and Acts 124 of 2016 and 31 of 2014. While this notice is meant to be informative, if there are any conflicts between this notice and the Board’s regulations or the applicable laws, the requirements in the laws and regulations will control.
The Pharmacy Act and the Board’s regulations are available on the Board’s website at:
Act 124 of 2016 (Achieving Better Care by Monitoring all Prescriptions Program Act (ABC-MAP)) is available on the Legislature’s website at:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2016&sessInd=0&act=124.
Act 31 of 2014 (Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Requirements) is available on the Legislature’s website at:
