SPRINGFIELD- Have you ever gone to a pharmacy to pick up a prescription and found out that they can’t fill it because it is out of stock? Then you find out that they can’t transfer it to another pharmacy that has the prescription in stock, because of Illinois laws? This can lead to patients frantically attempting to get a hold of their doctors for a new prescription.
The Illinois Senate recently passed legislation filed by State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) which is designed to fix that issue.
“This is a common-sense idea, to make sure people can get important medications that they need,” said Senator McClure. “If one pharmacy is out of a specific medication, they should be allowed to transfer that prescription to another pharmacy that can provide the important medicine to the patient.”
Senate Bill 3213 allows for more types of prescriptions to be electronically transferred from one pharmacy to another. Currently, Illinois law restricts which prescriptions can be transferred more than federal law does. This bill aligns Illinois laws with federal laws so that prescriptions can be transferred.
The idea for the legislation was brought to Senator McClure by a constituent who is a doctor.
The bill recently passed the Illinois Senate unanimously and now awaits action in the House.