In Illinois, many have gone to their pharmacies to pick up prescriptions, only to find out they couldn’t be filled because the medicines were out of stock. Then they find out the prescriptions couldn’t be transferred to other pharmacies due to state laws. Legislation filed by State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) and signed into law on Friday aims to fix that.
“The idea here is simple, if one pharmacy is out of a specific medication, they should be allowed to transfer that prescription to another pharmacy so that no one misses out on important medications,” said Senator McClure. “This is a commonsense change to make it easier for anyone who needs to get a prescription filled.”
Senate Bill 3213 allows for more types of prescriptions to be electronically transferred from one pharmacy to another. Previously, Illinois law restricted which prescriptions could be transferred more than federal law did. This bill aligns Illinois laws with federal laws so that prescriptions can be transferred. The legislation also makes it easier for medical professionals to write prescriptions after hours.
The idea for the legislation was brought to Senator McClure by a constituent, Dr. Brandt Whitehurst.
“I appreciate the receptiveness and work of Senator McClure to make the care of my post-operative patients easier,” said Brandt Whitehurst.
The legislation was signed into law on August 21st.