One of the most important responsibilities a board of pharmacy has is ensuring its thousands of pharmacists, pharmacy interns, pharmacy technicians, facilities, and more practice safely and legally. This is a daunting task within itself, but we have a tool that can help.
NABP Clearinghouse eases the workload. It’s a national database of disciplinary information and other important licensee records. The system sends alerts to each relevant jurisdiction when action is taken against a licensee, making it easier to keep track of individuals and facilities that are licensed in multiple states.
It works best when each member board of pharmacy logs in regularly to update their records and check for alerts, enabling states to share timely information and resources to help protect public health.
Clearinghouse recently came through for the Idaho Board of Pharmacy when one of its pharmacists had their license revoked in another state, says Ellen Mitchell, who recently retired as the board’s investigation support coordinator. This person wasn’t practicing in Idaho at the time, but in a nearby state. Idaho used Clearinghouse to quickly notify that state of the person’s status.
In fact, enabling interstate communications is probably Clearinghouse’s biggest benefit, says Robert Rivera, PHR, enforcement program manager for the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.
“Sharing information is vital, especially when an adverse action occurs on a licensee,” Rivera says. “And we would like to think other boards would like to know that information [from us] as well. We would certainly appreciate that.”
David Meryman, PHR, compliance analyst for the Texas board, says Clearinghouse is easy to use and does not require much manpower. They simply check the system for updates and follow up with other boards for more information as necessary, he says.
Another benefit of Clearinghouse is that boards can use it to submit required disciplinary actions to the National Practitioner Database (NPDB). Both Idaho and Texas do so, and it saves time and effort by reporting actions to both NPDB and NABP at once.
“My advice to anyone who would be using (Clearinghouse) is to review the reports routinely and not let too much time elapse before acknowledging incoming reports,” Meryman says.
Using Clearinghouse is easy to do; just log in using NABP e-Profile Connect and follow the prompts. If you haven’t used it before, visit our website to learn more. And for more questions on how NABP Clearinghouse could streamline reporting and licensure decisions for your board of pharmacy, contact our staff with any questions.