PharmD students and local legislators discuss current issues in pharmacy

By Samantha Rzeszut

Published November 17, 2023

SPPS PLAID Day 2023.

L-R: Rachel Romanowski, PharmD/MBA’26, Katherine Beikirch, PharmD’26, Christopher Yau, PharmD’26, Karl Fiebelkorn, BS’78, Selvi Chhabra, PharmD/MBA’25, Nicole Siwarski, PharmD’25, Sophia Osmond, PharmD’25, Daniel Kurowski, PharmD/MBA’26, Senator Sean Ryan, Assemblymember Karen McMahon, Andrew Dugan, District Office Director to Senator Robert Ortt, Assemblymember Monica Wallace, Steve Giroux, BS’81, Assemblymember William Conrad, Dimah Alani, PharmD’27, Rick Rodgers, Legislative and Committee Director to Senator Tim Kennedy and Jabra Altarazi, PharmD’26. Not pictured: Assemblymember John McDonald attended via Zoom.

The Student Pharmacists Association of Western New York (SPAWNY) hosted Pharmacy Legislative Advocacy Invitational Day (PLAID) on Nov. 14 to give our PharmD students the opportunity to discuss new legislation that affects health care with area legislators.

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“This event is an incredible opportunity for us as students to not only learn what it takes to advance our profession but to also engage in discussion about legislation that supports better care for our patients. ”
Sophia Osmond, PharmD'25, SPAWNY president
UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

This year’s event welcomed Senator Sean Ryan, Assemblymembers Monica Wallace, William Conrad, John McDonald and Karen McMahon, along with Rick Rodgers, Legislative Director for Senator Tim Kennedy and Andrew Dugan, District Office Director for Senator Robert Ortt.

There were 120 students in attendance who took part in conversations on a variety of health care topics.

CLIA Waived Testing

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waived testing authorizes pharmacists to perform clinical laboratory tests on patients to expedite health assessment, diagnosis, or treatment of disease.

Long-Acting Injections Bill

The Long-Acting Injectables for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) bill authorizes pharmacists to administer injectable medications to patients for substance use disorder and mental health.

Collaborative Practice Medication Adherence Act

The Collaborative Practice Medication Adherence Act authorizes physicians and pharmacists to enter into collaborative practice medication adherence protocols for their patients.

Other topics of discussion included Prohibition of Pharmacy Quotas to prohibit certain chain pharmacies from establishing quotas for duties performed by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

“This event is an incredible opportunity for us as students to not only learn what it takes to advance our profession but to also engage in discussion about legislation that supports better care for our patients,” says Sophia Osmond, PharmD’25, SPAWNY president. “We hope to inspire pharmacy students that we must advocate now and continue to do so throughout our careers to see changes that will impact us in the future as pharmacists.”

For over 135 years, the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education and is the No. 1 ranked school of pharmacy in New York State and No. 14 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.