Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and State Representative Al Paolillo (D-New Haven) applauded unanimous passage of Senate Bill 1102, An Act Concerning Pharmacies And Pharmacists, in the State Senate. The bill addressed a number of issues including requiring any pharmacy that closes temporarily or permanently to make its complete prescription records immediately available to a nearby pharmacy and post a notice of this availability outside the closed pharmacy.
Senator Looney and Representative Paolillo introduced Senate Bill 133, An Act Concerning Unannounced Closures of Retail Pharmacies, earlier this year. The language of this bill was put into Senate Bill 1102 which passed the Senate yesterday.
“I have had several constituents that have attempted to pick up prescriptions only to find that the pharmacy has unexpectedly closed for the day without making any arrangement for patients who may have an immediate need to acquire a specific prescription,” said Senator Looney. “While there may be a shortage of pharmacists, the pharmacies must prioritize patient health.”
“A constituent reached out about a year ago, and he told me that his pharmacy was closed, during normal business hours, leaving him without the medicine he relied on,” said Representative Paolillo. “He was left with nowhere to go and he needed his refill. Senator Looney and I started researching what was going on and we found that the problem was more widespread than we anticipated. This bill will require customers to be notified if a pharmacy is closing, so they can make necessary accommodations. Most bills come from constituent concerns, and I’m happy we were able to put something together to help rectify this situation. I look forward to it moving on to the House for consideration.”
After passing the State Senate on a vote of 35-0, the bill heads to the State House.