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Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an executive order...implementing protections for anyone seeking or providing abortion services or other reproductive health care within the Silver State...The order arrives after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion last week and seeks to provide refuge for those seeking such services. It also addresses the adoption of laws by other states that have imposed civil or criminal liability for those who seek abortions...“Reproductive health care is a basic human right, and Nevada stands firm in its commitment to ensuring there is safe and equitable access for Nevadans and anyone seeking refuge from the restrictive laws in their state,” Sisolak said in a press release...“No one should be punished for providing or receiving necessary medical care, including abortions, contraception and other reproductive health care services.”...READ MORE

Federal authorities are expanding an investigation into Chicago-based Northshore Clinical Labs following a ProPublica story that raised questions about its COVID-19 testing operations in Nevada...an investigator with the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated he planned to subpoena documents from Nevada health officials...“Myself and other law enforcement agencies have had a case opened regarding Northshore Clinical Lab for quite some time,” wrote Special Agent Peter Theiler, who is based in Chicago. “After reading the ProPublica article on Northshore Clinical Lab regarding Nevada patients, we are interested in obtaining records related to testing for COVID-19 for Northshore Clinical Lab rapid test results and PCR test results for Nevada.”...READ MORE

The city of Las Vegas contracted with Northshore Clinical Labs to provide limited COVID-19 testing early this year, a city representative said this week...“This was when demand for testing was at its highest levels, and the city was trying to help meet that demand,” city representative Jace Radke said in an email. “The city has not entered into any other contracts with Northshore Clinical Labs, and is no longer affiliated with the company.”...Northshore was the target of a ProPublica investigation that revealed...the lab’s tests frequently gave inaccurate results. A test by the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory found a false-negative rate of 96 percent, meaning that Northshore’s test had missed nearly all positive cases in the sampling...READ MORE

The Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (H.R. 7213) is legislation to help ensure that patients can receive point-of-service testing, treatment, and vaccine services provided by pharmacists for COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and strep throat. ASHP, as an executive committee member of the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition, is working aggressively to secure congressional support for H.R. 7213. You can help by sending an email to your representative asking them to co-sponsor the bill. Personalize the email provided in ASHP’s online advocacy center with examples from your practice that demonstrate your critical role on the healthcare team...READ MORE

A federal judge declined Monday to either decide or dismiss a condemned Nevada killer’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state plan for what would its first lethal injection in more than 16 years...U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II left open Zane Michael Floyd’s case — at least for now — and set an Oct. 11 date for attorneys representing Floyd and the state to return to court in Las Vegas...The judge said he might still close the matter in coming weeks for what he termed “mootness,” since state prison officials testified that they do not have the drugs they would need to conduct an execution. The prison supply of the sedative ketamine expired Feb. 28, and officials said they’ve had trouble procuring more...READ MORE

Are you feeling distressed at work?...The results are in and they are not good. In a nationwide study it shows that Nevada ranks as the state with the highest distress level for pharmacy professionals (APhA)...That is not a number that we should be proud of...READ MORE

A federal judge in Las Vegas said Monday he’ll decide in three weeks whether to dismiss a condemned Nevada killer’s lawsuit challenging the state’s plan for his lethal injection, because the state doesn’t have one of the drugs it would use...U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II acknowledged during a brief hearing with attorneys for the state and the inmate, Zane Michael Floyd, that key questions about the execution method remain unanswered following weeks of testimony late last year...But the Nevada Department of Corrections supply of the sedative ketamine expired on Feb. 28, and Randall Gilmer, chief deputy state attorney general, said prison officials have been unable to get more...READ MORE

State and federal health authorities are investigating ongoing outbreaks at Nevada hospitals and nursing homes of a drug-resistant “superbug” that can lead to serious illness and even death...As of mid-April, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services has been investigating outbreaks of a fungus called Candida auris at acute-care hospitals, long-term acute-care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, according to a technical bulletin sent by the state to health care providers...READ MORE

Self-Administered Hormonal Contraceptives Dispensed Without a Prescription

Senate Bill (SB) 190 was passed during the 2021 legislative session. The language to the bill can be located here. SB 190 permits a pharmacist to dispense a self-administered hormonal contraceptive to a patient under a protocol established by regulation by the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy without a prescription from a practitioner.

Nevada Medicaid Fee-for-Service Transition of Pharmacy Benefits Management to Magellan Medicaid Administration, Inc

On July 1, 2022, Magellan Medicaid Administration, Inc, (MMA) will assume the administrative operation of pharmacy benefits management on behalf of the state of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Care Financing and Policy for the Nevada Medicaid fee-for-service...READ MORE