Minnesota Administrative Rules

6800.1500 CONTINUING EDUCATION.

Subpart 1.

Definitions.

A.

"Approved continuing education" means those continuing pharmacy or pharmacy technician education programs approved by the board or made available by an approved provider. These programs may take the form of classes, conferences, correspondence study courses, institutes, lectures, professional meetings, programmed learning courses, journal readings, seminars, study groups, or other program formats commonly accepted by educators as legitimate adult educational activities.

B.

"Approved provider" means any association, corporation, educational institution, organization, group, or person who has been recognized by the Board of Pharmacy, in accordance with subpart 3, as having met its criteria indicative of the ability to provide quality continuing education programs or who has been recognized by the board as being approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) for the provision of quality continuing education programs.

C.

"Continuing pharmacy education" is a planned learning experience beyond a formal undergraduate degree program designed to promote the continual development of professional knowledge, professional skills, and professional attitudes on the part of the pharmacist and shall include but is not limited to professional postgraduate education in any of the following subjects:

(1)

properties and actions of drugs and drug dosage forms;

(2)

etiology, characteristics, and therapeutics of the disease state;

(3)

pharmacy practice; or

(4)

legal, psychological, and socioeconomic aspects of health care delivery.

D.

"Continuing pharmacy technician education" is a planned learning experience beyond initial technician training designed to promote the continued development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable a technician to adequately perform the tasks that a technician is allowed to perform under this part.

Subp. 2.

Minimum hours required for pharmacists; reporting.

Beginning March 4, 1975, no annual license renewal shall be issued to a pharmacist under Minnesota Statutes, section 151.13, until the pharmacist has submitted to the board satisfactory evidence that the pharmacist has completed at least 30 hours of approved continuing education during the previous two-year period. Thereafter, a pharmacist shall submit the evidence every two years. Pharmacists exempted from the payment of all renewal fees and from the filing of any application for renewal under Minnesota Statutes, section 326.56, subdivision 2, shall also be exempted from the requirements of this subpart for a concurrent period of time. Beginning with the 1981-1983 reporting period, participation in continuing education shall be reported by September 30 of each even-numbered year. The board may grant a pharmacist, on application, an extension of time not to exceed one year to comply with the requirements of this subpart. The extension shall not relieve the pharmacist from complying with the continuing education requirements for any other two-year period. Each pharmacist is responsible for maintaining a complete record of the pharmacist's continuing education participation during each continuing education reporting cycle.

Subp. 2a.

Minimum hours required for technicians; reporting.

A.

A pharmacy technician's registration renewal for calendar year 2014 shall not be issued unless the technician has completed 20 hours of approved continuing pharmacy technician education during the two-year period between August 1, 2011, and July 31, 2013. Thereafter, no annual pharmacy technician registration renewal shall be issued unless the technician presents the board with satisfactory evidence of completion of 20 hours of approved continuing pharmacy technician education per two-year reporting period. Each reporting period shall end on July 31 of odd-numbered years.

B.

Continuing education must focus on the competencies that the technician must carry out and the specific duties that the technician performs. Technicians exempted from the payment of all renewal fees and from the filing of any application for renewal under Minnesota Statutes, section 326.56, subdivision 2, shall also be exempted from the requirements of this subpart for a concurrent period of time. The board may grant a technician, on application, an extension of time not to exceed one year to comply with the requirements of this subpart. The extension shall not relieve the technician from complying with the continuing education requirements for any other two-year period. Each technician is responsible for maintaining a complete record of continuing education participation during each continuing education reporting cycle.

Subp. 3.

Approval of providers.

Application may be made by an association, corporation, educational institution, organization, or person to be designated as an approved provider on forms provided by the board. The applicant shall provide, at a minimum, information regarding administrative and record keeping procedures used for past programs; a history of the content, methods of delivery, and faculty qualifications for past programs; methods of program needs assessment and development that the applicant has used; and evaluation mechanisms that the applicant has used. The applicant shall agree to maintain records of program content, evaluation summary, and attendance for at least three years following completion of each program. The application must cover the two-year reporting period for which provider approval is sought.

The board shall approve an applicant as a continuing education provider based on the applicant's compliance with the following criteria:

A.

The continuing education programs must have had an identifiable administrative authority who was responsible for meeting all quality criteria and for maintaining records of program content, planning, delivery, evaluation, and attendance.

B.

The programs' administrative requirements must have included:

(1)

promotion and advertising of continuing education activities in a responsible fashion clearly indicating in promotional material the educational objectives of the particular activity, the nature of the audience that may best benefit from the activity, the schedule of the activity, the cost of the activity to the participant and the items covered by that cost, the amount of continuing education credit that can be earned through participation in the activity, and the credentials of the faculty;

(2)

maintenance and availability of records of participation in continuing education activities adequate to serve the needs of the participants and others requiring this information; and

(3)

provision of evidence to the participant, in the form of a certificate or other document, of satisfactory completion of a continuing education activity as reasonably required by the participant.

C.

The educational content development must have included:

(1)

Advance planning that includes a statement of educational goals, behavioral objectives, or both, that are measurable.

(2)

Activities designed to satisfy educational needs which the board has determined to be appropriate.

(3)

Involvement of members of the intended audience in identifying their own continuing education needs.

(4)

Activities designed to explore one subject or a group of closely related subjects. If an activity involves multiple components, such as a lecture series, all segments must be devoted to integrally related subjects.

(5)

Appropriate mediated material and supportive instructional material. Previously offered activities, including those in mediated forms, must have been reviewed by the provider prior to being offered to new audiences, with a view toward maintaining technical quality, timeliness, and currency of content, and faculty must have had the opportunity to update material, if they desired, before an activity was offered to a new audience.

D.

The methods of delivery must have been consistent with the special needs of the program.

E.

The teaching staff for a particular continuing education activity must have been competent in the subject matter and qualified by experience or preparation to the tasks and method of delivery.

F.

An evaluation mechanism must have been provided to allow the participants to assess their achievement of program objectives.

G.

The provider must have developed and employed evaluation techniques that assess the effectiveness of the continuing education activities, and the level of fulfillment of the stated objectives, for the purpose of provider and activity improvement if indicated.

Applicants with no history of program development in compliance with items A to G or with an incomplete history will be judged on their willingness and ability to comply with these criteria in the future.

Subp. 3a.

Approval of programs.

Application may be made by an association, corporation, educational institution, organization, group, or person, not presently approved as a provider, to have a program designated as an approved program. The board shall approve a continuing education program if it complies with the following criteria:

A.

The provider shall submit evidence that promotion and advertising of the program will be done in a responsible fashion. For example, the promotional material should state the educational objectives of the program, the nature of the audience for which the program is intended, the program schedule, the cost of the program and the items covered by that cost, the amount of continuing education credit that can be earned through the program, and the credentials of the program faculty.

B.

The provider agrees to maintain records of participation in or attendance at the program for not less than three years and agrees to make them available to the board upon request.

C.

The provider agrees to provide evidence to the participant of satisfactory completion of the program.

D.

The program provider submits evidence that:

(1)

program planning involved members of the intended audience;

(2)

the program is designed to satisfy identified educational needs;

(3)

the program includes a statement of educational goals, behavioral objectives, or both, that are measurable;

(4)

the program, if it involves multiple components, is devoted to integrally related subjects; and

(5)

any mediated and supportive instructional material is designed to be used in a suitable and appropriate manner.

E.

The method of program delivery is consistent with the special needs of the program.

F.

The teaching staff appears to be competent in the subject matter and is qualified by experience or preparation to the task and method of delivery.

G.

An evaluation mechanism is provided for the purpose of allowing the participants to assess their achievement of program objectives.

H.

The provider has developed and will employ evaluation techniques that assess the effectiveness of the continuing education activities, and the level of fulfillment of the stated objectives for the purpose of provider and activity improvement if indicated.

Applications for program approval must be submitted not less than 45 days prior to the commencement of the program. The board shall assign the number of credit hours to each program and shall grant approval or deny approval of such application within 60 days of receiving the application.

Subp. 4.

Revocation or suspension of approval.

The board may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, or suspend authorization, recognition, or approval previously furnished to programs or providers if the program or provider fails to conform to its application approved by the board, fails to furnish program content as publicized, or if the program or provider violates any provision of Minnesota Statutes, section 214.12, or this chapter.

Subp. 4a.

Programs not previously submitted for approval.

A pharmacist or pharmacy technician may apply for credit for attendance at programs not previously submitted to the board for approval provided that the pharmacist or pharmacy technician completes a continuing education program approval form, obtainable from the board, and submits it to the board within 90 days after completing the program. The applicant shall provide, at a minimum, the title, site, date, type, and length of the program being proposed for approval, a program outline, and a description of the type of evaluation mechanism used at the program. Approval of the program is subject to all the standards of Minnesota Statutes, section 214.12, and subparts 1, item C, and 3a, items B to G.

Subp. 5.

Hours of credit.

Credit shall be earned on the basis of attendance at or, in the case of correspondence courses, completion of a program. Credit for an identical program may be given only once to any individual during any reporting period.

Subp. 6.

Credit for presentation of professional lectures.

Pharmacists may apply for credit for presentation of in-service training programs or lectures consisting of subjects included in the definition of Continuing Pharmacy Education. Credit for these presentations will be granted only once to any individual during any reporting period.

Subp. 6a.

Credit for preceptor training program.

A pharmacist who applies shall be given continuing education credit for participation in any instructional program for pharmacist preceptors that is developed or approved by the board.

Subp. 7.

Record of approved programs.

The board shall maintain a record of approved providers and approved programs including the hours of credit assigned to each program.

Subp. 8.

[Repealed, 10 SR 2007]

Subp. 9.

Program promotion.

No reference shall be made by a program provider in publicizing a program that it is an "approved program provider" unless the provider is so approved by the board or the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). No other reference indicating endorsement by the board may be made except as follows: "This program is approved by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for ____ hours of continuing education credit."

Statutory Authority:

MS s 151.06; 152.02

History:

10 SR 2007; 18 SR 1145; 31 SR 1673; 36 SR 237

Published Electronically:

September 21, 2011