Innovations-Magazine-October-2022 - 16

INTERVIEW WITH A BOARD MEMBER
John Colaizzi, Jr, PharmD, RPh, CCP
Member, New Jersey State Board of Pharmacy
When were you appointed to
the Board of Pharmacy? What
type of member are you?
I have been a registered pharmacist for
over 20 years, practicing in the areas of
community and specialty pharmacy. I was
appointed to the Board in January 2019.
I took the Board seat previously filled by
2008-2009 NABP President Rich Palombo,
RPh, so I have had very big shoes to fill!
New Jersey State
Board of Pharmacy
Number of Board
Members
8 pharmacist members
and 3 public members
(including 1 member
who is a state
executive department
member and serves
" at the pleasure of
the governor " )
Number of
Compliance
Officers/Inspectors
4
Rules & Regulations
Established by
State Board
of Pharmacy
Number of
Pharmacist Licensees
18,019
Number of
Pharmacies
2,241
What steps should a board member
take to be successful in their role?
A board member must have a strong
understanding of the statutes and regulations
within their state and insight into what is
impacting their state's residents. This will enable
them to make the best decisions to best protect
their citizens. It is also important that board
members do not create unnecessary barriers
to pharmacy practice that may negatively
impact patient safety or inhibit innovation
that would improve patient outcomes.
What are some recent regulations
that your Board has implemented?
Our Board is currently developing continuous
quality improvement (CQI) rules that would
require pharmacies in our state to either develop
a CQI program or participate in a patient safety
organization. CQI should be an essential part
of pharmacy practice and has proven to reduce
medication errors by identifying and correcting
root causes of both historic and potential errors.
Also, in response to recent pandemic-related
pharmacy closures, our Board has published
guidance for the pharmacy community
regarding patient access to medications. During
our January 2022 meeting, the Board facilitated
an open discussion with pharmacy stakeholders
representing chain, independent, supermarket,
and hospital pharmacy practice sites as well as
with representatives from New Jersey pharmacy
organizations and NABP. The Board is also
reviewing existing rules that may be overly
burdensome to pharmacies without any benefit
to patient care or safety, such as requirement
of capturing patient or caregiver signatures
to document receipt of counseling. We also
14 | OCTOBER 2022
recently approved new remote processing
rules, allowing for pharmacists and pharmacy
technicians to work from home, further
enabling improvements in pharmacy capacity
and working conditions, which will improve
licensees' well-being and promote patient safety.
Has the Board encountered any
challenges to implementing
these new policies?
We often encounter challenges regarding
statutory language that the Board cannot act
on. In cases where we feel a statute is impacting
patient safety or creating a barrier to improving
care, we will escalate those comments through
the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.
What advice would you give
to a new board member?
It is important to embrace new technologies,
innovative practice types, and novel approaches
to pharmacy care. It is also critical that board
members balance the valuable experiences
they have had in pharmacy, while also taking
a completely impartial approach to voting and
rulemaking. Regardless of our backgrounds
or practice settings, it is our role as board
members to protect the public rather than
the interests of our own individual practice.
Have you served as a member of any
NABP task forces or committees, or
attended NABP or district meetings?
I have served on multiple task forces and
committees. I have also participated in
the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence
Examination®
Item Writing Workshop for
the past three years. Additionally, I serve
as chairman of NABP District 2 and have
attended multiple district meetings around
the country. Participating in various NABP
activities is absolutely critical to your success
as a board member as it exposes you to
what is happening in other states, helps
broaden your understanding of appropriate
approaches to complex problems, and
enables you to learn new ideas for how to
best advance the profession of pharmacy to
better protect the citizens of your state.
Innovations-Magazine-October-2022

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