New York Assembly Bill A11334

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/11/26
• Refer: 5/11/26

Caption

Expands collaborative drug therapy management by pharmacists

Summary

This bill expands New York’s collaborative drug therapy management framework, which allows pharmacists to work under a written agreement or protocol with physicians to manage certain drug therapies for patients. The bill broadens the types of facilities where this arrangement may occur by adding physician practices and facilities licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized under Mental Hygiene Law articles 31 and 32, while retaining existing coverage for teaching hospitals, general hospitals, and nursing homes with on-site pharmacies staffed by licensed pharmacists. It also clarifies that dental clinics, dental dispensaries, residential health care facilities, and rehabilitation centers remain excluded. The bill also strengthens and clarifies patient consent and disclosure requirements. It provides that patients must be informed of the existence of the collaborative drug therapy management agreement or protocol and their right to decline participation, and that consent must be documented in the medical record. The bill further allows consent to be obtained through the same general written consent process a facility already uses for health care services, and requires disclosure of the agreement and the patient’s consent to the patient’s primary physician and other treating providers.

Impact

The bill amends section 6801-a of the Education Law to expand the settings in which pharmacists may participate in collaborative drug therapy management and to revise consent/disclosure procedures for eligible patients. It also amends the 2011 enabling chapter to remove the prior sunset language tied to sections 2, 3, and 4 and updates the effective-date provisions, thereby extending and aligning the statutory framework for pharmacist-physician collaborative practice. The practical effect is to increase access to pharmacist-led medication management in additional clinical settings, especially physician practices and certain behavioral health facilities, while imposing clearer documentation and communication requirements on facilities and providers.

Sentiment

The available context suggests generally favorable or at least supportive treatment of the bill, as reflected by its introduction through the Committee on Rules at the request of a member and its caption emphasizing expansion of pharmacist collaborative practice. No committee transcript or recorded votes are provided, so there is no direct evidence of opposition or debate in the supplied materials. The bill’s structure indicates an effort to modernize and broaden an existing program rather than create a wholly new one.

Contention

The main policy questions raised by the text are the scope of facilities eligible for collaborative drug therapy management and the safeguards around patient consent and provider notification. Supporters are likely to favor the broader inclusion of physician practices and mental health/substance use facilities, viewing it as a way to improve medication management and access to care. Potential concerns would center on whether expanding pharmacist authority in new settings could complicate care coordination or raise consent/documentation burdens, though the bill addresses those concerns by requiring written consent, record notation, and disclosure to other treating providers.