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CCHF Sends HCQ Data Request to Minnesota Board of Pharmacy

Has the Board of Pharmacy Acted on Gov. Walz’ Hydroxychloroquine Reversal?

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) sent an official data practices request on September 4, 2020, to the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for any and all communications it has sent to Minnesota pharmacies notifying them of Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-84, which lifts the ban on dispensing hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 patients.

“Our organization has heard that patients are still unable to get access to hydroxychloroquine even though Governor Walz lifted the prohibition on the dispensing of the medication,” said Twila Brase, president and co-founder of CCHF.

“Our letter asks the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy to send us documentation that it has done its part to make sure that all COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine prescriptions can access this life-saving medication without pharmacies standing in the way.”

CCHF was only able to find one place on The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy’s website that notifies individuals of Governor Walz’s decision to lift the HCQ ban on August 12. It made one update to its May 2020 COVID-19 FAQ document on page 22, stating there are no longer “any limitations” related to the dispensing of hydroxychloroquine. However, on page 23 of the same FAQ, the Board says it is legal to refuse to dispense HCQ prescriptions if the pharmacist deems “the prescription is not legally valid or clinically appropriate.” No statute is stated for this claim.

“Pharmacists dispense. They do not prescribe. They don’t have a medical degree, a medical license, or the level of training required to assess a patient standing across the pharmacy counter. That is why pharmacists are responsible for making sure patients have the medication their doctors prescribed, and for making sure patients know how to use that medication – not preventing them from getting it,” Brase continued.

CCHF is reminding the Board of Pharmacy that HCQ is a legally prescribed drug approved by the Federal Drug Administration. On June 15, the FDA stated on the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19: “Of note, FDA approved products may be prescribed by physicians for off-label uses if they determine it is appropriate for treating their patients, including during COVID.”

CCHF maintains a patient-centered, privacy-focused, free-market perspective. CCHF has worked in its home state of Minnesota and at the national level for more than 20 years to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. In 2016, CCHF launched The Wedge of Health Freedom, an online directory of direct-pay practices (JointheWedge.com).

Twila Brase, RN, PHN has been named by Modern Healthcare as one of the “100 Most Powerful People in Health Care.” She is the host of the daily Health Freedom Minute radio program heard by over 5 million weekly listeners on more than 800 radio stations nationwide, and the author of the eight-time award-winning book, “Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth About Electronic Health Records.”

 

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