Senate Bill 294, which would revise Florida’s collaborative pharmacy practice framework to exclude specified cardiac diseases from pharmacist-managed chronic-care protocols, was reported favorably by the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services after testimony for and against the measure.

Sponsor Sen. Harrell told the committee the original collaborative-practice expansion (about six years earlier) listed chronic conditions such as arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes, HIV and obesity, and authorized the Board of Pharmacy to expand the list in collaboration with the Board of Medicine. SB294 would specifically exclude complex cardiac diagnoses — Sen. Harrell identified heart failure, coronary heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias — from those conditions eligible for pharmacist management under collaborative practice agreements.

Opposing the bill, Stacy Hall, executive vice president and CEO of the Florida Pharmacy Association, told the committee that collaborative practice agreements (CPAs) are voluntary, require physician oversight and patient consent, and include provisions that limit services to those appropriate to a pharmacist’s training; she argued that the statute and rules already provide safeguards and that excluding cardiac conditions would limit patient access and reduce efficient, team-based care.

Dr. Mario Lopez, a cardiologist with the Florida chapter of the American College of Cardiology, testified in support of SB294. Lopez said cardiac patients are complex, that no protocol captures the full complexity of cardiac decision-making and that pharmacists do not have the same clinical training as cardiologists; he described two cases he called examples of potentially dangerous medication decisions made at a pharmacy counter.

Sen. Burton spoke in support of the bill, saying pharmacists play an important role but that diagnosing and treating serious cardiac conditions should remain with physicians. When asked whether the bill would impose state costs, Sen. Harrell said he did not anticipate a cost to the state; he noted an individual patient could face higher out-of-pocket costs if forced to see a cardiologist, but argued that adverse cardiac events would be costlier.

After public testimony and debate, the committee reported SB294 favorably. The transcript records roll-call affirmatives for Senator Berman, Senator Broder, Senator Burton, Senator Garcia, Senator Gruters, Senator Harrell, Senator Rodriguez, Senator Roussan, Vice Chair Davis and Chair Trumbull.