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HB 2157

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2025 Regular Session Introduced by Adam Burkhammer

Allows pharmacists to screen for COVID-19 and initiate treatment under a statewide protocol, expanding access to testing and therapy.

Chapter 184, Acts, Regular Session, 2025
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Bill Summary · HB 2157

Summary — HB 2157 (2025)

Expands pharmacists’ scope of practice to allow point-of-care testing for and initiation of treatment for COVID‑19 under a statewide protocol.

Purpose and intent

The bill authorizes pharmacists to screen (point-of-care testing) and initiate therapy for COVID‑19 for patients, operating within a statewide protocol developed and adopted by the state’s Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) Advisory Committee. The aim is to increase access to timely COVID‑19 testing and treatment through pharmacies.

Note: The source materials included versions and text from multiple states. This summary describes the Kansas version of HB 2157 introduced January 28, 2025.

Key provisions

  • Adds COVID‑19 to the list of conditions for which a pharmacist may initiate therapy under a statewide protocol (joining influenza, streptococcal pharyngitis, and urinary tract infection).
  • Grants the CDTM Advisory Committee authority to adopt a statewide protocol for COVID‑19 that must specify:
    • Which medications or medication categories are included;
    • Training/qualification requirements for pharmacists implementing the protocol;
    • Documentation and recordkeeping requirements (patient inclusion/exclusion criteria, medical referral criteria, patient assessment tools consistent with current clinical guidelines, follow‑up/monitoring plans, and documentation of adherence to the protocol);
    • Communication requirements, including notification to the patient’s primary or personal care provider.
  • Empowers the State Board of Pharmacy to enforce the statute: it may deny/decline renewals or suspend/revoke a pharmacist’s license for violations or failure to practice within the statewide protocols.
  • Repeals the existing statute being amended and includes an enactment clause regarding effective date (the bill text contains an internal date inconsistency; see "Procedural/timing notes" below).

Who is affected

  • Pharmacists and pharmacies — may perform point‑of‑care COVID‑19 testing and start treatment when acting under the adopted statewide protocol; subject to specified training, documentation, reporting and compliance requirements.
  • Patients — greater access to testing and potentially faster initiation of antiviral or other authorized COVID‑19 therapies at pharmacies.
  • State Board of Pharmacy and CDTM Advisory Committee — responsible for drafting, adopting, overseeing and enforcing the statewide protocol and compliance activities.
  • Primary care providers — will receive required notifications when their patients receive testing/treatment under the pharmacist protocol.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • Fiscal Note (Division of the Budget): Board of Pharmacy would assume CDTM‑related duties (research, protocol drafting, legal advice, inspections, investigations). The Division indicates these duties can be absorbed within existing resources; no new appropriation requested in the Fiscal Note.

Procedural / timeline status (selected)

  • Introduced: January 28, 2025 (filed with the clerk)
  • Referred to: House Committee on Health and Human Services
  • Committee action: Do Pass (12–0) reported by Executive Committee on March 12, 2025
  • Placed on calendar and received second‑reading / short debate on March 27, 2025
  • Additional procedural entries indicate placement on subsequent calendars and a re‑referral to Rules Committee (Rule 19(a)) on May 31, 2025.

Related legislation

  • Companion bill: SB 531.

Notes / caveats

  • The bill text contains a potentially inconsistent effective‑date clause (one section references “take effect and be in force on and after July 1, 2022,” while another section states the act takes effect upon publication). This appears to be a drafting/template inconsistency and would need clarification during bill finalization.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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