Continuing Education for Pharmacists

Every pharmacist wishing to practice in New York State must complete continuing education. The Education Department assumes that you intend to practice if you are registered. Therefore, if you are registered, you must comply with these requirements. Failure to complete the required continuing education prior to the expiration of a registration period may subject you to prosecution for professional misconduct.

Yes. Pharmacists are required to complete 45 contact hours (23 live) during their first three-year registration period. The 45 credits must include at least three credits (home study or live) on techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors and at least three credits (home study or live) on the topic of pharmaceutical compounding. The continuing education must be in appropriate subject areas and offered by approved sponsors.

Yes. You must complete the required continuing education during this and all subsequent registration periods.

Yes. To reactivate your registration in New York, you will need 45 contact hours (at least 23 live) of acceptable continuing education courses. The 45 credits must include at least three credits (home study or live) on techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors and at least three credits (home study or live) on the topic of pharmaceutical compounding. The continuing education must be in appropriate subject areas and offered by approved sponsors. Since you are actively practicing, you will be able to count continuing education credits earned up to 36 months prior to the month in which you reactivate your registration.

Yes. To reactivate your registration in New York, you will need 45 contact hours (at least 23 live) of acceptable continuing education courses. The 45 credits must include at least three credits (home study or live) on techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors and at least three credits (home study or live) on the topic of pharmaceutical compounding. The continuing education must be in appropriate subject areas and offered by approved sponsors. Since you are not actively practicing, you will only be able to count continuing education credits earned up to 12 months prior to the month in which you reactivate your registration.

A minimum of 45 hours is required for every three-year registration period. The majority (at least 23) of the hours must be from live courses. As part of the 45 hours, pharmacists are required to complete at least three hours (home study or live) of formal continuing education on strategies and techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors and at least three hours (home study or live) of formal continuing education on the topic of pharmaceutical compounding.

If your registration period is for less than 3 years (36 months), your continuing education requirement is calculated at 1.25 hours for every month of the registration period. In all cases, more than half of the hours must be live credits. The three credits (home study or live) on techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors and the three credits (home study or live) on the topic of pharmaceutical compounding are required for every registration period.

No. Credits be carried over from one registration period to the next. Continuing education hours required in a registration period must be completed between the beginning and ending dates of that registration period. You can take additional courses beyond those required; however, the additional hours cannot be stored, carried forward or applied to a future registration period.

No. There is no minimum annual requirement. You can complete the continuing education hours any time during the registration period as long as you have completed the required amount prior to the expiration date of your registration. We recommend, however, that you complete courses on a regular basis to avoid finding yourself deficient in the hours needed at the end of your registration period.

No. You may complete the entire amount of continuing education at any time during your registration period. There is no minimum annual requirement.

An hour is one contact hour of at least 50 minutes duration. Some course providers may express continuing education hours in different units of measurement: One continuing education unit (CEU) equals 10 contact hours. To convert CEU's to contact hours, multiply the CEU's by 10. To convert contact hours to CEU's, divide the contact hours by ten.

One semester hour of college-level course work equals 15 contact hours; one quarter hour of college-level course work equals 10 contact hours.

Formal courses in appropriate subjects offered by approved sponsors (providers). Both formal self-study courses and formal courses in which you interact with an instructor are acceptable. Self-study courses must constitute less than one-half of the total hours (a maximum of 22 contact hours out of 45).

Courses must contribute to the professional practice of pharmacy. Acceptable subjects include:

• techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors (mandatory three credits)
• pharmaceutical compounding (mandatory three credits) 
• pharmacology of new or developing drugs,
• drug interactions,
• public health issues,
• infection control,
• child abuse reporting,
• legal and regulatory issues,
• patient counseling,
• other topics that contribute to the professional practice of pharmacy, and
• other matters of health care, law, and ethics that contribute to the public's health and welfare.

The key is the subject matter's relationship to professional practice. Therefore, courses in such subjects as HIV/AIDS management are acceptable. Practice management and business management courses, (e.g., increasing profits, accounting, statistics, etc.) are NOT acceptable.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses relevant to the professional practice of pharmacy, such as courses in the pharmacology of new drugs, are acceptable; courses not related to pharmacy practice (e.g., surgery) are not acceptable. The CME certificate issued for completing an AMA program would serve as proof for recordkeeping purposes. We suggest that you also keep a copy of the program outline and objectives as documentation that the course was relevant pharmacy practice.

Continuing education credit for completing ONE of these courses per registration period is allowed. The CPR, BLS, ACLS or EMT course must be sponsored by the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, American Safety and Health Institute or the National Safety Council to be acceptable toward the continuing education requirement for pharmacists. (Note: Similar courses offered online are NOT acceptable; First Aid courses are NOT acceptable as credit.)

• You may count an initial CPR course for up to five hours of continuing education; a CPR recertification course is worth up to three hours.
• An initial BLS course can be used for up to five hours of continuing education; BLS recertification is worth up to three hours.
• An initial ACLS course is eligible for up to twelve hours and ACLS recertification is worth up to six hours.
• An initial EMT Basic course can count for up to ten hours and EMT Basic recertification for up to five hours of continuing education.
• The card that is issued upon completion of an approved CPR, BLS, ACLS or EMT course should be retained as proof for continuing education credit.
   

Yes. Pharmacists who complete the American Pharmacists Association's (APhA) Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery 20-credit Certificate Program may apply those credits towards their current registration period’s continuing education requirement. 

Yes. You may count once during a registration period the hours in a continuing education course you teach that an approved sponsor offers in an acceptable subject area.

There are three types of approved sponsors (providers):

• Sponsors approved by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) or by an equivalent organization that the State Board of Pharmacy determines to have equivalent standards (e.g., sponsors of continuing medical education). ACPE publishes an annual directory of "Approved Providers of Continuing Pharmaceutical Education." It is available from the Council at 311 West Superior Street, Suite 512, Chicago, IL 60610; telephone 312-664-3575; fax 312-664-4652; web listing: https://www.acpe-accredit.org//, click on "Provider Approval Program," then "Accredited Providers."
• Colleges, universities, and other degree-granting institutions offering degree (e.g., A.A.S., B.S., M.S., Pharm.D., Ph.D.) and certificate and diploma programs bearing degree credit that are registered by the Education Department or that are accredited by an equivalent accrediting agency, for courses in those registered or accredited programs. The State Education Department has an "Institutional Directory" listing all degree-granting institutions in the State. Contact the Office of Higher Education, State Education Department, Education Building, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234; phone 518-474-5851, or find it on SED's Web site at https://eservices.nysed.gov/collegedirectory/index.htm.
• Sponsors approved directly by the Department. For information on sponsors approved directly by the Department, call 518-474-3817, ext. 130 or fax 518-473-6995.
   

No. Only formal courses offered by approved sponsors may be counted toward the continuing education requirement. Informal group "study clubs" of pharmacists that are not approved sponsors are NOT acceptable. Formal courses from approved sponsors assure course content, effective evaluation, and recordkeeping by the provider.

No. All of the courses may be "live" courses in which you interact with an instructor, if you wish.

No. We consider a telecourse or teleconference in which you and the instructor can speak directly with each other to be a "live" course. Similarly, a course in which you and other practitioners discuss a taped presentation with a facilitator's assistance is a live course. A course offered by computer in which you interact directly with the instructor in "real time" is a "live" course. On the other hand, a televised lecture with no means of direct interaction would not be acceptable as a "live" course, even if it is a live telecast.

Pharmacists are required to maintain, or ensure access by the Department to, their own continuing education records for a period of six years from the program date. The New York State Board of Pharmacy is NOT notified by the sponsors of the continuing education courses that you complete.

You need to keep the following five items of information on each course for six years from the date you completed it: (1) title of the course or program and any identification number assigned to it by the sponsor, (2) number of hours completed, (3) the sponsor's name and any identifying number, (4) verification by the sponsor of your attendance, and (5) the date and location of the program or course. All five elements are likely to be provided on a certificate of completion from the sponsor.

You will report your compliance with the continuing education requirements when you renew your registration. You will certify, under penalty of perjury, the completion of the required hours within the registration period and submit your required fee (the renewal fee includes the continuing education fee of $45 as set forth in Education Law).

Only if you are instructed to do so. You are required to make your continuing education records available for inspection by the Education Department upon request. Random audits of such records are conducted to assure compliance with the continuing education requirement.

You will have to provide to the Department copies of your original records of completion for each continuing education course. An official list/summary of your courses provided by a professional association such as PSSNY may be submitted in lieu of the certificates.

You may be subject to disciplinary proceedings for professional misconduct. According to Section 29.1 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, willfully making or filing a false report is unprofessional conduct. Penalties may include censure and reprimand, fine, and/or suspension or revocation of your license to practice in New York State.

The Department may grant an adjustment (not an exemption) to the requirement for poor health, certified by a physician; a specific physical or mental disability, certified by an appropriate health care professional; extended duty with the armed forces; or for extreme hardship which, in the Department's judgment, makes it impossible for the licensee to comply. To make such a request, complete and submit the Pharmacy REGISTRATION REMITTANCE ADDENDUM.

A licensee who admits to noncompliance with the continuing education requirements when registering may request and may be granted a one-year conditional registration by the Education Department. Conditional registrations are not automatic and cannot be renewed or extended. Conditional registrations have specific requirements including your agreement to: (1) complete the hours required of your previous registration, (2) complete the regular continuing education requirement at a rate of 1.25 contact hours per month during the conditional registration period, (3) complete additional continuing education which the Department may require to ensure the proper delivery of pharmaceutical care consistent with your practice of pharmacy, (4) pay the regular registration fee indicated on your registration form, (5) complete and submit the Pharmacy REGISTRATION REMITTANCE ADDENDUM, and (6) at the end of the conditional registration, provide proof of course completion and pay an additional registration fee equal to the fee paid when the conditional was requested.

This is acceptable as long as you are not practicing your profession in New York State. Your status will remain "not registered" until you meet the continuing education requirement and submit a registration renewal application with the appropriate fee. If you practice your profession while unregistered or after the Department has denied renewal of your registration for failure to report completion of the required contact hours of continuing education, you are subject to disciplinary proceedings for professional misconduct.

Contact the Office of the State Board of Pharmacy, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, 2nd floor West Wing, Albany, NY 12234-1000, phone 518-474-3817, ext. 130, fax 518-473-6995, or email pharmbd@nysed.gov.