The Health committee advanced House Bill 72 to create state registration for pharmacy technicians and to clarify their permissible duties.

Supporters — including the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, Walgreens, Molokai Drugs and other rural pharmacy representatives — said regulation would align Hawaii with national standards and improve patient safety and access, especially in rural communities. Corey Sanders of the Hawaii Pharmacists Association and Tiffany Ijima of Walgreens spoke in support; Molokai Drugs’ Kimberly Mikami emphasized the unique transportation and staffing constraints in her community and said technicians at her pharmacy administer more than 40% of immunizations.

Walgreens offered suggested amendments to exclude auxiliary personnel such as cashiers from a registration requirement and to clarify technician versus behind‑the‑counter roles; the committee adopted changes consistent with that suggestion. The committee also removed the requirement that a pharmacist must directly “observe” certain acts, to permit supervision consistent with last year’s expansion of technician immunization roles.

The chair moved the bill forward with the recommended amendments; the committee voted to pass the bill with amendments.

Why it matters: Supporters said registration will bring technician oversight into parity with national practice and allow Hawai‘i pharmacies — particularly in remote islands — to maintain essential services such as immunizations and medication management.