Committee hears bill to allow emergency medication kits in private psychiatric hospitals
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Summary
Proponents said HB 2587 would let licensed private psychiatric hospitals keep pharmacist‑managed emergency medication kits (including controlled substances within limits) to treat psychiatric emergencies on site; committee members asked about safeguards, inspection costs and medication types.
The Committee on House Health and Human Services heard testimony on House Bill 2587, which would authorize licensed private psychiatric hospitals that use a pharmacist to stock and maintain an emergency medication kit for pharmaceutical emergencies.
The reviser (identified in the hearing as Carly) summarized the bill’s key provisions: an emergency medication kit may be maintained under the control of the pharmacist in charge; kits may contain controlled substances but a pharmaceutical committee must limit the types and quantities; administration must comply with the Uniform Controlled Substances Act; and the secretary and the state board of pharmacy would jointly adopt rules to implement the bill. The reviser said the bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Eric Hatton, CEO of Cortera Healthcare, a 24‑bed private psychiatric hospital for seniors in Wichita, said the current process for obtaining medications during crises is time‑consuming and can delay de‑escalation. “This emergency kit… would allow us access to medication in an emergency situation,” Hatton said, arguing that the kits would reduce transfers to emergency rooms and improve safety for patients and staff.
Kaylee Hall McDaniel, Cortera’s director of nursing, described typical medications that might be used: she named olanzapine as an as‑needed antipsychotic currently available on site and said other classes (including certain antipsychotics and benzodiazepines) could be included in an e‑kit under physician order. McDaniel explained that in existing long‑term care e‑kit models access is controlled by the pharmacist (for example, via a one‑time use code) and the kit is relocked and restocked by the pharmacist after use.
Committee members pressed witnesses on safeguards and oversight. Representatives asked which entities would require additional KDADS licensure visits, whether the added inspections implied extra FTE costs, and whether e‑kits would be locked and limited to physician orders. Witnesses said the state’s long‑term‑care e‑kit procedures provide a model (locked kit, pharmacist code, pharmacist‑managed restocking) but that private psychiatric hospitals are regulated differently and the committee would need to clarify inspection scope and any fiscal impact.
Representative Weichel and others sought examples of time savings; witnesses described cases where obtaining medications from an off‑site pharmacy could take up to an hour or more including transport, whereas the e‑kit workflow and pharmacist access could reduce that time substantially.
The committee closed the hearing on HB 2587 after proponent testimony. No final committee vote on the bill occurred in this session.
