Feb. 07, 2022
HARRISBURG – Aiming to ensure Pennsylvanians have access to additional COVID-19 treatments, the House Health Committee advanced today legislation by Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-York/Cumberland) to allow for prescribing and dispensing drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for off-label use to treat coronavirus infections.
“These drugs have already been approved by the FDA and, in some cases, are already being successfully used to treat COVID-19,” Keefer said. “Additional patients deserve the same opportunities others have already experienced.”
House Bill 1741 would allow prescribers to prescribe and allow a pharmacist to dispense a therapeutic drug approved by the FDA without the threat of punitive action from the state, so long as it is in accordance with a prescription drug order and with the patient’s consent.
In addition, Keefer’s bill would allow for healthcare professionals to utilize FDA-approved, repurposed drugs for preventative and early-stage outpatient treatment, as well as hospital inpatient treatment, to meet needs of a patient infected with COVID-19. Physicians and pharmacists are being threatened and investigated by the state for merely treating covid-19, this bill puts a stop to such punitive action.
House Bill 1741 now goes to the full House for consideration.
To watch Rep. Dawn Keefer’s on the bill, click here.
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Representative Dawn Keefer
92nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepKeefer.com /
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