Pharmacy-Based Travel Health Services: State Approaches to Prescriptive Authority

Pharmacists have provided travel health services in some capacity for more than 25 years. The ability of pharmacists to autonomously prescribe travel medications is growing. Three states (California, Idaho, and New Mexico) allow pharmacists to autonomously prescribe medications for international travel using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Yellow Book as a guide. Idaho also allows pharmacists to autonomously prescribe select medications appropriate to domestic travel (motion sickness prevention and Lyme disease prophylaxis), and Florida allows for the prescribing of drugs for motion sickness. Core elements from each state law including education, patient assessment, provider notification, and documentation are reviewed.