Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy Rules, 17 CAR pt. 160

The Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy proposes amendments to its Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy Rules, 17 CAR pt. 160. Proposed changes to this rule will give greater regulatory flexibility by allowing pharmacies and pharmacists to utilize up to four (4) support staff members per supervising pharmacist. Currently, a pharmacist can supervise up to three (3) pharmacy technicians and one (1) pharmacy student intern. Under this framework, only the pharmacies near the colleges of pharmacy can generally employ student pharmacists 12 consistently which results in those pharmacies being able to have four (4) support staff members whereas other parts of the state are generally limited to three (3) support staff members. Additionally, pharmacies that are employing pharmacy student interns are currently limited to one (1) intern per supervising pharmacist whereas these amendments would allow them to staff however they want with the flexibility to utilize interns or technicians collectively up to the 4:1 support staff ratio. Proposed changes also cleanup outdated language regarding continuing education requirements and test scores to be deleted as the national board exam is a pass/fail exam versus a scored test now, as well as deletion of the continuing education and supervised work caps for pharmacists that have not had an active license or been in practice for many years.

A public hearing was held on August 13, 2025. The public comment period expired on August 13, 2025. The agency provided the following summary of public comments: Commentor Name: Michael Lindsey, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, Walmart COMMENTS: Dear Arkansas Board of Pharmacy Members, On behalf of Walmart Inc. (Walmart), I am submitting this letter in support of the proposed changes to 17 CAR § 160-907, which would allow pharmacies and pharmacists to utilize up to four (4) support staff members (pharmacy technicians, licensed interns or externs) per supervising pharmacist. Amending the support staff ratio will better enable pharmacies to meet patients’ unique and specific needs. Pharmacies are one of the most accessible locations for health care. Community-based pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and other pharmacy personnel are integral members of the community that bring significant value to the individuals they serve. We believe the proposed changes to the regulation will maximize the use and value of pharmacy support staff without compromising patient safety. Adjusting the ratio will allow pharmacists to focus more of their time on counseling patients, perf

• Rule packet: C.2.a DOH ASBP Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy Rules
• ALC summary agenda Sep 25, 2025
• ALC agenda Sep 25, 2025
• ALC meeting video Sep 25, 2025
• Arkansas Register, July 2026