After 19 years at the helm, Gary Schnabel is stepping down as executive director of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy in November to pursue other interests.
“It’s time to go out and try new opportunities and challenges; it’s exciting as well as anxiety producing,” Schnabel said.
Schnabel, who turned 65 last month, intends to work as a consultant, doing onsite inspections of compounding pharmacies around the country for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and also consult with pharmaceutical companies helping them sort out legal compliance issues.
“People are pulling their hair out trying to comply, and I’m somewhat familiar with the pharmacy laws such as licensing requirements in a number of states,” he added.
Schnabel has no shortage of plaudits to take into his new career. His proudest moment came when then Senator Gordon Smith invited him to Washington DC to testify on Oregon’s experience with selling drugs over the Internet. Before he was able to respond to questions from the Senate Committee on Aging, the meeting was adjourned so the Senate could vote on the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. “That was a pretty exciting event; to see the Committee in action,” Schnabel said.
As the board’s executive director, Schnabel championed the prescription drug monitoring program at the state Legislature, despite opposition from the ACLU, and now pharmacies in the state must report all controlled substances to a data base administered by the Oregon Health Authority. Schnabel also worked with the governor’s task force and the Legislature to make pseudoephedrine a controlled substance. Mississippi is the only other state with a similar requirement.
He also helped the Board develop rules for the Death with Dignity Act enabling pharmacies to meet the reporting requirements.
Other controversial issues still face the Board of Pharmacy, chief among them the practitioner dispensing rule that’s been the victim of misunderstanding. Oregon’s Attorney General requires all outlets where pharmaceuticals are dispensed to seek a license from the Oregon Health Authority and also register with the Board. Now that tempers have settled down, the rule making process is underway, and Schnabel anticipates registration will begin by next spring.
It’s only the drug outlet, not the physicians, dentists and nurse practitioners who work in those clinics that need to register, Schnabel said. That confusion led to the angst.
Medical marijuana dispensaries all fall under the registration requirement, following passage of Senate Bill 475.
With the emergency of coordinated care organizations, the Board is also looking at the existing rules and potential changes, Schnabel said. “We need to see if we should adjust our rules to fine the new model. We don’t want our rules to become antiques and inhibit these new models.”
Schnabel jointed the agency as compliance director in 1994 and was appointed executive director in 1999, and also has been the president and chairman of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
Prior to joining the board, he ran a home infusion pharmacy in Eugene called Option Care and also started an IV service for long-term care pharmacies in Portland, under the auspices of the Pharmacy Corporation of America which is based in Los Angeles,
Diane Lund-Muzikant can be reached at [email protected].
