MONTGOMERY — The House Health Committee held a public hearing on legislation by State Rep. Phillip Rigsby (R-Huntsville) that would allow Alabama pharmacists to dispense ivermectin to patients without a prescription.
Existing law requires that ivermectin be dispensed only by a pharmacist upon a physician's prescription. The bill would permit a physician, a physician assistant or a certified registered nurse practitioner to give a pharmacist a standing order to dispense ivermectin to individuals without an individual prescription. The standing order would include a protocol outlining guidelines for the pharmacist to provide ivermectin to individuals who request it.
"This really is an access bill. I have had the question: Why ivermectin? What's the big deal with ivermectin? Why would you bring this? We all know this drug was politicized during the Covid outbreak. A lot of patients wanted this therapy but had no access," Rigsby said during the public hearing. "Either physicians didn't want to write it or pharmacies didn't want to dispense it. Patients were going to the feed shop and getting the veterinary ivermectin, taking some dose that they read about online, hoping it would help. The main reason I'm bringing this bill is for safety. I do not want patients to go out to the vet's office and get ivermectin specifically designed for animals and use it on themselves. There's different binders, there's different ways those medicines are made and regulated. It is not for human use. I wanted a mechanism in place that allows patients who are looking for the medicine, physicians who are willing to prescribe the medicine, pharmacists who are willing to dispense the medicine to have a mechanism in place so that they can have safe access to this medication."
Multiple medical associations spoke against the legislation.
Matt Hart, attorney for the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, said, "We don't believe that this legislation is necessary."
"All that it takes is for a physician and pharmacist to ask to have this as part of their collaboration agreement. We have not received any requests of that nature so far for ivermectin," Hart said.
Dr. Stewart Tankersley, a Montgomery physician, called ivermectin "safer than Tylenol and Aspirin."
"It's the safest medicine I've ever known. We need to help the citizens. We need public access, and of all the things to start with, ivermectin is the best one. We have treated dozens and dozens of elected officials in the state the last six years with ivermectin," Tankersley said at the public hearing.
The committee didn't vote on the bill during the Wednesday meeting.
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