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The 2001 Louisiana Legislature's Joint Committee on Health and Welfare passed House Bill 1596/Senate Bill 502 allowing the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to establish a pharmacy prior authorization (PA) process with a preferred drug list (PDL) for certain drugs covered under the Medicaid Pharmacy Benefits Program.

With the implementation of the PA process, drugs are considered "preferred" or "non-preferred". Non-preferred drugs require PA as a condition for payment by the program. Drugs in these therapeutic classes that are not included on the PDL require PA and prescribing practitioners must obtain PA by contacting the Prior Authorization Unit.

The ULM College of Pharmacy operates the Prior Authorization Unit. The PA program began on June 10, 2002 with only two therapeutic classes on the PDL. Since that time, the PDL has been expanded to include more then 40 therapeutic classes. The PA unit handles between 600-900 calls daily, and is staffed by 14 licensed pharmacists. These pharmacists come from a variety of practice settings, including retail, hospital, and consulting, and have over two hundred years combined experience.

For further information, contact

Melissa Dear
Director
Prior Authorizaton Unit
Phone: 318-410-4360
Email: dear@ulm.edu