Minnesota Board of Pharmacy - Minnesota State Legislature

APPLICATION TO THE BOARD OF THE CRITERIA FOUND IN M.S. § 3D.06
The efficiency and effectiveness with which the agency operates
Although Minnesota Statutes §3D.06 includes the “effectiveness” with which an agency operates in
this criterion, it would seem that “effectiveness” is more related to the second criterion, which requires
an assessment of the extent to which the mission, goals and objectives of the agency have been met.
Consequently, this portion of the report will focus on the efficiency with which the Board operates.
Over the past decade, the Board has made a number of changes to improve efficiency. Those changes
have been, in part, necessitated by the budget challenges that have affected all state agencies. However,
the Board recognizes that it has a duty to the public in general, and specifically to the individuals and
businesses that we license and register, to operate as efficiently as possible. As a result, the Board was
able to operate for a decade, between 2001 and 2011, without an increase in fees.
During the past ten years, the Board has taken the following actions to increase efficiencies and/or
decrease costs:
• Stopped mailing paper copies of the quarterly newsletter to licensees and registrants. The
newsletter is now published on the Board’s Web site and an e-mail is sent to licensees and
registrants to alert them of the online availability of the latest edition. This has saved staff time
and reduced printing and postage costs.
• Developed an online renewal process that allows pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to
renew their license or registration through a secure portion of the Board’s Web site. An e-mail is
sent to pharmacists and technicians alerting them that they need to renew. Over 90% of
pharmacists and 75% of technicians have chosen to renew online. This has saved staff time and
reduced printing and postage costs.
• The Board provides notices to licensees and registrants whenever possible via e-mail, directing
them to obtain additional information on the Board’s Web site. This has saved staff time and
reduced paper, postage and printing costs.
• The Board has gone to paperless meetings, with meeting materials currently distributed to
Board members on secured flash drives. This has saved staff time and reduced paper, printing
and postage costs. To further increase efficiencies, Board staff is currently working to develop
a process by which members can access the materials over a secure Internet link – eliminating
the need to mail even the flash drives.
• The Board has also changed how business meetings are run by introducing a consent agenda to
handle routine and non-controversial issues. Combined with going to paperless meetings, this
has resulted in Board meetings being reduced in length from the previous five to six hours to
the current two to three hours.
• The Board had Voice-Over-Internet phones (VOIP) installed which has allowed for the use of
more sophisticated voice messaging. Voice messages are converted to audio computer files and
attached to e-mails that are sent to the appropriate staff member. The VOIP system has also
allowed for the use of an interactive voice response system that more efficiently routes calls to
the appropriate staff member.
• The Board used to provide pharmacy interns and certain pharmacist licensure applicants with
bound copies of the state’s pharmacy statutes and rules. The Board now directs these
individuals to review the statutes and rules on the Legislature’s Web site. This has saved staff
time and reduced postage costs and the costs associated with purchasing the bound copies.
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