California Board of Pharmacy December Update: Standard of Care, Vaccines, CAMER

CA Board of Pharmacy News

Published December 1st, 2025

Detected February 12th, 2026

Summary

The California Board of Pharmacy's December 2025 update announces the transition of certain pharmacist-provided patient care services, including vaccine administration, to a standard of care model effective January 1, 2026, per AB 1503. It also reminds schools about standing orders for albuterol and epinephrine and mandates reporting medication errors to the CAMER system for events on or after September 1, 2025.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The California Board of Pharmacy has issued a December 2025 update detailing significant changes impacting pharmacists and schools. Assembly Bill 1503 (AB 1503) mandates a transition for certain pharmacist-provided patient care services, including independent vaccine administration for individuals aged three and older, to a standard of care practice model effective January 1, 2026. This aligns pharmacist practice with other healthcare practitioners. Additionally, the update highlights existing authority for pharmacists to administer immunizations regardless of age under a prescriber's protocol until the AB 1503 provisions take effect.

Schools are reminded of their authorization to stock unassigned albuterol inhalers and epinephrine auto-injectors under statewide standing orders from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The update also emphasizes the mandatory reporting of medication errors occurring on or after September 1, 2025, to the California Medication Error Reporting (CAMER) system via ISMP. Pharmacists and educational institutions should review the policy statements linked in the update to ensure compliance with the new standard of care model and reporting requirements.

What to do next

Review AB 1503 policy statement regarding standard of care for patient services and vaccinations.
Ensure compliance with medication error reporting to CAMER for all errors occurring on or after September 1, 2025.
Schools should review CDPH standing orders for albuterol and epinephrine procurement and use.

Source document (simplified)

Board of Pharmacy News Roundup – December 2025 Welcome to the monthly News Roundup from the Calif ornia State Board of Pharmacy. To receive more details on an y of the information reported here, click on the Board’s website, ww w.phar macy.ca.go v. Upcoming Meeting: ALL meetings are open to the public; all are encouraged to attend. Please check https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/ for meeting dates and times. Transition to Standard of Care Under the provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 1 503 (Berman, Chapter 196, Statutes of 2025), certain pharmacist - provided patient care services are t ransitioning to a Standard of Care practice model effecti ve January 1, 2026. The policy statement can be found here. Pharmacist-in-Charge Under AB 1503, new provisions reinforce the decision - making autonomy of the PIC related to staffing decisions. Read the f ull policy statement here. Recent Developments Related to Vaccines Under AB 1503, pharmacist authority to independently initiate and administer vaccines for persons three years of age a nd older will transition to a s tandard of care practice model. Such an approach is c onsistent with other health care practitioners with similar practice authority. In anticipation of t his change, the Board encourages pharmacists to begin the transition to a sta ndard of care practice model for immunizations for patients three years old and older. The Board also reminds pharmacists that Business and Professions Code section 4052(a)(11) currently provides a pharmacist with the authority t o administer immunizations to any person, regardless of a ge, pursuant to a protocol with a prescriber. This current authority will exist until Janua ry 1, 2026, when AB 1503 takes effect. California Albuterol and Epinephrine Standing Orders for Schools California schools are authorized to stock unassigned albuterol metered - dose inhalers (MDIs), single - use disposable spacers, and epinephrine auto - injectors for emergency use. The California Department of Public Health (CDP H) has issued statewide standing orders that enable all Ca lifornia TK – 12 public, charter, and private schools, as well as local education agencies (school districts), and county

offices of education, to obtain MDIs and s ingle - use disposable spacers, as well as epinephrine auto - injectors without an independent physician's prescription. Standing orders are issued to schools und er the name of the school and medications are not assigned to any spe cific student or staff. To learn more about program eligibility, training requirements, and how schools can app ly or renew, please visit the CDP H website or contact the Office of School Health a t SafeSchoolsTeam@cdph.ca.gov California Medication Error Reporting (CAMER) Register with ISMP to report medication er rors to the California Medication Error Reporting (CAMER) system. Medication errors that occur on or after September 1, 2025, must be reported to the CAMER system. For information on how to register with ISMP’s medication error reporting program, click here https://mederrors.ismp.org/. For technical issues please email clientservices@ecri.org. FAQs regarding medication error reporting can be found here. Report a Drug Theft/Drug Loss Online Portal The Board of Pharmacy has implemented a new online p ortal to report a drug theft/drug loss of controlled substances. Submissions via the o nline portal will ensure that the board is receiving all requir ed information pertaining to California Code of Regulations, Title 16, §17 15.6. Although not required, we encourage using the new online portal for future reporting. Please use link below. https://ww w.phar macy.ca.g ov/webap plicati ons/apps/dr ugl oss/index.s html PIC Training Webinar A Pharmac ist -in- Charge training webinar is available on the C alifornia State Board of Pharmacy website. This webinar provides an overview of pharmacy law rela ted to the position and the responsibility of a pharmacist when as sociating as the Pharmacist -in- Charge of a licensed facility. One hour of CE will b e awarded for completing the webinar training; however, it does not co unt toward the required 2 hours of CE for Law and Ethics. To take this course you must sign up for a PharmED a ccount. Click here to sign up for an account or use this link: https://pharmed.thinkific.com/ ### <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/https:/mederrors.ismp.org/;!!Em4Sr2I!KWzL6mftnr5zScJ-2KaCya0d3TL8BPL24Y-qImfLEeKvbMuwjKPltgrSEw0n-RaFiU3lgXCI7T0CYp6HMA$"> <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/https:/pharmacy.ca.gov/publications/ab1286faqs.pdf;!!Em4Sr2I!KWzL6mftnr5zScJ-2KaCya0d3TL8BPL24Y-qImfLEeKvbMuwjKPltgrSEw0n-RaFiU3lgXCI7T2dwbHl0A$"> <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/https:/www.pharmacy.ca.gov/webapplications/apps/drug_loss/index.shtml*0d__;JQ!!Em4Sr2I!L9G2zxAXKKC9edftRcwwbb3SGfN3HM014ccookAG6z94MqeSc1hYTMolVMFsUmXb0WNRVskykSOzrrC_Tgy9gGsTmOLlGg4qutROUyVF5Vg1PKc$">