Sunrise Reviews

Introduction and Background

In Washington State, the Department of health makes recommendations to the legislature on health profession credentialing proposals and proposals to add new insurance mandates. These are done at the request of the chairs of legislative committees. The process is called a "sunrise review." Requirements for health profession reviews are contained in chapter 18.120 RCW. Requirements for mandated benefit reviews are listed in chapter 48.47 RCW.

Completed health profession and mandated benefit reviews A - Z list

Questions or comments, or wish to request hard copies of reports, email us or call 360-236-4612.

The process

Health profession sunrise reviews in progress

Pharmacist Scope of Practice

The Washington State Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee has requested the department review a proposal to increase the pharmacist scope of practice to assess whether it meets the sunrise criteria in RCW 18.120.010. The request would grant the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission the authority to regulate licensed pharmacist prescribing outside of a collaborative agreement.

The applicant group for this proposal is the Washington State Pharmacy Association (WSPA).

Here are the proposal documents:

Progress to Date

The department sent follow-up questions on the applicant report and has received WSPA’s responses. Here are the questions and responses:

Applicant response to questions (PDF)

Attachments:

Current Activity

The department is now inviting public comments on the proposal. Please submit your comments via email (sunrise@doh.wa.gov).

We are accepting written comments through April 1, 2025.

Hold-the-date for a public comment meeting May 14 beginning at 1:00 p.m. (details to come in the spring).

Next Steps

In the spring, we will send details about the public comment meeting, including instructions for signing up to provide oral comments.
The department will review all public comments, conduct independent research, and draft a report with recommendations to the legislature.
The department will post the final report on this web page once it has been submitted to the legislature.

For more information on the sunrise process and to view the criteria for a sunrise review, see our main sunrise webpage.

To receive updates about this review, subscribe to our GovDelivery list (Scroll down to “Rule Making,” click the + to expand it, select “Pharmacist Sunrise” and then click “Submit”).

Naturopathic Physician Scope of Practice

The Washington State Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee has requested the department review a proposal to increase the naturopathic physician scope of practice to assess whether it meets the sunrise criteria in RCW 18.120.010. The request includes, among other additions, the ability to prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances.

The applicant group for this proposal is the Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians (WANP).

The department has completed this review and is obtaining necessary approvals. The final report will be posted soon.