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:

Attachments:

The department accepted written public comments on the proposal through April 1, 2025. See the comments we received (PDF).

The department held a public comment meeting May 14. During the virtual meeting, 86 people participated and 28 provided oral comments. Watch the May 14 meeting.

Next Steps

The department will:

  • Review all public comments, conduct independent research, and draft a report with recommendations to the legislature.
  • Submit the report for approval by the secretary of health followed by the Office of Financial Management (OFM).
  • 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

In 2024, the department completed a sunrise review, at the request of the Washington State Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee on a proposal to increase the naturopathic physician scope of practice.

Here is the final report:

Naturopathic Physician Scope of Practice Sunrise, December 2024 (PDF).

Mandated benefit sunrise reviews in progress
  • None at this time.