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| Should Practitioners Dispense?: Rants and Musings of a Retail Pharmacist |
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by The Redheaded Pharmacist - January 13, 2012
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Provided by The Redheaded Pharmacist
I came across an interesting article the other night about a chain of urgent care centers. But what caught my attention was the efforts being made by this company to gain the right to dispense prescriptions directly to patients. And I can’t help but wonder what everyone thinks about a non-pharmacist practitioner dispensing prescriptions directly to patients.
First a little background for you. The company in question is called ZoomCare and they are based out of Portland, OR. Their clinics are urgent care style facilities available for patients for quick treatment and same-day appointments. They have some unique features like a scheduling function on their website (or by phone) and they promote same day appointments.
According to an article here in The Lund Report, ZoomCare has also been involved in efforts to become authorized to dispense prescription medications directly to patients in their clinics. There was an effort by pharmacy organizations in the State of Oregon to block previous legislation that would have allowed practitioners such as physicians assistants at these ZoomCare clinics to dispense non-narcotic bottled prescriptions directly to patients.
And while the original draft of legislation addressing the dispensing of prescriptions failed, there is now a second effort to bring a bill to the legislature. And with some revisions, the Oregon State Pharmacy Association has now supported the new bill. The revised bill is expected to be heard in the state’s legislature next month.
But what changes were made to the proposed law and how does that affect patients and practitioners in the State of Oregon? There are two main revisions of the original failed bill that will make it possible for urgent cares like ZoomCare to dispense medications. First, a ”drug outlets” category would be created allowing urgent cares like Zoomcare to do dispensing functions under supervision of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. The second change was that any ZoomCare clinic would be required to contract with a licensed pharmacist who will be in charge of following all rules and regulations related to medication dispensing.
If the bill passes in the Oregon legislature, there would be limits to what a “drug outlet” facility could dispense to patients. Basic emergency medications for things like infections or pain would be covered under the revised bill. But, ZoomCares would not be able to dispense any narcotic prescriptions to patients. Other things like basic preventative medicine would also be allowed to be dispensed by the clinics. So while these urgent care locations wouldn’t be operating full pharmacies, they would have a variety of medications on hand at their clinics available for direct dispensing to patients.
So what do you think about the proposed law in Oregon? Should facilities such as an urgent care clinics be allowed to dispense medications directly to patients? Is the requirement of being contracted with a pharmacist enough to ensure patient safety? Should non-pharmacist prescribers be allowed to dispense medications directly to patients?
I think that the revisions to this bill at least address the need for a pharmacist to be involved in dispensing. Patients should have access to a licensed pharmacist anytime they are given prescription medications. They need to know all the details of the prescribed medications they are receiving. And who better to do that education on therapy other than a licensed pharmacist?
I’m curious to find out if the pharmacist must be on location at these urgent care centers to meet the new requirements in this bill or can they be off site. I think patients should have access to a pharmacist at the clinic or urgent care facility if they have questions or concerns related to their medication therapy.
In general, I think it is a bad idea for non-pharmacist providers to directly dispense prescriptions to patients without a pharmacist involved in the dispensing and counseling process. I just feel that pharmacists are the most qualified to dispense directly to patients. There could be safety concerns with dispensing medications without directly receiving counseling from a pharmacist.
It will be interesting to see if Oregon passes this bill and how will it affect pharmacies. Is this idea just putting patients in danger or do providers like physician assistants have the necessary skills to effectively educate patients regarding their prescriptions? What do you think?
The Redheaded Pharmacist
The Redheaded Pharmacist has been working full time in retail pharmacy for more than a decade. He is in his mid 30s, and, yes, he has red hair.
Disclaimer: This blog represents the opinions of the author and the author alone. It does not represent any pharmacy group or organization. I also will leave out or change the names of patients/customers to protect their privacy and comply with government regulations regarding patient privacy rights and personal information.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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| Dr Bharat Patel (New York ) |
on 17 Jan 2012 at 3:06 pm |
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| If a 24 hr pharmacy is open within 10 miles, the prescriber or their assistants should not be allowed to dispense. We have become too much convenient oriented.. The pharmacy laws in any part of the world are geared primarily tor the safety of the community at large. In my 50 years of practice I have hardly come across a medicine that can not wait for the travel time to nearest drug store. Bjut then we have hospitals to take care of urgent care. |
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