Welcome to Put Pharmacy First
Put Pharmacy First is a campaign by retail pharmacists to reform our industry. We are concerned pharmacists from across the nation, including some who are members of the Change to Win coalition of unions, who want to work together to promote the highest professional standards and put patients ahead of profits.Use the links above to learn about our vision for industry reform, read stories from pharmacists across the country, find information on issues facing retail pharmacies today and take action by signing our principles for reform.
California Assembly Discussion on the "Working Conditions of Retail Pharmacists"
On Friday, April 17th, at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California Assemblymembers, retail chain pharmacists, academics, retail industry leaders, community leaders, and consumers came together to discuss the state of the retail chain pharmacy industry.
Led by California Assemblymember William Monning, who was joined by Assemblymembers John Pérez and Anthony Portantino, the hearing explored the working conditions of retail pharmacists, the role corporate policies play in creating these conditions, and how these conditions can have harmful impacts on consumers. With testimony from pharmacists, industry experts, consumer advocates, and pharmacy students, the discussion was lively and informative.
While many different perspectives were presented, several common themes immerged, including:
- Expanding workloads: Retail chain pharmacists are being asked to do more and more, without additional staff or support. This includes not only filling more prescriptions faster, but also increased insurance compliance paper work, Medicare and other counseling requirements, and most recently immunizations in pharmacies.
- Importance of Counseling: While many of these responsibilities by themselves are unproblematic, these additional responsibilities are being placed on top of already impossibly packed workloads. This makes pharmacists worried about their ability to perform all of these responsibilities well, and to do what they see as their more important role-providing the best care and counseling to patients.
- Quality Care: Since retail pharmacists are on the front lines of the health care system, and are some of the most accessible medical professionals to patients, it is essential that they be given the tools and support to provide patients with the highest quality of care. This includes time to counsel and also translation and other support to effectively serve diverse patient populations.
In Photos: Hearing of the California Assembly
Professor Ramon Castellblaunch, left, and Professor Kathleen Hill-Besinque.
Andrea Zinder, left, and Delphine Pregnon.
New Date Set for California Hearing
The informational hearing on retail pharmacy issues has unfortunately been moved yet again by the California Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment. Legislative schedules are always difficult, but as you know this year the enormous challenges facing the legislature have made things even more complicated.Please join us in Los Angeles for "Working Conditions of Retail Pharmacists: Are Workers and Consumers Being Harmed?" At the hearing pharmacists will have the opportunity to discuss issues including "fast food pharmacy," pharmacist workloads, the importance of having time to counsel patients, and other important issues to California's retail pharmacists.
NEW DATE:
| WHEN: | April 17, 2009 10:00-12:30 | |
| WHERE: | Wallis Annenberg Building, Muses Room California Science Center, Exposition Park 39th Street & Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90037 |
Click here to download a map of the Science Center and the Wallis Annenberg Building.
We apologize for any inconvenience the rescheduled time may have caused. We look forward to seeing you on the 17th.
Would disclosing error rates help reduce errors?
Hartford Courant columnist George Gombossy tells the story of a Southington, CT. man who, after recieving the wrong medication from his local CVS, complained to the company about the mistake. Gombossy went a step further, and asked CVS how often its pharmacies made medication errors. The response from the company was vague at best:
"All I was able to get from the CVS spokesman, Michael J. DeAngelis, were general claims, none of which he could prove or provide statistics to support.
"Our error rate is a small fraction of 1 percent that continues to decline," DeAngelis said.
What does that mean, I asked. Considering that CVS fills 580,000,000 prescriptions a year, a fraction of 1 percent error rate could mean thousands, if not tens of thousands, of mistakes. He refused to be more specific."
Pharmacy Board Dismisses Most Prescription Error Complaints
Boston's WCVB news team investigated pharmacy errors in Massachusetts - and what they found was startling.
According to their report, "the Massachusetts pharmacy board dismisses most cases brought by patients who file complaints about prescription errors. They also do only a handful of routine inspections. And the chair and co-chair of the pharmacy board are employed by major chains."
The pharmacy board is failing to keep up with the demand for pharmacy inspection - there are only three inspectors for the entire state - and without regular inspections, pharmacy chains go unsupervised. Routine inspections are rare, according to WCVB, and even filing a complaint might not warrant a visit from a pharmacy board inspector.
My name is Ray Funatsu and I've been a pharmacist since 1963. In '74 I started working as a manager with Sav-on until '94; that's when I stepped down because it got to be a little too much. I worked until 2000 and retired and now I'm on-call.
