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.
  

Our thanks to everyone who joined us on the 17th, and to the participants who made the event possible. We look forward to hearing your feedback on these important issues.

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.

Informational Hearing Postponed

Due to an unexpected scheduling change related to California's state budget crisis, we have just learned that the informational hearing with the California Assembly Committe on Labor and Employment scheduled for this Friday, February 6, has been postponed. The full letter from the state assembly is above - we truly regret any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Assemblymember Swanson remains committed to holding a hearing on this very important issue, and we are working with the Committee to reschedule the hearing as quickly as possible. We will be sure to inform you of the rescheduled date once it is confirmed.

In the mean time, tell us what issues you think need discussion. What problems do you see with today's retail pharmacy industry? How can we improve pharmacists' role in patient care? Use the comments below to voice your opinion - we will incorporate your points into our continuing work.

Join Us Feb. 6 in Los Angeles

For those of you reading in California, we hope you'll consider joining Put Pharmacy First and several ally organizations for an informational hearing on Friday, February 6, in Los Angeles.

If you want to help shape the direction of the pharmacy industry in California, shift focus to quality patient care and away from "fast food pharmacy," or help educate California policymakers about increasing workloads and other pharmacist concerns, we encourage you to attend.

WHAT:	Informational hearing - "Working Conditions of Retail Pharmacists: Are Workers and Consumers Being Harmed?," California Assembly, Committee on Labor and Employment
WHEN:	Friday, February 6, 2009, 10:00 AM
WHERE:	California Science Center, Muses Room, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA.

The hearing will be an opportunity for pharmacists to publicly discuss their growing concerns about working conditions in chain retail pharmacies, and help inform policy makers and the public about these important issues. We hope it will give everyone an opportunity to exchange ideas and begin working together to find a solution.

CVS Prescription Filling Rates Put Patients' Health at Risk, Study Finds

An audit of North Carolina Pharmacy Board records from the last decade has revealed a troubling trend at CVS pharmacies in the state. Of all the chains investigated by the Board, CVS had the highest number of prescription errors in which the Board found the pharmacist was so busy the chain put patients at risk.

With company-set goals to fill hundreds of prescriptions each day - sometimes more than state guidelines allow - CVS pharmacists may work at rates that put patient health at risk. The NC Pharmacy Board examines pharmacy workloads whenever a patient reports receiving incorrect medication. In the past ten years, the Board found that CVS pharmacists made more errors attributable to workload than pharmacists at any other chain.

Meet Ray F.

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.