PHARMACIST STEVE

For some reason some old “brain memory cells” floated to the forefront of my mind.  I went to Butler University School of Pharmacy in Indianapolis .. so we “studied” the Indiana Pharmacy Practice Act.. That was 50 years ago…

Recently I made this post

Refusal to fill: is “I’m not comfortable” being replaced with “I don’t have stock” ?

for some reason, it kept bugging me about the practice act mandating some level of inventory that a pharmacy must maintain.  Of course, no pharmacy is going to have 100% inventory of prescriptions that walk up to the Rx dept counter. Even with the most sophisticated computer inventory control programs and ordering 5 days a week from a wholesaler.. Sudden surge in demand for a particular medication. A pharmacy will run temporarily short.

Below is a section of the Indiana Practice act and the stated requirement for a pharmacy to maintain:

sufficient stock of emergency and frequently prescribed drugs and devices as to adequately serve and protect the public health.       

For a pharmacy to be “routinely out of stock” of a particular medication… that would suggest that the Pharmacist(s) is lying to the pts about the inventory on hand, corporate HQ has placed limits on the quantity of certain medications that a pharmacy can order/stock, the wholesaler is rationing medication to the pharmacy that is less than adequate to “serve and protect the public health”

Each pharmacy must maintain a perpetual control inventory of all controlled substances .. if someone wanted to go to the trouble of hiring an attorney they could probably get a court order to see what the Rx dept’s inventory was on a particular day/time for a particular medication.  All a pts have to do is file complaints that the pharmacy, Pharmacist in charge, wholesaler are contributing to the pharmacy being in violation and non-compliance with the practice act.

The quote below is from the Indiana Practice Act and other states’ practice act may have the same or similar verbiage… and if such is found in other states’ practice act.. then this filing complaints would be appropriate with the Board of Pharmacy of a particular state.

We already know that the DEA is forcing Pharmacist to exceed their authority of the state pharmacy practice act by providing “second opinions” on the prescriber’s determination of the “correctness” of the therapy a specific pt needs.. without doing a physical exam nor having access to the pt’s complete medical history.

Now we have the DEA reducing the opiate production quotas for 2016, 2017 and again in 2018… which could provide the ground work for all those who under the jurisdiction of the state’s pharmacy board.  If the pharmacy board does nothing to correct a substantial shortage of medication … then they will be in violation of their primary charge to protect the public’s health and safety.

Could the pendulum on the war on drugs have swung far enough in the other direction that we will be in the middle of “bureaucratic genocide” because of the suicides that will be “full blown crisis” because chronic pain pts can’t get their necessary pain medication

I found this in the Indiana practice act:

 

IC 25-26-13-18 Eligibility for pharmacy permits; inspections; value of drug inventory

 

Sec. 18. (a) To be eligible for issuance of a pharmacy permit, an applicant must show to the satisfaction of the board that:         (1) Persons at the location will engage in the bona fide practice of pharmacy. The application must show the number of hours each week, if any, that the pharmacy will be open to the general public.

 

(2) The pharmacy will maintain a sufficient stock of emergency and frequently prescribed drugs and devices as to adequately serve and protect the public health.       

 

(3) Except as provided in section 19 of this chapter, a registered pharmacist will be in personal attendance and on duty in the licensed premises at all times when the practice of pharmacy is being conducted and that the pharmacist will be responsible for the lawful conduct of the pharmacy.         (4) One (1) pharmacist will have not more than four (4) certified pharmacy technicians or pharmacy technicians in training certified under IC 25-26-19  under the pharmacist’s immediate and personal supervision at any time. As used in this clause, “immediate and personal supervision” means within reasonable visual and vocal distance of the licensed person.         (5) The pharmacy will be located separate and apart from any area containing merchandise not offered for sale under the pharmacy permit. The pharmacy will:             (A) be stationary;             (B) be sufficiently secure, either through electronic or physical means, or a combination of both, to protect the products contained in the pharmacy and to detect and deter entry during those times when the pharmacy is closed;             (C) be well lighted and ventilated with clean and sanitary surroundings;             (D) be equipped with a sink with hot and cold running water or some means for heating water, a proper sewage outlet, and refrigeration;             (E) have a prescription filling area of sufficient size to permit the practice of pharmacy as practiced at that particular pharmacy; and             (F) have such additional fixtures, facilities, and equipment as the board requires to enable it to operate properly as a pharmacy in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations governing pharmacies.     (b) Prior to opening a pharmacy after receipt of a pharmacy permit, the permit holder shall submit the premises to a qualifying inspection by a representative of the board and shall present a physical inventory of the drug and all other items in the inventory on the premises.     (c) At all times, the wholesale value of the drug inventory on the licensed items must be at least ten percent (10%) of the wholesale value of the items in the licensed area. As added by Acts 1977, P.L.276, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.3-1990, SEC.90; P.L.27-1998, SEC.1; P.L.187-1999, SEC.4; P.L.251-2003, SEC.; P.L.1-2009, SEC.142.

Filed under: General Problems