Task Force Recommends More Breaks, Shorter Shifts, and Fewer Responsibilities for Illinois Pharmacists

 

Pharmacists are highly trained and knowledgeable professionals. They handle and dispense powerful drugs to vulnerable patients who rely on them for guidance and for their careful filling and dispensing of prescriptions.

But pharmacists are also human. Their jobs come with business pressures, policies, and priorities that may impede their ability to fulfill their duties as they should. These pressures can have tragic consequences when pharmacists feel like they can’t spend the time needed to properly advise patients about their prescription. Overwhelmed and overworked pharmacists may also make any number of critical errors between the time they receive a prescription from a patient or their physician and the time they dispense the prescribed medication.

These problems manifested themselves in a 2016 Chicago Tribune investigation which found that pharmacists at 52% of 255 Chicagoland pharmacies failed to adequately warn customers about drug interactions that could result in adverse health consequences or death.

As a result of this shocking report, the state of Illinois formed a task force to examine and make recommendations on “how to further advance the practice of pharmacy in a manner that recognizes the needs of the healthcare system, patients, pharmacies, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.” 

On October 11, 2019, the Illinois Collaborative Pharmaceutical Task Force released its final Report and Recommendations.

An Assembly-Line Process

The report found that pharmacists felt overwhelmed by an assembly-line process at busy pharmacies where they are expected to fill hundreds of prescriptions in a single shift. In turn, pharmacists routinely skipped breaks and meals and became easily distracted due to competing priorities and too many responsibilities relating to the management and operation of pharmacy practices.

 In the report, the task force made the following recommendations:

  • Increasing whistleblower protections for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who report violations of the Pharmacy Practice Act (the “Act”);
  • Adding new grounds for discipline of licensed pharmacists under the Act, including:
    • Failing to provide “adequate time for a pharmacist to complete professional duties and responsibilities”;
    • Failing to provide “sufficient personnel to prevent fatigue, distraction or other conditions that interfere with a pharmacist’s ability to practice with competency and safety or creates an environment that jeopardizes patient care”;
    • Failing to provide “appropriate opportunities for uninterrupted rest periods and meal breaks”;
  • Adding a new section to the Act entitled “Pharmacy Work Conditions,” which states that:
    • Employers “shall keep and maintain a complete and accurate record of the daily break periods of its pharmacists”;
    • Employers “shall not require a pharmacist, student pharmacist, or pharmacy technician to work longer than twelve (12) continuous hours per day, inclusive of the breaks”;
    • A pharmacist working longer than six continuous hours per day shall be allowed to take a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break and one 15-minute break, as well as one additional break if working 12 hours per day.
    • No pharmacist shall work longer than five hours per day without the opportunity to take an uninterrupted meal break.

A bill currently pending in the Illinois legislature would incorporate the task force’s recommendations into the Pharmacy Practice Act. The bill also includes new provisions for disciplinary action, including written warnings or fines against the pharmacy, pharmacist, and pharmacist-in-charge that would be posted online and could not be expunged, as well as possible license revocation for repeat violations. The bill is expected to become law during the current legislative session.

Louis R. Fine: Chicago Pharmacist License Defense Attorney

Throughout my career, I have been protecting the livelihoods and professional futures of pharmacists and other health care providers before the IDFPR, combining insight and experience with zealous and strategic advocacy.

The moment you are contacted by IDFPR or learn that you are under investigation is the moment that you should contact me. I will immediately begin communicating with IDFPR prosecutors and work with you to develop the strategy best suited to achieving the goal of an efficient, cost-effective outcome that avoids any adverse action. Together, we will protect your Illinois pharmacist’s license and get you back to your career.

Please give me a call at (312) 236-2433 or fill out my online form to arrange for your free initial consultation. I look forward to meeting with you.