A friend of mine had a Facebook rant earlier today regarding new pharmacy rules going into effect in Illinois. According to the Chicago Tribune the new rules require pharmacists council patients who are picking up a new prescription or have a change in the dosage of their current prescription. The intent is to make patients aware of severe side effects and drug interactions.

My friend got a little hot under the collar because the pharmacist loudly stated what medicine she was on, what it treated and the instructions on how to take it. Things she already knew because she's taken it for years. Because of the new rules, and it was a newly renewed prescription, the pharmacist had to council her. And they wouldn't give her the prescription she had paid for until he provided council.

Except not so fast. The Chicago Tribune says patients can still refuse counseling. Which confuses me if the rules are trying to get people to pay attention to how their prescriptions interact with their bodies.

I don't particularly care if a pharmacist wants to go over the potential side effects or drug interactions of my prescriptions. I appreciate the concern. What I don't want to hear is what medication you're on when I'm three back in line. I don't particularly want to know what you're trying to cure ... and... the potential nasty side effects you could experience while curing it. The rules are fine, the loud talking pharmacist not so much.

 

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