uncle_el

depends on what is explicitly written in the contract that the pharmacist signed in the first place.

wal-mart for example, does not stock the "morning after pill". regardless of the pharmacist's beliefs about contraception, it is impossible for the wal-mart pharmacist to fill the prescription.

on the flip side, there are pharmacies that do stock the "morning after pill". according to the oath (oath of maimonides) :

that pharmacists ascribe to upon graduation, they are not required to fill every prescription, but rather to "watch over the health and life of they creatures".

the physical act of filling a prescription is the job of a pharmacy technician. making the decision as to whether or not a particular prescription is appropriate by drug or schedule of taking the drug is appropriate is that of the pharmacist.


i would disagre. adding to my comments above, there is also evidence based medicine. say a patient is newly diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure), and the physician writes an order for a beta blocker. the pharmacist could refuse the prescription, and say that a beta blocker is not the first line treatment for newly diagnosed hypertension. that's what the pharmacist "believes", and he/she is not in the wrong.

last year in the icu, my team wanted a patient to have propofol. however, an unwritten rule of the pharmacists is that only patients with head injuries get propofol. so, the patient didn't get it. the pharmacist should not be obligated to do whatever the physician says. if that was the case, there would be no need for pharmacists, and we should just have pharmacy technicians.










back to what i think was the original point at hand... pharmacists who refuse to fill the "morning after pill".

1. to cut it off from the jump, the physican should fill out a script for the "morning after pill", and another for regular birth control pills. if the pharamcist won't fill the "morning after pill", just turn in the script for the birth control pills. after all, birth control pills taken at certain doses have the same effect.

2. as long as the pharmacist who refuses the "morning after pill" follows the apa guidelines/recommendations of referring the customer to a pharmacy or pharmacist willing to fill the prescription, it should be fine. it should be just the same as a ob/gyn who doesn't perform abortions, or a surgeon who won't perform a particular surgery.

in the end, i think if the pharmacist chooses not to fill the prescription, and does not provide a route for the patient to get the script filled, then he/she should be fired. but if he/she does refer the patient, nothing should happen to the pharmacist.

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