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Pharmacy and Medications

Is it Ethical for Pharmacy to Use Refill Reminder Service?

09/18/2008 11:40AM

Question:

My pharmacy has started a new "program" to call customers to tell them when (the pharmacy thinks) it is time to refill medications. Some of the medications they have called me about are PRN (take as needed) like a rescue inhaler for mild asthma. There isn`t a certain amount of that which I`m "supposed to" take regularly, so how would they know whether I need a refill? This seems like a "program" designed to sell more prescription drugs than a "useful reminder service" which is what they are calling it. A competing pharmacy just opened 2 blocks away and I think they are just doing this to try to make sure they keep their old customers. Is this ethical?

Answer:

First of all, I don’t see anything at all wrong with a pharmacy trying to keep their customers/patients. Pharmacies are perhaps the most obviously business-oriented of providers of health care because many are based in retail settings, and repeat customers are the bread and butter of any business. However, thinking of pharmacies as simple business operations misses a number of important points.

The primary goal of pharmacists is always to make sure that patients get the right medicine at the right dose at the right time. This is what we do. In this Netwellness forum we almost always include advice to “ask a pharmacist who knows you”. We do this because patients are likely to benefit most from a pharmacist’s expertise when they develop a working relationship with the pharmacists working at a single pharmacy.

It seems perfectly reasonable for pharmacists to call or send a reminder when their records indicate a patient’s prescription is due for a refill. These reminders should improve patient adherence to prescribed therapy, and are essentially similar to reminders that other health care providers send to remind patients about scheduled appointments or that a visit is advisable. It is likely that many patients would find the reminders helpful. In short, the new service seems to be useful and legitimate addition to pharmaceutical care.

To make sure that my approval of the practice you describe is correct, I contacted the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. The board stated that the practice is ethical, but added that it would not be right for a pharmacy to automatically fill and charge a patient for a refill without having a prior agreement with the patient to do so.

People tend to underestimate the value of maintaining a good working relationship with their pharmacist. Pharmacists can provide a wealth of health-related information, and a pharmacist who knows you can provide the most appropriate information. It would be a mistake to stop using a pharmacy providing a good service simply because they started another legitimate service you somehow interpret as crass. You should be able to opt out of the service if you don’t like it. If you don’t like the older pharmacy for some reason, there are likely to be several others in your area.

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Response by:

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Robert James Goetz, PharmD, DABAT
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Drug and Poison Information Center
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
University of Cincinnati