Legal Briefs: Pharmacist Fills More than Just Prescriptions
By Dale J. Atkinson
Originally published in the August 2013 NABP Newsletter
Many licensed professionals are subject to codes of ethics and other standards of practice that limit and, in some cases, prohibit personal relationships with patients/clients. Indeed, such boundary violations are far too common in many of the mental health professions whereby a personal relationship ripens out of the professional relationship. In most cases, a specified period of time must expire between the termination of the professional relationship and the beginning of the personal one. Under some circumstances, such as a clinical relationship, a personal relationship may be forever prohibited. Of course, violations of boundary parameters subject licensees to administrative prosecution and ultimately to adverse actions against licenses.
Similarly, pharmacists have a unique relationship with patients, including access to confidential and sensitive information. Pharmacists are placed in a position of trust regarding medical conditions and treatments thereof. While apparently not commonplace in the sphere of pharmacy practice as illustrated by the lack of published case law, boundary violations are certainly a possibility.
The full article, which reviews a case involving a pharmacist using patient information to pursue a personal relationship, is available in the August 2013 NABP Newsletter (PDF; pages 148-149).