WORKERS at chain pharmacies across the US have told CNN that increased demand for prescriptions, vaccinations and other services without sufficient staff to fulfil those orders has made it nearly impossible for them to do their jobs properly and has created potentially unsafe conditions for pharmacy customers.
A US 2022 National Community Pharmacists Association survey showed that nearly 75% of respondents felt they did not have enough time to safely perform clinical duties and patient care.
These issues have led to some pharmacists deciding to walk out of CVS and Walgreens pharmacies this autumn, workers said (PD 31 Oct).
About 70% of prescriptions in the country come from chain retailers like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart, according to a 2019 Drug Channels Institute report.
CVS provided about 25% of all prescriptions, while Walgreens accounted for another 20%.
Stores increasingly operate with just one pharmacist behind the counter for a 12-hour shift.
American Pharmacists Association CEO Michael Hogue said this week, "they didn't feel confident that they could provide care in a safe environment".
Shane Jerominski, a pharmacist who spent a decade working at chain pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS, said, "pharmacists are so overwhelmed and worried that they're going to make a mistake".
"It's so easy to make a mistake under those conditions."
There's also a general misconception about what it takes to correctly fill a prescription, as the work goes beyond labelling meds.
"It's the nightmare for a pharmacist who's had a busy shift and then goes home and processes what's happened," said Karl Williams, a professor of pharmacy law, ethics and counselling at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy at St. John Fisher University.
"To wake up and think 'did I remember to tell a patient about a particular risk?'
"It drives people to leave the practice whether there are legal ramifications or not.
"If a patient has been harmed, it's just a horrible outcome."
The cost of looking after patients in the US with medication-associated errors is more than US$40b (A$59.5b) per annum. JG
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