Archive for November 2014
HIPAA Award Upheld After Pharmacist Shared Patient Data
Last week, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a $1.4 million verdict against Walgreens and one of its pharmacists who violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) when she reviewed prescription records of a woman who had once dated her husband. In short, the facts of the case are as follows: The pharmacist…
Read MoreUniversity to Install Prescription Drug Vending Machine on Campus
Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona, is installing a vending machine for prescription medications after the closure of its on-campus pharmacy two months ago. Minneapolis-based InstyMeds will reportedly start dispensing medications in the ASU Health Service Building within a couple of weeks. ASU would be only the second university to get an InstyMeds machine, which…
Read MoreCalifornia Bilingual Prescription Label Update
How often are pharmacy prescription label instructions translated incorrectly? Should pharmacists who are fluent only in English be required to fill prescriptions with instructions in a foreign language? Who counsels the non-English speaking patients regarding their prescription(s) and/or side effects of the medication(s)? Who is ultimately liable for the incorrect translated instructions in the event…
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