HelixTalk Episode #69 - The pharmacist must see you now - A new rule requiring pharmacist counseling in Illinois

Date posted: November 7, 2017, 6:00 am

In this episode, we interview Dylan Moe, PharmD, our very own alumnus, regarding the new Illinois rule requiring patient counseling for all new prescriptions and inquire how the new rule has impacted his pharmacy, work environment, and his opinions on the implementation of the rule.

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Key Concepts

1. The new Illinois rule requiring pharmacist counseling for new prescription medications took effect in August/September of 2017.
2. The Illinois rule provides a comprehensive list of potential topics to be included during a pharmacist counseling session; however, it provides a significant amount of professional judgment with regards to what elements to include as part of a counseling session.
3. In our opinion, the new rule is a positive step forward towards improving patient safety; however, it does introduce new challenges with regards to workflow and staffing to many retail pharmacies.
4. Illinois is actually one of the few remaining states to implement a required pharmacist counseling rule -- many other states have already implemented similar rules.

References

1. Illinois Administrative Code, Section 1330.700 Patient Counseling. ftp://www.ilga.gov/JCAR/AdminCode/068/068013300G07000R.html
2. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Division of Professional Regulation, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on New Patient Counseling Rules. https://www.idfpr.com/forms/DPR/FAQPharmPatientCounseling.pdf