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Too often, fingers are pointed when it comes to substance abuse, and it is really difficult to determine who should be held liable when bad things happen because of it. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the addict or alcoholic because they are the ones abusing the substance. Some states will hold bartenders responsible that give someone too much alcohol, and lawsuits have been filed against the family members of drug addicts that sat by and watched them get into a vehicle so impaired that they killed someone else. But we are asking for trouble when we start looking for others to blame when tragedy strikes.
Nevada Lawsuit Against Pharmacies
A lawsuit in Nevada is seeking to hold pharmacies responsible if they fill unusually large quantities of prescription pills for someone, or don’t use their access to information to withhold pills from someone that is thought to be addicted. The results of this lawsuit could have lasting effects on the pharmacy business, as it will help determine pharmacists’ role in preventing tragedies caused by substance abuse.
Many pharmacies are now linked to online systems that track prescription histories. Used in 33 states, these tracking systems can help identify potential addicts and notify law enforcement if necessary. The problem that hasn’t yet been worked out, however, is what pharmacies should be required to do with this information. In the Nevada case, a woman got high on prescription painkillers, and then drove her car into 2 people, killing one and injuring the other. The pharmacies where she was getting her prescriptions filled were warned about her pill addiction. Not having any set protocol for customers like her, the pharmacies continued filling her prescriptions until, one year later; she had recklessly killed an innocent person. Now the families of the victims are suing the pharmacies.
Prescription Tracking System
It is hard to believe that the pharmacists could be held liable for this accident. While they might have a moral responsibility to prevent a human being from hurting themselves or others, without the proper training or knowledge about what to do, we might be expecting too much from the pharmacies. What if a pharmacy turns someone away that really did require such a high dose of meds? Pharmacists could find themselves in many lawsuits for making judgment calls about prescriptions, which would cause the cost of prescriptions to skyrocket.
A nationwide database to monitor prescription history, along with protocol for what to do if it becomes obvious that someone is abusing, is a great idea. But there also needs to be much more responsibility placed on the addict, and if we work to get treatment for all those we know with a drug problem, we can work to avoid these kinds of lawsuits altogether.
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Mike — November 4, 2009 @ 9:17 am
Thanks for the post.
It is an interesting dilema. I think you are right one when you say that this is more of a moral responsibiliy, and I think it should be treated that way. Having a large database is a good start and training pharmacists to spot potential addiction problems is also good.