Sep 25 2009
Nearly half of Nevada pharamcists think they should have the right to refuse to fill prescriptions
Federal regulations handed down during the Bush Administration allow health-care providers to refuse care due to moral objections. Some states have adopted related policies.
At the Nevada Public Health Association annual conference, held this week at the University of Nevada, Reno, a team of researchers presented findings from a survey of Nevada pharmacists that related to this issue.
The team included Daniel M. Cook, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UNR School of Community Health Sciences who is also associated with the Sanford Center for Aging.
Among 668 responses from licensed Nevada pharmacists, 47.9% said they believed they should not be required to fill all valid prescriptions.
Other findings:
- 43.4% said they would refuse a prescription if allowed;
- 76.9% thought that if a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription that pharmacist should be obligated to find a pharmacist who would fill it;
- Roughly a third (28%) said they knew of cases of refusals despite local rules;
Current Nevada law requires pharmacists to honor all valid prescriptions, Cook said.
The other authors of the study were: Clare T. Pettis and Laura Davidson, both doctoral candidates in interdisciplinary social psychology at UNR; Amber J. Joiner, a doctoral candidate in public policy and administration at UNR and a senior research analyst with the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau; and Craig M. Klugman, Ph.D., Stewart & Marianne Reuter Endowed Professor of Medical Humanities and assistant director for ethics education at the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.