Pharmacy Law Source, PLLC

01/30/2025

Pharmacy Education Source, LLC, (PES) is pleased to announce the 2025 live pharmacy law reviews for MPJE prep.

The KENTUCKY pharmacy law review will take place on Tuesday, May 13, beginning at 9 AM ET, 8 AM Central Time. Attendees should expect the presentation to last approximately six hours. Attendees will be able to ask questions as we move along. The session will be recorded so that those who desire, can listen to it again. Keep in mind that “edu” email addresses generally will not allow the presentation to download; provide a personal email address.
As we have in the past few years, the sessions will be held via Zoom. If you do not have a Zoom account, set one up—to do so is free. All Zoom costs for the sessions will be paid by PES.
Materials will be provided by email 24-48 hours prior to the presentation. These include a copy of the KY pharmacy law review and practice exams. There will be a short break around noon, but attendees should have food or a snack handy, as the break will be short. There will also be a couple of 5 minute breaks.

After the session, all attendees will be able to email PES with any questions they have while studying for the MPJE until you pass the exam.

REGISTRATION
Registration is a two-part process. First, email us at [email protected] to get on the list.
Second, pay the $190 fee. PayPal account is [email protected] or Venmo is -cohron. (If you have neither of these, contact us and we will look for other options to make payment.) When paying the fee, please include which state you are registering for and the name of the attendee. We have had some confusion in the past by someone other than the attendee paying the fee and not knowing who the payment was for.

You will be sent an email confirming that you are on the list and that payment has been received. If not received within 48 hours of completing registration, email us. Keep confirmation of your payment at least until you receive this email.
We strongly urge early registration, especially for the Kentucky review. The reviews usually fill up quickly and we do have limits on the number of attendees. Should the need arise, PES will schedule a second KY review but potential attendees should not depend on this happening.

OTHER STATES
If a sufficient number of attendees signs up, PES will hold a TENNESSEE law review on Tuesday, May 20, and an INDIANA law review on Thursday, May 22.

Same start times, same type of materials, same means of registration as above. With these, potential attendees are encouraged to email interest in these states to PES. Do NOT make a payment until we let you know that we have a sufficient number of people interested.

The states that PES has written law reviews for are: Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. These written reviews (sometimes with practice questions) can be purchased; as above, the purchase includes being able to email us with any questions you have while studying until you pass the MPJE. If you can find a group of at least eight (8) interested attendees, PES can schedule a live review.

12/17/2024

Does your state require any pharmacist CE on opioids? If you look around on the Internet, you can usually find a free one.

I have one that meets ACPE requirements and those for the state of Kentucky. There is a $5 fee.

12/12/2024

PHARMACY LAW QUESTION

I made an error in filling a prescription. The patient was not harmed. However, a lawsuit was filed and the error was reported to the Board of Pharmacy. The judge dismissed the lawsuit as there was no harm done to the patient. However, the BoP proceeded to assess some punishment against me for the error. My question is, how can the BoP punish me when the court said there was no cause?

The short answer is, you made the error.

Thankfully, the patient was not harmed. But this result is not looked at by the Board as it is by the court.

The court did NOT hold that you did not err. Instead, for a civil lawsuit to proceed, there must have been compensable damages for the injured party to seek. No harm, no damages, no reason for a court to entertain the case.

However, the Board acknowledged that you did err. And the Board not only looks to harm, but also to potential harm that could have resulted. The Board has to consider the possible "what if" scenario; that often can lead to life-threatening circumstances. Specifically, what caused or contributed to the error. Once an investigation is done, the Board will review the matter and decide if action against the offending pharmacist is appropriate. PLS will not describe how the error occurred in detail but will state only that an essential step in the filling process was not taken.

Therefore, the Board assessed punishment it felt appropriate and proper to seek assurance that this type of error will not be repeated.

Can the court's decision to dismiss be introduced as evidence to mitigate the Board's consideration and punishment? Yes, but the court's holding is not a decisive factor.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: post below or email [email protected]

12/04/2024

A study published by Health Affairs shows that almost 30% of pharmacies closed in the decade leading up to 2021.
Many Black and Latinx communities are at risk for quality healthcare due to these closures.

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving to all, especially our colleagues working this day

11/15/2024

We're still waiting to see how the RUAN decision is going to be interpreted by prescribers, but some of the possible repercussions of this holding may be ominous.

You know all about Roe. But have you heard about Ruan? Just three days after the thunderous ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court issued another important decision on a pressing health care issue. It’s a seemingly technical opinion interpreting a single phrase...

11/13/2024

The number of failures on the NAPLEX and MPJE have gone up in recent years. I will address the root causes of this, as I see them, in a future post.

Failing is not final, and it does not define what kind of pharmacist or resident a student can be.

11/10/2024

PHARMACY LAW QUESTION

This may be the stupidest question you have ever had. I have a tech who is wonderful--she is fast, efficient, hard-working and completely dependable. Though it does not interfere with her work, she uses the f-word a lot while working. I (I am the PIC) have asked her stop and the store manager has written her up twice for her bad language. For a couple of days things improve and then she is back to her usual self. Now, per company policy, she faces termination if she continues to speak in this manner, which she has. "It's just natural to me," she says. I do not want to lose her.

Well, two issues seem to arise here. One is the company terminating the technician and the other is whether the PIC can overrule a company policy if pharmacy staff is involved.

Can the company terminate an employee? Absolutely, yes. There may be state (and possibly federal) law involved but generally employees in corporate businesses have been provided a handbook of employee standards. This occurred here. The question is whether the tech violated any policy.

While the f-word (note that it is not being used here) is growing into the lexicon of acceptable language, it is still offensive to a substantial segment of the population. Even many of those who find the word acceptable among friends find it unacceptable in public forums such as businesses, especially by employees. The question then comes down to if the tech's use of the f-word at work constitutes a violation of policy or is simply offensive to the invitees (the public coming into the business). In either case, termination is justified.

Then, the matter turns to the tech being a (very good) employee working in the pharmacy. Can the PIC overrule the company policy to keep a valued employee? The answer would seem to be "Yes." In this state, like many others, the PIC is determined by law to be in full charge of the pharmacy and its operations. By law, therefore, and as is recognized, the PIC trumps company policy. However, the PIC should exercise professional judgment to determine the effect of the tech's language on the patient base. If business is significantly affected, the corporate entity may seek termination despite the PIC's decision to retain.

Rather than stupid, this question has legal issues with ramifications.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: post below or email [email protected]

10/20/2024

Front page of the Sunday NY Times

10/15/2024

Pharmacy Technicians, Happy Pharmacy Technicians Day!!
Pharmacies would not survive or prosper without you!

Send a message to learn more

10/12/2024

Happy Women’s Pharmacist Day!! Thank you for your valuable service to the profession!

09/25/2024

WOLRD PHARMACIST DAY

Enjoy the accolades today, colleagues. They were hard earned and well deserved.

Send a message to learn more