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State Pharmacy Boards Have Close Ties to Big Pharmacies

Every U.S. state has a board of pharmacy.The board of pharmacy is supposed to make sure that pharmacies and pharmacists are doing a safe and effective job of filling doctor's prescriptions. They also have authority to sanction pharmacists who have committed some act of malpractice with fines and can pull a pharmacist's license if too many disciplinary actions are brought against him. So, the general public can expect swift justice when they report pharmacy malpractice to their state boards, right? Wrong.

Boards are Filled with Pharmacists from Big Chain Pharmacies

Most of the pharmacists on these boards are employed by the 9 biggest pharmacy companies in the country:

• Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, RiteAid, Target, Albertsons, Safeco, Costco, Kmart.

Even the one public member of the board in most states is employed by one of the 9 biggest pharmacy chains. Sometimes these biased board members are recused from proceedings against a pharmacist who made a mistake because they cannot say they are working in the best interest of the consumers when they are on the payroll of some big company. This gives, us, the consumer no advocate on the boards of pharmacy.

Pharmacy Lawsuits Send a Loaded Message
When you are the victim of pharmacy negligence or malpractice it is your right to complain to the board of pharmacy in your state. With assembly line pharmacies controlling the boards, however, your complaints are going to fall on deaf ears.

So what can you do, especially since money is likely a concern for you after being injured by pharmacy malpractice and medication errors?

Your only real recourse is to get a pharmacy error attorney who does not charge unless a recovery is made for you. The pharmacies have their team of lawyers; you should have one, too.

Big corporate pharmacies care about big corporate profits.

It's not a coincidence they pack the boards with their own members. They want to avoid any true professional governance. The only way the consumer is ever going to make this industry safer for themselves and others is to sue pharmacies when prescription errors and injuries happen.