Legal Briefs | IOWA: Information on What's Available

August 15, 2012 2:31 pm Topics: Federal regulations

Originally published in the August 2012 NABP Newsletter
By Dale J. Atkinson, JD

Increased media attention to licensure issues and the performance of regulatory boards provide the public with a perspective of why boards exist and their duties and responsibilities. Of course, most media attention is critical of the regulatory boards and the political fallout can be devastating, including deregulation of a profession. Numerous recent political proposals illustrate suggested consolidation of boards and, in some cases, deregulation of numerous professions.

Government, including regulatory agencies, operates under open meetings and open records laws to provide transparency of government actions and allow for public oversight. Such laws exist in all jurisdictions and apply to the boards of pharmacy. The vehicle for media access to information about boards of pharmacy of each respective jurisdiction can be found in the open records laws, sometimes referred to as freedom of information laws. Open records laws are subject to exceptions to protect the integrity of administrative investigations, matters of confidence protected under other laws, personnel, and under certain specifically delineated circumstances. However, the rule is disclosure unless specifically excepted from the applicability of the law. Matters disclosed to a board of pharmacy may subject an otherwise confidential document to public disclosure.

The complete article reviews a case regarding records submitted to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy during an investigation and is available in the August 2012 NABP Newsletter (PDF) (page 148).