Oregon News: Pharmacists May Take Breaks

August 1, 2009 2:33 PM

Published in the August 2009 Oregon State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter

The question of whether or not pharmacists are allowed to take breaks during the workday for meals and other necessities has been one of much discussion over the years. An article detailing the Board’s position on the issue and clarifying the existing regulatory requirements was published in the November 2001 Newsletter.

In a community pharmacy, as in a hospital pharmacy, under current rules when only one pharmacist is on duty it is permissible for the pharmacist to leave the prescription area for meal or restroom breaks provided that no prescription leaves the prescription area that has not previously been verified and approved by the pharmacist for release to a customer, and provided that the pharmacist remains in the building. It is not necessary to close the pharmacy or remove the non-pharmacist staff as long as the above conditions are met. If the pharmacist chooses to leave the building, the prescription area must be closed and secured with no unlicensed staff left in the pharmacy.

It is advised that pharmacies which, at times, have only one pharmacist on duty have training in place that educates the technicians on exactly what they can and cannot do in the absence of the pharmacist. It is for the pharmacist to decide, using his or her best professional judgment, whether to return to the pharmacy during a break or wait until the end of the break to return and answer a question or release a prescription that had not been verified and could not be released by the technician. This is viewed by the Board as an employer/ employee/customer relations issue. It is the Board’s expectation that the customer (patient) is instructed on when the pharmacist will be available.