Avoiding Civil Liability Under OBRA 1990: Documentation is the Key

Abstract

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA 90) and the various state regulations enacted in response to that act have already required a substantial change in the daily activities of pharmacists while performing their professional duties. OBRA 90 requires pharmacists to engage in patient counseling efforts and sets forth specific topics that pharmacists must discuss with the patient or primary caregiver. From a civil liability perspective, however, OBRA 90 requires pharmacists to do far more than counsel patients with regard to those patients' pharmaceutical care. It is anticipated that the requirements of OBRA 90 will establish minimum standards of care which must be met by all pharmacists. Courts will likely view a pharmacist's failure to adhere to the requirements of OBRA 90 as a failure to meet the standard of care applicable to pharmacists. Such failure to meet the applicable standard of care may lead to civil liability under the tort theories of ordinary negligence and negligence per se. Although OBRA 90 mandates that certain records be created and maintained, the prudent pharmacist in today's litigious world must develop a more comprehensive, accurate, and detailed system for documentation of the various counseling activities in which he or she engages. Because most pharmacies employ more than one pharmacist, and because memories of both patients and pharmacists can fail, creating and maintaining accurate records that exceed the documentation requirements of OBRA 90 and are admissible in court may well be the key to avoiding civil liability for an alleged failure to comply with the requirements of OBRA 90. Copyright © 1995 by W.B. Saunders Company