COMMITTEE DECISIONS - SYRINGES

The sale of syringes by pharmacists continues to be a contentious issue for the pharmacy profession. Complaints concerning the way customers have been treated when requesting such products continue to be brought forth. Some of the issues raised in the investigation of those complaints will be dealt with in this month’s column.

Three separate complaints regarding the sale of syringes have recently been received at the College. The complaints were received from members of the public against three separate pharmacies. In each case, a patient entered a pharmacy which was not his or her usual pharmacy and requested syringes. Because the pharmacist did not recognize the patient they were not automatically sold the syringes.

In one case, the pharmacist informed the patient that it was store policy to refuse sale of syringes to customers not known to them, and that in order for the pharmacist to sell this patient any syringes she would have to prove she was diabetic. The patient took offence with this proposition and felt that the syringes should have been sold regardless of her intended use. She also said she believed that she was being judged by the pharmacist because of the way she was dressed.

In another case, the pharmacist offered to sell the patient a sample syringe. The patient felt that he was being offered this option because the pharmacist thought that he was an intravenous drug user. He also said that the pharmacist was rude to him.

In the course of conducting their investigations, the Complaints Committee requested that each pharmacist respond to the complaint by giving their interpretation of what had occurred. In addition, the Committee asked that each store’s policy regarding the sale of syringes be clarified.

The patient and the pharmacist involved in the exchange had very different recollections about what was actually said and how it was said. This made it very difficult for the Committee to know with any certainty what actually happened. What was clear in each case was that the patient making the complaint was angered by the way in which he/she was treated. This speaks volumes for the impact of poor communication and customer relations.

In each case, the Committee felt it necessary to state the College’s policies with regard to the sale and pricing of syringes, which are:

1. It is inappropriate for a pharmacy to have a policy for the pricing of needles and syringes which is determined according to the reason for use.

2. The placement of needles and syringes and their sale is left to the professional judgement of the pharmacist. Although the College has encouraged pharmacists to sell syringes to anyone requesting them, the matter is left to the professional judgement of the individual pharmacist.

Clearly these complaints demonstrate how important it is for the pharmacist to deal with the issue of syringe sales professionally and to consider this issue before a confrontation occurs.