Pharmacy board redux

This battle has just been joined. The American Medical Association recently passed a resolution declaring that physician compounding should be regulated by state medical boards. This action is most helpful, and another reason for you to join and support the AMA. If you practice in Ohio, you should join the Ohio State Medical Association post haste. They are a big dog in the Ohio legislature, and your membership will influence their efforts.

I hope the Ohio governor’s Common Sense Initiative Office will convene a joint meeting that allows physicians, especially dermatologists, to demonstrate the absurdity of these rules, and their potentially destructive effects on patient care. However, I do not expect the pharmacy board to readily give up this power. Ultimately, the language in the legislative code must add two words after the word “compounding.” The words to be added are “by pharmacists.”

These rules may have to be stayed by a legal injunction. If the legislation is not clarified, a lawsuit against the pharmacy board based on restraint of trade should be successful.

Be vigilant, and watch your state legislatures. Just recently, the pharmacy board of North Dakota has made the same power grab. Stay tuned, as this struggle has national implications.

Dr. Coldiron is past president of the American Academy of Dermatology. He is currently in private practice, but maintains a clinical assistant professorship at the University of Cincinnati. He cares for patients, teaches medical students and residents, and has several active clinical research projects. Dr. Coldiron is the author of more than 80 scientific letters, papers, and several book chapters, and he speaks frequently on a variety of topics. Write to him at dermnews@frontlinemedcom.com.