PATIENT COUNSELING Illinois toughens rules on patient counseling According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Division of Professional Regulation published new rules effective on August 18 that are intended to assure that patients receive counseling on new medications or changes to their therapy, and replaces the “offer to counsel” rule that reportedly resulted in 52% of Chicago area pharmacies failing to provide counseling to patients about known drug interactions. The report indicates that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner had pushed the agency to adopt stiffer rules following investigations published in December 2016 by the Tribune. Rauner is also planning to call for “beefing up state oversight, including directing inspectors to check stores more thoroughly regarding adverse drug reactions and launching a ‘mystery shopper’ program to test drugstore compliance.”
