Trends in Malpractice Payments and Adverse Actions against Pharmacists in the United States between 1990-2022

Abstract

Background: We evaluated malpractice payments and adverse actions against pharmacists in the United States. Malpractice is defined as professional negligence by act or omission. Adverse actions are actions administered by the board of registration in a health profession against a provider. The purpose of the study is to analyze the trends in malpractice payments and adverse actions for pharmacists during the period 1990-2022. Methods: This is a retrospective study that utilizes the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) data analysis tool for the period 1990-2022. This information was exported to a data visualization tool and trends were studied. Results: During the period of the study there were 2480 malpractice payments and 44,204 adverse action reports made against pharmacists. In the current study we found that there has been a 19.56% decline in the number of malpractice payments against pharmacists in the last 5 years from 46 in 2018 to 37 in 2022. Similarly, adverse action reports also show a downward trend from 2016 to 2022. Conclusion: Pharmacy profession implements multiple processes to protect patients from medication errors. As the volume of prescriptions increases in the US, there is an increased risk of error and subsequent litigation against pharmacists. Even though malpractice payments and adverse actions against pharmacists have continued to decline, the probability of an adverse action remains high for practicing pharmacists. As the role of pharmacist continues to evolve there is a need to keep up with the changes in the healthcare market.