Doctors File Lawsuit Challenging State's Ban on Dispensing Medications to Their Patients

The last thing a sick patient wants to do after a doctor’s appointment is stand in line at a pharmacy for basic treatment like anti-nausea medication—and, in most of the country, they don’t have to.

https://ij.org/case/montana-doctor-dispensing/

Forty-four states and the District of Columbia allow patients to purchase medications directly from their prescribing doctor. This practice, known as “doctor dispensing,” is a safe and effective way to increase access to treatment, and is offered by a majority of doctors nationwide.

But not in Montana. In Big Sky Country, doctors are banned from dispensing unless they practice more than 10 miles from a pharmacy. Otherwise, doctors can dispense “occasionally,” “in an emergency,” free samples, or when a pharmacy does not have the prescribed medication. These narrow (and often vague) exceptions make it impossible for doctors to offer this beneficial service for all of their patients.

Montana’s ban does not sit well with Dr. Carol Bridges, Dr. Todd Bergland or Dr. Cara Harrop, who would like to dispense routine medications to their own patients. All three are family doctors who regularly prescribe medications for common issues like high cholesterol, stomach bugs and seasonal allergies. And all three feel their patients would benefit if they could offer direct access to the medications they prescribe, right when they prescribe them.

They have a point. Research shows that doctors and pharmacies are equally safe. Moreover, there is evidence that making routine medications more accessible on the front end has the potential to increase patients’ adherence to their prescribed course of care, which is good for patients, doctors and the broader health care system.

Despite these benefits, Dr. Bridges, Dr. Bergland and Dr. Harrop—who work in Missoula, Whitefish and Polson, respectively—are banned from dispensing and for no better reason than that they work within 10 miles of pharmacies. Montana’s ban has nothing to do with protecting patients and everything to do with protecting pharmacies from economic competition.

That is unconstitutional. The Montana Constitution forbids government from imposing unreasonable and protectionist restrictions on the right to pursue a chosen business and these protections are no less applicable to licensed doctors than anyone else. That is why Dr. Bridges, Dr. Bergland and Dr. Harrop have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit challenging Montana’s unconstitutional ban on doctor dispensing.
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