Pharmacist misconduct: the pitfalls of practice

This article identifies the changing role of pharmacists in the provision of health care and analyses 78 complaints against pharmacists over a recent 12-year period in New South Wales, finding that the majority of complaints were in relation to the oversupply of particular medications, from which some pharmacists made significant financial gains. A number of other areas of complaint were identified, including issues in relation to the recording and labelling of medications and the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists, dispensing errors, fraud, and sexual misconduct. As the roles of pharmacists continue to expand, with the growth of "compounding chemists", and the suggestion that pharmacists are now performing basic medical tasks which were once the domain of a general practitioner, it is increasingly important that pharmacy take its place in any debates about the provision and regulation of health services.