U.S. Supreme Court decision in Jefferson County Pharmaceutical Association v. Abbott Laboratories et al

The effect of the recent U.S. Supreme Court antitrust decision in Jefferson County Pharmaceutical Association v. Abbott Laboratories et al. on state and local health-care institutions is examined. In Jefferson County, the Court ruled that state and county government hospitals are not exempt from the price discrimination prohibitions of the Robinson-Patman Antidiscrimination Act when they engage in commercial activities in competition with private retail businesses. The Jefferson County decision forces state and county governments to determine which of their activities are commercial and which are traditional governmental functions that would be exempt from antitrust legislation. However, the Portland case findings relating to purchases for a hospital's own use and the traditional Robinson-Patman discounts are still available. Despite closer antitrust scrutiny, hospital pharmacists in state and county government hospitals should be able to provide cost-effective outpatient and ambulatory-care services.