Impact of OBRA '90 on pharmacists' patient counseling practices

To assess the impact of OBRA '90 regulations on the counseling practices of community pharmacists in Nebraska.

A telephone survey was conducted of 80 randomly selected community pharmacies throughout Nebraska. A modified written survey was mailed to the 34 telephone nonrespondents and to another 86 randomly selected community pharmacists. A composite response rate (combining both survey methods) of 67.5% (112 of 166) was obtained, and responses were sorted into an independent community pharmacy group (n = 80) and a chain pharmacy group (n = 32).

Only 44.6% of respondents reported that time devoted to patient counseling had increased as a result of OBRA '90. Chain pharmacists generally devoted more time to counseling after OBRA '90 became effective than did independent community pharmacists.

While more than three out of four pharmacists felt adequately prepared for mandated patient counseling, fewer than half reported that time devoted to counseling had increased. Although the profession is moving toward the standard of pharmaceutical care, many pharmacists are not yet counseling as the law requires.