Kroger Reiterates Company's Policy Requiring Pharmacies To Accommodate Patients If Pharmacist Refuses To Fill Prescription

Cincinnati-based Kroger on Friday announced that it is reiterating to its pharmacists that the company's drug policy requires its pharmacies to "make accommodations" to have a prescription filled if a pharmacist refuses to fill it, the AP/Forbes reports (Bluestein, AP/Forbes, 3/11). Advocates last week called on Kroger stores to make Barr Laboratories' emergency contraceptive Plan B available to women at its pharmacies after Rome, Ga., resident Carrie Baker said a pharmacist at a Kroger store in December 2006 refused to sell her the drug. FDA in August 2006 approved nonprescription sales of Plan B to women ages 18 and older. Major pharmacy chains -- such as CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreen -- are carrying Plan B in all their stores and have pledged to ensure that customers can buy it at each store even if a certain employee declines to sell the pill because of moral objections. Glynn Jenkins, a spokesperson for Kroger, said last week that the company has a similar policy for prescription medications but not for over-the-counter drugs, such as Plan B. She added that each store decides whether to carry nonprescription Plan B, just as they do for other nonprescription items (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/9). "We believe that medication is a private patient matter," Meghan Glynn, a Kroger spokesperson, said, adding, "Our role as a pharmacy operator is to furnish medication in accordance with the doctor's prescription or as requested by a patient." Abortion-rights advocates in Georgia on Friday announced a statewide campaign to raise awareness about Plan B, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse (AP/Forbes, 3/11).

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