Right now SB 373 is on
track to become law. SB 373 would
authorize a pilot project to permit telepharmacy in Michigan! Telepharmacy would allow one pharmacist
through the use of computer technology such as Skype to oversee other
pharmacies and even the dispensing of meds through machines such as PYXIS and pharmacy vending machines. If you are a Michigan pharmacist or a
pharmacy student you should do everything in your power to prevent the passage
of this bill or any similar law.
At law school the
professors would tell us about laws that start small and end up big by using
this saying: “Once the camel’s nose gets
in under the tent, how do you keep the rest of the camel from walking in?” Michigan is a densely populated state and we
are not North Dakota, Alaska or the Outback of Australia. While there are a relative handful of
patients who may find it inconvenient to drive to a pharmacy, there are already
pharmacies that deliver and there is mail-order pharmacy. There are other ways to help patient access
that don’t involve destroying the profession of pharmacy.
There is a classic Chinese essay translated into English and published as Thick Face, Black Heart.[1] This essay was a treatise for aspiring
Chinese politicians to learn how to ruthlessly obtain their own self-interest
while appearing to be doing good for the public. That is the highest art form of deceit. I believe the real purpose of this
telepharmacy is to eliminate from payroll the cost of paying pharmacists and
even pharmacy techs. Under contemporary
American business practices there is a relentless quest for increased
profitability despite the fact that economic growth has been stagnant or even
declining. Since the cost of the product
(prescription drugs) is not going to decline (because PHARMA has the strongest
lobby), the only way to decrease cost is to reduce payroll. You can do that
by cutting the pay of pharmacists and technicians or even better, eliminate
their necessity. With telepharmacy
you can have one pharmacist remotely operate several dispensing sites all over
a county.
Smart, selfish, greedy businesses
have public relations consultants to create rationalizations to deceive the
public into thinking that their selfish covert plan is motivated by doing good
for the public.
For example, if a
hypothetical pharmacy, “Cheap Charlie’s” was to go to its local senator and tell
him that it wants telepharmacy because it saves a fortune by eliminating
pharmacists and technicians but is putting the public at risk, the senator will
have a hard time selling that legislation to his colleagues. However, if Cheap Charlie’s claims that there
are some poor souls who are being inconvenienced by a long drive to go to his
pharmacy and telepharmacy would allow him to put a PYXIS machine right near
their house while they would still be able to talk to a pharmacist on Skype,
then it sounds like he is doing something wonderful and compassionate for the
public good.
Should you use Thick Face,
Black Heart strategy to oppose SB373?
No, just be honest and tell your politicians in no uncertain terms that you
don’t want to lose your job as a pharmacist in Michigan and this bill will
help to put more nails in the coffin of the once great State of Michigan. If you knock half or more of the pharmacist
jobs out of Michigan who is going to be left to pay taxes and buy products? We have put anywhere from five to eight years
of education into becoming a licensed, professional pharmacist and invested a
fortune in education. I for one won’t
allow the Thick Face, Black Heart practitioners to steal that from me. Remember protecting your own job and
profession is morally acceptable, rational self-interest. Greed is not
acceptable. Ayn Rand was a hack
novelist, not a philosopher. She is only
revered by some because she makes sophomoric apologies for selfishness. Rand’s savage economics only works in her
fantasy novels, not in reality.
Think very carefully
about what I have written and know that job losses happen much faster today. And those job losses are permanent. If you are one of the lucky few who doesn’t
lose his job but gets to monitor multiple pharmacies by Skype, ask yourself if
that is why you became a pharmacist? But
you may say, I own pharmacies and I would love to eliminate the expense of a
pharmacist. Well only a handful of
pharmacies, the elite in-group, will get into the three-year pilot
project. Plus, you will lose market
share to the insiders. And, do we want
Michigan to be a third-world state where paying off politicians is the ordinary
way of doing business? Further, if there
is less demand for pharmacists, we won’t need three colleges of pharmacy will
we?
Won’t the good people on
the Board of Pharmacy save us? Yes, they
are good people but no, they don’t have the power to save you. The Board of Pharmacy implements statutes
from the legislative branch. Therefore,
if telepharmacy becomes law then the Board can oversee the details of
telepharmacy.
What can you do right
now? Contact your legislators and the
governor and explain to them exactly why they should not pass this bill and express your views to the Board of Pharmacy
as well. Additionally, the ultimate
lesson for politicians is a recall. If
they pass this bill then pharmacists should choose the most vulnerable Republican
and Democrat (if Democrats vote for this) and recall one from each party. The stated reason for the recall will be that
they voted for SB 373 (or any other designation for telepharmacy).
[1] Thick
Face, Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu.
I highly recommend the book Thick Face, Black Heart if you want a
real education on how to advance your own selfish interests while making people
think you’re a hero. It is a great book
that everyone should read, if only to recognize when you are being played.
