Chicago City Council hears push to limit pharmacists' work hours, restrict number of prescriptions they can fill

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Warning that pharmacies are putting "profits over people," a drugstore pharmacist urged Chicago aldermen on Tuesday to approve a city proposal designed to improve customer safety by easing pressure on pharmacists to speed through prescription orders and limiting their work hours.

Jeremy Aguila, of Chicago, who works at a CVS store in Skokie, joined a top Teamsters official in support of the proposal brought before the City Council Finance Committee by Chairman Ald. Edward Burke, 14th. The ordinance was inspired by a 2016 Tribune investigation that found 52 percent of 255 pharmacies tested in the Chicago region and nearby states failed to warn customers about prescription drug interactions that could be harmful or fatal.

Pharmacists are "missing all of these interactions" because employers don't give them enough time or provide enough staff to check prescriptions properly, Aguila said.

"As a result, speed has taken a priority," Aguila said. "And getting things done fast is given 10 times more importance over getting things done correctly."

Alderman Ed Burke brings someone from Chicago's suburbs to make his "point" on who is running Chicago.