SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Unionized CVS Health Corp. pharmacists have joined a nationwide action demanding adjustments to staffing levels, workload and prescription review times that they say will enhance patient safety.
Under current conditions, The Pharmacy Guild/IAM says pharmacists have less than one minute to review a prescription. The guild has also alleged that the pharmacy giant is engaging in union-busting activities by withholding annual raises in retaliation of these demands.
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Throughout the U.S., pharmacists aired these concerns at a series of press conferences on Nov. 13.
In a statement, CVS spokesperson Amy Thibeault said the union has made false allegations of retaliatory practices and that no layoffs have taken place among Rhode Island’s retail team this year. Thibeault also denied that pharmacists have less than a minute to review prescriptions.
“We’re committed to ensuring there are appropriate levels of staffing and resources at our pharmacies,” Thibeault said, adding that the pharmacy chain makes investments in Rhode Island and nationwide “to help ensure our teams are supported and can deliver excellent service and care to our patients.”
Those investments include scheduling additional support, enhancements to recruitment and hiring practices, tools that support workload and workflow, and strengthened training programs.
Thibeault highlighted a new workload-sharing model and phone system as well-received improvements that have given pharmacists “more time to spend directly with their patients.”
“Patient safety is our highest priority, and any claims otherwise are untrue,” Thibeault said.
But the union describes current review practices as “crisis on repeat” that place patients at risk.
“As a pharmacist, my top priority is and will always be the patient,” said Christopher Eggman, a pharmacist at CVS in the Wakefield section of South Kingstown. The location was among the first in the U.S. to unionize with The Pharmacy Guild.
“By stalling, CVS is delaying earnest discussions of actual improvements to patient care that we, as the pharmacy professionals, know will help,” Eggman said.
Shane Jerominski, co-founder of The Pharmacy Guild/IAM, said the pharmacists are “standing together because safe staffing, respect and the time to do our jobs right are not optional. They are essential to patient safety.”
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
