Calling pharmacists “health care providers” for the purposes of the Pennsylvania Medical Records Act (MRA), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania on March 23 issued an opinion important to pharmacy in the case of Landay v Rite Aid. The ruling reversed a lower court decision holding that the state’s MRA didn’t apply to pharmacies because a pharmacy customer was not a “patient.”

“We find the fact that the court concluded that a pharmacist is a health care provider and that the recipient of prescription medication is a patient very interesting and promising, especially in light of the fact that certain government entities and others sometimes like to argue that pharmacists are not providers,” Patricia A. Epple, CAE, CEO of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, told pharmacist.com.

At issue in the case was whether Rite Aid could charge $50 to make a copy of pharmacy records. A lawsuit was filed against the company in 2010 arguing that under MRA, a fee must reflect the actual costs of reproducing pharmacy records.

But Rite Aid asserted that MRA didn’t apply to pharmacy records. The lower court agreed, stating that MRA governs only “patients,” that “persons describe themselves as patients of a hospital but persons do not describe themselves as patients of a pharmacy,” and that “a person receiving services provided by a licensed yoga instructor would not refer to himself or herself as a patient of the yoga instructor.”

Pennsylvania’s Superior Court, however, concluded that for the purposes of MRA, pharmacists are health care providers, persons to whom prescription medications are dispensed are patients, and patient pharmacy records maintained by the pharmacist are medical records. “The court’s decision was based in large part on its review of the state Pharmacy Practice Act and Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy regulations, demonstrating the importance of ensuring state pharmacy laws reflect the contemporary practice of pharmacy,” according to Jason Hansen, MS, JD, APhA Director of Health Policy.

According to Epple, the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association has long asserted that pharmacists are health care providers and should be recognized as such. In fact, the state association’s vision statement is: “Pennsylvania pharmacists will be recognized, engaged, and fairly compensated as health-care providers.”

“I am hopeful we can use this decision in a positive and powerful way to benefit the profession,” Epple said.