Abstract
The pharmacy profession, like most others, is growing more sophisticated and complex every year. Practitioners and pharmacy associations are justifiably insisting upon a more active role in the treatment of patients. Indeed, the training and education of the pharmacist places her in a unique position to evaluate drug interactions, side effects, and adverse reactions. Moreover, the introduction and use of computer technology as an aid to the retail phmacist's practice has enabled him, with the execution of a program, to have immediate access to a record of all medications the patient is using. This article looks at two areas of potential liability-side effects of therapy and interactions with other drugs-where it appears that the courts have begun to recognize and assert that there is a legal responsibility corresponding to the pharmacist's evolving professional responsibility. Lastly, the issue of failure to caution of teratogenic propensities, an area where the pharmacist continues to enjoy immunity through the "learned intermediary" doctrine, is discussed.
