Pharmacists' Right of Conscientious Objection

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) believes that pharmacists’ right of conscientious objection should be reasonably accommodated without interfering with patient access to treatment. To ensure quality care for patients and safeguard the patient-physician relationship, governmental policies must be in place to protect patients' rights to obtain legally prescribed and medically indicated treatments. Situations in which a pharmacist has a conscientious objection should be handled with transparency and timeliness. A pharmacist's refusal to fill a prescription must be immediately discussed with the patient and the prescribing physician (or their representative) should be notified. An objecting pharmacist should make every effort to facilitate the transfer of the prescription to another pharmacist or pharmacy. (2005) (October 2023 COD)