Eliminate prescription time guarantees, medication safety group says – Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News
A national medication safety organization is advocating for pharmacies to eliminate prescription time guarantees.
According to the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, a majority of community pharmacies (62%) offer prescription time guarantees. The most common offering is 15 minutes to fill up to three prescriptions, with more “ambitious” promises being 10 prescription fills in 10 minutes.
The council said prescription time guarantees pose patient safety risks, as they could discourage safety checks and lead to medication errors.
Patient satisfaction metrics and the reimbursement model could pressure pharmacists to skip safe practices, according to the medication safety group.
Because pharmacists are “only paid for a dispensed drug product or device,” the reimbursement model encourages “a focus on prescription volume and vaccinations and the speed at which a community pharmacy dispenses prescriptions,” the council said in a policy statement.
The council adopted the statement in October 2013 and revised it July 10, 2025.