Edward D. Rickert

As a pharmacist and attorney, Edward Rickert has used his background and experience to represent pharmacies, pharmacists, physicians, long term care providers, and other health care providers in a variety of matters, including professional negligence, licensure, regulatory and business issues. In addition to his representation of health care providers, Mr. Rickert has represented drug and medical device manufacturers in both civil and regulatory matters, and insurance companies in a variety of insurance defense and coverage matters, at both the trial and appellate court level. In the labor and employment law area, Mr. Rickert has counseled and defended employers on a variety of issues, including non-compete agreements, trade secrets, sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliatory discharge.

Representative Experience

• Serves as national counsel for several pharmacies, healthcare technology companies, and drug and medical device manufacturing and wholesaling companies, providing advice, counsel and representation before state and federal regulatory agencies, including the FDA and DEA.
• Assisted specialty pharmacy with the development of a compliance program focusing on FWA, HIPAA and state regulatory issues.
• Assisted clients in developing compliance strategies, including review and analysis of laws and regulations in all fifty states, in areas that include, among others, licensing issues, change of ownership transactions, drug product selection, Medicaid reimbursement, electronic prescribing, state privacy laws, telepharmacy and related technology issues, and remote prescription processing and dispensing. 
• Successfully defended pharmacies and pharmacists in pharmacy malpractice cases, including cases involving allegations of failure to warn or monitor drug therapy and prescription misfill cases.
• Represented numerous pharmacies, pharmacists and other healthcare practitioners in licensure actions before professional boards across the country, including Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and other states.
• Defended Medicare and Medicaid recoupment and termination matters.

Education

• Chicago Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (J.D., with honors, 1988)
• University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa (B.S. in Pharmacy, 1983)

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 1988
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1988
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 1988
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, 1988
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit

Awards and Recognitions

• American Society for Pharmacy Law, President's Award, 2004
• UIC College of Pharmacy, Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Class of 2000 & 2001
• Recipient of James Hartley Beal Award for Outstanding Paper in Pharmacy Law, 1997

Professional Associations

• Co-Chair, Legal Task Force/Clinical Labs, Pharmacy and Payer Workgroup, Illinois Office of Health Information Technology
• Illinois Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• American Pharmacists Association
• Illinois Council of Health Systems Pharmacists (Director of Governmental Affairs)
• Illinois Pharmacists Association
• American Society for Pharmacy Law
• Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 
• American Society for Pharmacy Law (Past President, Past Member of Board of Directors)

Publications

• Legal and Regulatory Issues in Self-Care Pharmacy Practice (Book Chapter), Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs (17th Ed. 2011).
• Co-Author, Telepharmacy: Identifying Legal Issues for Pharmacists (Book Chapter), Pharmacy Law Desk Reference, (Haworth Press 2007).
• The Pharmacist’s Evolving Duty to Warn: A View From the Courts, Clinical Trends in Pharmacy Practice, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2004). (Available at http://www.fujisawa.com/medinfo/cont_ educ/clin_trnd/clin_trnd_page.htm.)
• HIPAA and Pharmacy Practice for the Pharmacy Technician, Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists Tech Topics, Vol. 9, January 2004.
• Telemedicine and Electronic Prescriptions: Identifying Legal Issues For Pharmacists In The Information Age, Glaxo Wellcome Trends In Pharmacy On-line Newsletter, December, 1996 (www.helix.com).

Seminars and Presentations

• Protecting Provider Records from Discovery—Patient Safety Organizations (PSO) and Other Programs, American Society for Pharmacy LawSeminar XXII, St. Petersburg, Florida, November 20, 2011.
• Treating “Pain Management” Patients Effectively, Illinois/Indiana Orthopedic Physician Association Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 13, 2010.
• Defending Drug Charges: Drug Abuse and Malprescribing, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, Comprehensive Review Course in Controlled Substance Management, Chicago, IL, August 10, 2010.
• Board of Pharmacy Boot Camp: Avoiding Unwanted Attention, International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists 2009 Annual Meeting - Compounders on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., June 14, 2009.
• Drug Diversion: Is it Legitimate?, American Pharmacists Association 2009 Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, April 3, 2009. (Co-Presenter).
• Co-Presenter: Reclaiming Authority over Professional Standards for Controlled Substance Dispensing: Is the DEA Always Right? Or, Can Pharmacists Develop Less Restrictive and More Effective Rules to Reduce Controlled Substance Diversion? Developments in Pharmacy Law Seminar XIX, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 15, 2008.
• Bioterrorism Preparedness Training for Pharmacists and Nurses – Special Populations: Legal and Regulatory Issues, Emergency Preparedness Seminar for Healthcare Providers, Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. Lincolnshire, IL, August 8, 2008.
• A Malpractice Primer for Pharmacists, American Pharmacists Association 156th Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, March 15, 2008. (Co-Presenter.)
• Pharmacy Under Siege: Contemporary Legal Issues, Fourth Annual Fall Healthcare Symposium, Sheraton Colonial Hotel & Conference Center, Wakefield, Massachusetts, November 1, 2007.
• Is it Legitimate? Assessing the Legitimacy of Controlled Substance Prescriptions, American Pharmacists Association 155th Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, March 16 - 1928, 2007. (Co-Presenter.)
• Pharmacy under Siege: Contemporary Legal and Ethical Issues, American Pharmacists Association 155th Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, March 16 - 1928, 2007.
• Patient Safety Law, American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting & Exposition, San Francisco, CA, March 19, 2006.
• Advisory Board, Pharmacists’ Responsibilities in Managing Opioids: 2005 Update, A Continuing Education Monograph for Pharmacists, American Pharmacists Association, December 2005.
• Drug Safety Issues - Physician Responsibility and Liability, Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital and Adventist Hinsdale Hospital Grand Rounds, November 29, 2005 and December 15, 2005.
• Quality Improvement and Peer Review Laws, National Association of Chain Drug Stores/American Society for Pharmacy Law Developments in Pharmacy Law XVI, Tucson, AZ, November 13, 2005.
• Evaluating Therapeutic Equivalence: A Pharmacist’s Guide: 2005 Update, APhA Continuing Education Program, Bentonville, Arkansas, May 10, 2005.
• Controlled Substance Prescriptions and Pain Management: Striking a Balance, Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference, Anaheim, California, August 4, 2004; Kentucky and Virginia Pharmacists Association, Breaks Interstate Park, Elkhorn City, Kentucky, October 8, 2004; APhA Continuing Education Program, Detroit, Michigan, January 25, 2005.
• To Speak or Not to Speak . . . Preparing for a Board of Pharmacy Investigation, American Society for Pharmacy Law Developments in Pharmacy Law XV, St. Petersburg, FL, November 13, 2004. (Co-Presenter.)
• Case Law: Drug Utilization Review: Fact or Myth?, 12th Annual Pharmacy Law Institute Symposium, Ohio Northern University, July 26, 2002.
• Practicing Pharmacy in the 21st Century: Liability and Practice Concerns, American Pharmaceutical Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 17, 2002.
• Continuous Quality Improvement in Pharmacy: Legal, Regulatory and Practical Issues, California Pharmacists Association 2001 Western Pharmacy Education Faire, Reno, Nevada, October 9, 2001.
• Pharmacy Law Update, Federal Bureau of Prisons Pharmacy Specialty Education Program, Jacksonville, Florida, September, 2001.
• Peer Review: Can, and Should, Medication Error Reports be Protected from Discovery?, American Society for Pharmacy Law, Developments in Pharmacy Law Seminar XI: Medication Errors: Legal, Regulatory, and Marketplace Issues, Amelia Island, Florida, November 5, 2000.
• Designing an Effective Quality Improvement Program, National Association of Chain Drug Stores Pharmacy, Managed Care, and Technology Conference, San Diego, California, August 30, 2000.
• Internet Pharmacy Practice: Legal and Marketplace Issues, American Pharmaceutical Association - Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., March 10, 2000.
• Regulating Non-Traditional Pharmacy Practice, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy - Executive Officers Conference, Washington, D.C., September 29, 1999.
• In Complete Confidence: Critical Issues in Patient Confidentiality, 1999 Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin Annual Meeting, La Crosse, Wisconsin, August 14, 1999.
• Collaborative Drug Therapy Management: Legal Issues, Illinois Pharmacy Spring Congress, Springfield, Illinois, April 18, 1999.
• Evolving Practice Liabilities: Dietary Supplements, American Pharmaceutical Association - Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, March 6, 1999.
• PBM Practices and Contracting Issues: Illegal, Immoral, or Just Plain Unfair? National Community Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, October 28, 1997.
• Quality Care, Pharmacist Credentialing and Peer Review: Creating a Liability Land Mine?, American Pharmaceutical Association Annual Meeting, ASPL Contributed Papers Session, Los Angeles, California, March, 1997. (Received James Hartly Beal Award as best pharmacy law paper for 1997.) Published in 1997 – 1998 ASPL Pharmacy Law Annual.
• Legal Concerns Regarding State Licensing Requirements for Doctors Engaging in Telemedicine and for Mail-Order Pharmacists, The Pharmacy-Law Institute Summer Symposium - Legal Implications of Telemedicine and Electronic Prescriptions, Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio, July 26, 1996.
• Identifying Ethical and Legal Concerns Associated With Telemedicine, The Pharmacy-Law Institute Summer Symposium - Legal Implications of Telemedicine and Electronic Prescriptions, Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio, July 26, 1996.
• Legal Implications of Failing to Avoid the Pitfalls, Food and Drug Administration - Chicago District Office Workshop - Institutional Review Boards and Clinical Investigators: Avoiding the Pitfalls, Chicago, Illinois, January 17, 1996.
• The Medical Bartender: Legal Issues Surrounding The Dispensing Of Controlled Substances To The Addicted Patient, American Society for Pharmacy Law Seminar VI, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 16-19, 1995.
• Do You Want To Know A Secret? Legal Issues Surrounding the Confidentiality of Prescription Records, American Pharmaceutical Association - Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, March, 1995.
• Proposed Restatement (Third) of Torts: Impact on Practice of Pharmacy, American Society for Pharmacy Law Seminar V, Phoenix, Arizona, November 17-20, 1994.
• Describing the Pharmacist's Duty to Warn and Applying These Concepts to the Patient with Thyroid Disease, Walgreen Company, St. Louis, Missouri, November 8, 1994. (Program repeated in Illinois and Arizona.)
• Patient Counseling and Risk Management for Pharmacists, American Pharmaceutical Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, March, 1994.
• Balancing Patient Care, Costs and the Threat of Litigation in an Ever Changing Medical Legal Environment, Institute For International Research, Healthcare Division - Strategies For Developing Usage Guidelines For Biotech Drugs, Chicago, Illinois, September, 1993.
• Direct To Consumer Advertising Of Prescription Drugs: Expanding Consumer Awareness At The Risk Of Expanding Liability?, American Society For Pharmacy Law Seminar III, Tampa, Florida, December, 1992.