Legal Analysis: Stock Inhaler Policy and Liability: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

Asthma is the most common chronic lung disease in children and disproportionately impacts children from marginalized populations. Pediatric asthma health disparities are persistent, and multi-level solutions are needed to achieve health equity. Health policy, when equitably and successfully implemented, has the capacity to address these disparities and improve health outcomes. A stock inhaler policy is a simple policy solution to the lack of rescue inhaler access in the school setting, with a necessity for deescalating asthma symptoms, which are common. Despite this being a commonsense policy, implementation of stock inhaler programming after passage of Public Act 100-0726 in 2018 has been slow. One reason for this has been the reluctance of prescribers and school administrations due to liability concerns. Two recent studies corroborated that this was a heightened concern. To assess the legitimacy of potential liability concerns raised, a legal analysis of Public Act 100-0726 was conducted. This article details our collaborative legal analysis conducted with key partners in public health, medical, and legal fields. The results of the legal analysis suggest that risk of liability is low and concerns are overestimated. Therefore, efforts to mitigate perceptions of liability and to link schools to universal prescribers may facilitate stock inhaler policies in Illinois and beyond.