Medicare Medication Evaluation and Dispensing System Act of 1997

Medicare Medication Evaluation and Dispensing System Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and operate the Medicare Medication Evaluation and Dispensing System (MMEDS) to provide for: (1) prospective and retrospective review of prescription drugs furnished to Medicare beneficiaries; (2) education of physicians, patients, and pharmacists in the appropriate use of prescription drugs; (3) the establishment of standards for counseling Medicare beneficiaries regarding the appropriate use of prescription drugs; and (4) review, information, and counseling with respect to any prescription drug furnished to a Medicare beneficiary without regard to whether or not payment may be made for the drug under Medicare. Sets forth requirements for review of prescriptions.

Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a point-of-sale electronic system for carriers and pharmacists to use in submitting information on outpatient prescription drugs dispensed to Medicare patients; and (2) standards to protect from public disclosure any MMEDS-provided information identifying individuals with respect to their physical or mental health.

Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress: (1) an analysis of the effect on net aggregate Medicare expenditures from the establishment of such a System; and (2) any recommendations on Medicare coverage of pharmacist professional services.

Directs the Secretary to publish and disseminate a consumer guide to outpatient prescription drugs to assist: (1) Medicare beneficiaries in reducing expenditures for them; and (2) individuals and entities furnishing items and services to such beneficiaries in determining the cost-effectiveness of such drugs.