EDITORIAL: In 1990, the PARD expanded its Non-Dues Income Committee hoping to bring in more dollars so member dues would not have to be increased. In 1969, when I first joined the PARD, there were over 1200 potential independent pharmacy stores just in Philadelphia County. In 2004, there are just 200. The Non-Dues Committee continued to grow every year & in 1995 the discussions began to merge PPA's buying group with the PARD buying group and was finalized in 1996 with the formation of the Keystone Pharmacy Purchasing Alliance. One year later, for a variety of reasons, PARD bought out PPA's portion and became the sole owner of Keystone. The PARD, now 105 years in existence, is known to be an active voice in Philadelphia, as well as an active county association that works daily in conjunction with PPA in Pennsylvania legislatively. During the past 5 years, under the leadership of Sam Brog R.Ph., PARD has been able to change auditing procedures in the state by the PBM's, has been able to work with HMO's with pricing problems & has stopped many unions from initiating or stopping their use of mail-order plans. The voice of the PARD has saved their member stores, as well as non-members, thousands upon thousands of dollars. PARD's foresight in forming Keystone has enabled PARD to work on behalf of independent pharmacy without financial restraint because of the dividends it receives yearly from Keystone. This is in addition to the over 1 million dollars Keystone disbursed to its member stores in 2003. With the above said, I would very simply like to explain what you can do to help Keystone continue to be the most successful buying group in this area (over $400,000,000 in purchases) and therefore help PARD & Keystone continue their mission to improve the situation for independent pharmacy. It is very simple -----------------PARTICIPATION!!!!!!!!! Become an active member of PARD's Board meetings are generally held on the Third Thursday of each month & you are cordially invited to attend. Meetings are held at the offices of PARD/Keystone. If you are not a Keystone member, consider joining. If you are a Keystone member, participate in our contracts with our endorsed vendors & most importantly, do not actively purchase from non-endorsed vendors. The whole concept of a buying group is its relationship with its vendors. We are ìpartnersî with our vendors and negotiations on price are very dependent on % participation by our members. Many times a vendor is not offered a contract, so they just turn around & try to meet the offers of approved vendors. Dealing with a non-approved vendor makes negotiations on contracts much more difficult. All our contracts contain a clause that endorsed vendors must beat the market place pricing available to remain an endorsed vendor. Many contract prices are dependent on the percentage of member participation. Our major endorsed vendors include three wholesalers (AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal & Kinray), TriState Distribution for Bottle & Vials, Hanover Label for Rx Labels & bags, Anda as a generic distributor and we offer over 50 other contracts for goods, services & supplies. Some stores try to avoid switching vendors just because they hate to consider any ìchangeî, but in today's world of dwindling profits, you must make your decisions with your head and pocketbook, not with your heart. Compliance is the KEY in KEYSTONE. . 2003 FINAL REPORT: We are happy to report that at our Keystone Board Meeting, January 7th 2004, it was decided to disburse $250,000 to our participating members from excess funds on hand December 31. This resulted in 202 checks being sent out to stores that purchased a minimum of $250,000 from approved Vendors in the year 2003. The average check amount was $1237.62. Another way of showing why it pays to be a participating Keystone MemberóThis year- end bonus alone amounts to receiving approximately a .09% (9 basis points) reduction in your wholesalers invoice price. With all disbursements included, the reduction in invoice pricing is approximately .4%. We thank you for your participation and look forward to the year 2004. Compliance is the KEY in KEYSTONE. Special points of interest: More than $1,058,000 was disbursed to stores in 2003. Keystone represents or administers for stores in 11 states The chains are taking a stand against mail-order plans. . SAVE A DATE: May 5th, 2004- OUR SECOND ANNUAL TRADE SHOW This year being held at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center at the Raritan Center just off EXIT 10 on the New Jersey Turnpike. 75 Exhibitors Special Show Prices Continuing Education Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Door Prizes In cooperation with CEPO, Coalition of Eastern Pharmacy Organizations, composed of Co-Op PoweróNew Jersey LegendóNew York KeystoneóPennsylvania MORE INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO YOU SOON . AUDIT PROCEDURES 1.Any override for Rx's that are filled too soon, MUST be documented on the RX or electronically with the date & reason for the override (vacation, lost meds etc) 2. Be sure to calculate the correct quantity & days supply including inhalers & eye drops. 3. If less medication is given than ordered, the reason must be documented. 4. The use of AS DIRECTED is not allowedóyou must document on the Rx the maximum up to doses of medication taken per day & days supply calculated from that. 5. For Compounds, a list of ingredients is required. 6. Rx's in which dosage/quantity is changed, require documentation or a new hard copy Rx to be issued. An approved patient signature log or pre-approved electronic equivalent must be maintained. Only original documentation from the prescribing physician will be accepted post-audit for missing Rx's. KEY WORD : DOCUMENTATION . INTERESTING INFORMATION: CVS Corp. said it would not participate in three drug plans administered by National Medical Health Card Systems Inc. because the plans force patients to have their prescriptions filled through a mail-order service. The drugstore chain also said it would no longer participate in other pharmacy-benefit plans that force patients to obtain refills for their medications exclusively through mail-order. This announcement follows a December decision by Walgreen Co. not to participate in pharmacy-benefit plans that require prescriptions to be refilled through mail-order. (If other major chains arrive at the same decision, there is little doubt that independent pharmacy owners would follow suit and the Mail-Order Industry would become severely crippled in short order.) . NCPA ALERT PBM's may start mailing Medicare discount card enrollment contracts to pharmacy owners any time now. Do not confuse them with a ìtypicalî addendum to an existing prescription insurance contract, even though PBM's may purposefully write and format them to look like one. NCPA conservatively estimates the average independent community pharmacy will lose $125 each day with the implementation of the discount card. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CARD PROGRAM AND NEITHER ARE MEDICARE ENROLLEES. IT IS ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY. (Our PACE program is better anyway) Remember, neither a PBM nor any other card sponsor can link your participation in the card program to an existing insurance contract you have signed. NCPA twice thwarted the Bush Administration's attempt to implement the discount card scheme in federal court, & NCPA stands ready to challenge it again, by whatever means necessary. NCPA is working for you, but they need your help. Get a colleague to join NCPA. For a membership form go to https://www.ncpanet.org/secure/membership.shtml . LEGISLATION: HOUSE BILL 1470 PRINTERS # 1856 An act relating to unfair insurance practices; prohibiting unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts and practices; and prescribing remedies and penalties. Presently in the Insurance Committee with hearings to be held soon. If passed as written, it would prevent: Requiring an insured to obtain drugs from a mail-order pharmacy as a condition of obtaining payment for the Rx. Imposing upon an insured who is not utilizing a mail-order pharmacy designated by the insurer a co-payment fee or other condition not imposed upon insureds utilizing the designated mail-order pharmacy. Denying or impairing the right of the insured to determine from where drugs are dispensed. CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN HARRISBURG AND INSIST ON THEIR VOTE ! . SAVE A DATE PARD DINNER DANCE SATURDAY APRIL 3 2004. TORRESDALE FRANKFORD COUNTRY CLUB |