The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 454 today; this bill would require pharmacy technicians to register with the State Board of Pharmacy. The bill now awaits consideration from the Pennsylvania State Senate. You can learn more about this…
Author: Monica Abel
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending May 13, 2017
NCPA CEO Discusses Prescription Drugs with HHS Secretary Price: This week NCPA CEO Doug Hoey represented the organization in a meeting with the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Dr. Tom Price. Earlier this year NCPA requested a meeting with…
NCPA Members – Free Webinar for CE Credit on May 10th
NCPA Members—Free Webinar for CE credit on May 10th. Understand the major statutes and regulations impacting pharmacy compliance today. Get Tips to Be Proactively Compliant on a May 10 Webinar (& Earn CE) Over the past several years, government enforcement in…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending May 6, 2017
Medicare Pharmacy Choice and Access Bill Introduced in the Senate: The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act, S. 1044, was introduced by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The bill…
Keystone and PARD Gives Back
The employees of Keystone and PARD gave back today by volunteering their time at the Choice Foods pantry at KleinLife on Jamison Avenue in Philadelphia. Stocking shelves and filling orders gave the team a chance to pay it forward. From…
Interesting Article on Pet Meds
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pet-medication-market-growing-joshua-pirestani?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3B4sEiRQyi%2FPzOR4v46DJsSw%3D%3D
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)
General Q&A Please click here for more information on the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
A Secret Profit Formula Love by Drug Middlemen Is at Risk
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-26/secret-profit-formulas-at-risk-as-drug-middleman-loses-contract
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending April 29, 2017
NCPA Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In Wrap Up: NCPA held its 49th annual meeting with over 200 independent community pharmacists visiting Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. this week to share with Congress real solutions to the problem of skyrocketing prescription drugs. The…
How to Build a Thriving Vaccination Program with Prescribe Wellness
Today’s patients are increasingly looking to their local community pharmacy to be a one-stop shop for many health and wellness needs, especially vaccinations. Pharmacists – are you taking advantage of this opportunity? Join Prescribe Wellness on 4/25 at 10 am…
How The Small Neighborhood Pharmacy Prevails
Independent Pharmacies can stay relevant in today’s world by looking at their overall business and asking how they can best service their customers. Great article exploring ways to accomplish this. http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2017/04/24/how-the-small-neighborhood-pharmacy-prevails.html
Medication Adherence
Medication Adherence is a critical part of pharmacy business profitability. But why should the person who’s been prescribed the medication care? Non-adherence to prescriptions causes some 125,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. Great article explaining reasons for…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending April 22, 2017
You Can Still Join the Fight Against PBMs. Come to D.C for the Congressional Fly-In April 26 & 27: Emails, phone calls, and faxes to your elected officials in Washington can get their attention, but face-to-face meetings carry the greatest…
May is an Important Health-Related Month
The month of May is the most important health-related month of the year, loaded with key opportunities to generate content for your website and social media accounts as well as end-caps and in-store displays: o Arthritis Month: Feature an end-cap…
PARD & Keystone Represents at Legislative Day in Harrisburg
Great day in Harrisburg for Pharmacy Legislative Day! PARD and Keystone Pharmacy Leadership along with Keystone Independent Pharmacy Owners went in like a force to be reckoned with to speak to State Legislators of the challenges facing Pharmacy today.
Another reason why May is the biggest month of the year for pharmacy?
May kicks off Mother’s Day, graduation season, the start of wedding and anniversary season, and the beginning of Father’s Day shopping season. It’s time to freshen up your greeting card department and get ready for the rush! Mother’s Day is…
Cardinal Health’s Unhappy Profit Surprise: The Coevolution of Pharmacy Buying Groups and Wholesaler Economics
Success of buying groups to hold wholesalers accountable on generic pricing is well outlined in this article. Not only does Keystone work directly with wholesalers to ensure generic pricing is kept competitive, we offer a wide range of other negotiated…
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
Have unused prescriptions? Don’t throw in the trash! Dispose safely during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 29 from 10am-2pm. Click link below for locations offering this program. https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/NTBI/ntbi-pub.pub?_flowExecutionKey=_cDB28A69B-7278-BEA4-32BB-F3BE06D40D32_k02B2F779-B902-CE99-2881-C9C0D2F9A339
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending April 15, 2017
Specialty Rxs Require a Special Dispensing Fee Pharmacy Groups Tell CMS: Concerned that states may not fully cover the cost of acquiring and dispensing Medicaid specialty drugs, NCPA, NACDS and the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) wrote to CMS…
The State of Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation in 2017
Independent Pharmacies—Specialty Pharmacy is a growing segment. Great article that provides resource links for accreditation. http://www.drugchannels.net/2017/04/exclusive-update-state-of-specialty.html
Maryland Lawmakers Approve Bill to Fight Drug Price-Gouging
Click on the link below. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-maryland-drugs-idUSKBN17D2O6
Warning: Be alert to any unwarranted phone calls or deliveries from Xtreme Office Products
The picture attached is from an invoice on an ink cartridge for Lexmark printer at Whitehall Pharmacy. The pharmacy did not order this and when they called to say they did not order it and it was the wrong size…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending April 8, 2017
Medicare Pharmacy Choice and Access House Bill Introduced This Week: The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act, H.R. 1939, was introduced by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) on April 5th. The bill would allow community pharmacies…
Check us out on Facebook!
Take a moment to check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kpparx Give us a LIKE and ask other Independent Pharmacists to do the same. Write a review. Tell us what concerns you as an Independent Pharmacist. Get involved. Go ahead, check…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending April 1, 2017
Your Member of Congress is Coming Home for Two Weeks: Consider this an opportunity to invite your member of Congress to visit your pharmacy between April 8 and April 22 and brief him or her about PBMs. Here are details:…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending March 25, 2017
Come Give Congress a Piece of Your Mind at the Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In April 26-27: We are filling the halls of Congress April 26-27 with independent community pharmacies who are passionate about their patients and their practice and are tired…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending March 11, 2017
ACA Repeal Marked up in the House Committees of Jurisdiction: The House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees marked up their respective instructions to the Budget Committee on party line votes after exhaustive sessions in both committees this…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending March 4, 2017
Generic Drug Payment Bill Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives: Bipartisan legislation to increase transparency in generic drug payments in taxpayer-funded federal health programs and preserve patient access to local community pharmacies was introduced in the House this week…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending February 25, 2017
NCPA Hosts DIR Stakeholder Call: This week NCPA hosted a call with industry partners providing an update on recent developments regarding NCPA’s efforts on pharmacy DIR fees. Highlights of the briefing: Overview of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending February 18, 2017
House/Senate DIR Bills Introduced: This week, Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), along with 16 of their colleagues, introduced H.R. 1038, the “Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Drug Spending Act,” that would prohibit retroactive pharmacy…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending February 11, 2017
NCPA Responds to PBM Efforts to Limit Potential Reforms: An apparently leaked memorandum has surfaced from Mark Merritt, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), to the association’s board of directors. It outlines PCMA’s strategies to mitigate…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending January 28, 2017
NCPA Supports House Bill Recognizing Pharmacists as Health Care Providers: This week NCPA endorsed H.R. 592, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, which was introduced by U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending January 21, 2017
NCPA Members List Top 2017 Political Priorities: For the fourth consecutive year, NCPA has asked its members to rank their most important legislative and regulatory priorities. The top issue chosen by respondents is to end the retroactive nature of DIR…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – SPECIAL ALERT – January 19, 2017
Hi all –NCPA is pleased to report that CMS released an analysis related to Part D DIR fees and the impact of these fees on the Part D program today. The CMS analysis is an important step toward greater transparency…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending January 14, 2017
NCPA Asks President-elect Trump to Scrutinize Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Review of Prescription Drug Prices: This week NCPA sent a letter to President-elect Donald J. Trump urging his Administration to examine the role pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in escalating…
NCPA Advocacy Center Update – Week Ending December 24, 2016
DEA Revises Registrant Renewal Policy: Heeding the concerns of NCPA and other registrants, the DEA has quickly revised a recently-issued policy change on renewal applications that could have decreased patient access to controlled substances and had audit implications for pharmacies. Starting…
NCPA Advocacy Update – Week Ending October 1, 2016
Widespread Support for Ban on Part D Retroactive DIRs: NCPA and nearly 100 other pharmacy stakeholder organizations have expressed their support to the key lawmakers behind legislation that would prohibit retroactive DIR pharmacy fees on Medicare Part D clean claims.…
Watch Congressional Hearings Expose PBM Tactics!
Watch Congressional Hearings Expose PBM Tactics: This week, Heather Bresch, Mylan’s CEO, took shots from members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for over five hours regarding the price of EpiPens. Members of the Oversight and Government Reform…
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) – video
Please watch the attached video from healthNsight Animated Video healthNsight Animated Video 2
PPA Produces Videos on PBM-Related Issues
PPA has produced three short videos to assist Pennsylvania pharmacists, student pharmacists, lawmakers, the public, and more in understanding the need for oversight of PBMs, MAC transparency and pharmacy audit integrity in Pennsylvania. These videos feature PPA members and staff;…
Rite Aid of California Agreed to Pay More Than $498,000 to Settle Consumer Protection Lawsuit
Story Published: Jun 30, 2014 at 4:19 PM PDT Story Updated: Jun 30, 2014 at 4:19 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Rite Aid of California agreed to pay more than $498,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit, alleging its…
Pharmacist Reed Finishes Second for GOP Nomination to West Virginia U.S. House Seat
NCPA member Ken Reed, running in his first political race, took second place in a field of seven seeking the Republican nomination in West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district. Reed received 22% of the vote in the May 13 primary to…
Pharmacist Carter in Runoff for GOP Nomination to Georgia U.S. House Seat
NCPA member Buddy Carter finished first among six contenders for the Republican nomination in Georgia’s 1st congressional district. Carter took 36.2% of the vote in the May 20 primary. He’ll face Bob Johnson, a surgeon and ex-Army Ranger, who finished…
Labor Department to Study PBMs
An advisory panel that makes policy recommendations to the Secretary of Labor is looking into PBM compensation and fee disclosure. One area of questioning at a three-day meeting planned in June: “…are PBMs incentivized to structure formularies to encourage the…
New ‘Track-and-Trace’ Rule Moving Ahead
NCPA represented independent community pharmacy interests at a recent FDA workshop on its proposed prescription drug tracking system. Manufacturers, wholesalers, and dispensers discussed implementation of a new “track-and-trace” supply chain security system required by law. FDA must issue a draft…
Support Picks Up for Legislation to Open Preferred Networks
Seven House members are now signed on to bipartisan legislation designed to bring fairness to preferred networks for pharmacies and patients. Initiated by Reps. Griffith (R-Va.) and Welch (Vt.) on May 6, now they have been joined on H.R. 4577…
Medicare Will Require MAC Transparency as NCPA Urged
NCPA has commended Medicare for taking positive steps on generic drug reimbursement procedures by Part D plans, actions NCPA has tirelessly advocated for years. Last Monday CMS said for the 2016 plan year it would require sponsors to both disclose…
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