Licensing

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Given the extent of the meningitis outbreak linked to a compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts, new regulations for such pharmacies might be a good idea, but how to implement them remains uncertain.

(THE NEWS: Meningitis outbreak linked to compounding pharmacy spawns new proposed legislation. Click here to read the story.)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — The message is getting louder and gaining traction: Nurse practitioners are highly skilled health care professionals who need to be able to practice to the full scope of their ability, especially in light of the primary care shortage that is plaguing the nation.

(THE NEWS: Survey: Health insurers show advances in NP credentialing, reimbursement. Click here for the full story.)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., on Thursday announced plans to introduce legislation that would strengthen federal regulations of compounding pharmacies. The legislation is borne out of the recent meningitis outbreak linked to the New England Compounding Center, which is located in Markey's district, that has drawn much criticism on how regulators oversee compounding pharmacies.

Abusive auditing and unfair reimbursement practices harm community pharmacists’ ability to provide critically needed patient counseling and care to seniors, according to a new survey released Sept. 18 by the National Community Pharmacists Association.


NCPA polled more than 350 community pharmacists about their recent experience with audits conducted by pharmacy benefit managers and other Medicare Part D plan intermediaries. The survey also asked about generic drug reimbursement caps known as maximum allowable costs, or MACs. 


Among the findings:


CVS Caremark and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have teamed up to increase awareness of the new services available under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. To announce the partnership and highlight new benefits and options for Medicare beneficiaries, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently visited a CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Legislation that requires transparency in the pharmacy audit processes conducted by pharmacy benefit managers is being enacted in Kentucky.

H.B. 349, which was signed by Kentucky state governor Steve Beshear last week and sponsored by Senate majority whip Tommy Thompson (D-Ky.), is designed to prohibit PBMs from seeking to recoup payments through pharmacy audits when there is no evidence of fraud.

The signing of the legislation was praised by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

If you’re a pharmacy technician in any practice setting, you’re at the front lines of an escalating battle to prevent medication errors and save lives. Spurred by growing alarm over the human and financial toll of adverse drug events, a web of powerful health agencies, professional pharmacy organizations and patient-safety advocates are waging a campaign to reduce medication errors by boosting safeguards in the pharmacy and educating patients.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Legislation designed to reform the pharmacy audit process has been approved in Utah and will be sent to the state governor to sign.

In a 73-1 vote, H.B. 76, known as the Pharmacy Audit Integrity and Recovery Act, "requires health benefit plans, the Public Employees' Benefits and Insurance Program and pharmacy benefit managers to implement certain pharmacy audit procedures when auditing pharmacy claims," according to the legislation document. Key provisions included: