NCPA praises DME accreditation exemption provision

ALEXANDRIA, Va. A move by members of the Senate to exempt pharmacists from accreditation requirements for selling durable medical equipment has drawn praise from an organization representing independent pharmacies.

The National Community Pharmacists Association praised a move by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., to permanently exempt pharmacists from the requirements. Many state-regulated healthcare professionals already are exempt, and the NCPA has long pushed for pharmacists to be exempt as well.

“Pharmacists are already state licensed, and 17 other state-regulated healthcare providers have been exempted from this regulation,” NCPA EVP and CEO Bruce Roberts said in a statement. “It’s simply unreasonable to ask community pharmacist, many of whom derive only a small fraction of their business from these sales while providing a substantial benefit to the community, to complete such an expensive, time-consuming accreditation process every three years in order to stay in this market.”