Independent Pharmacy Newsroom

Independent Pharmacy Newsroom is AAP's information resource for independent and community pharmacies. We highlight news about new medications, pharmacy legal issues and tips to grow your independent pharmacy business.

PBM ruling for North Dakota stands

With PCMA’s failure to file its appeal by the July 11, 2022 deadline, North Dakota can regulate PBMs as it sees fit. PCMA has exhausted its legal options. So, the ruling in PCMA vs. Wehbi is now the law of the land for the states in the 8th Circuit (Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota). Read more

FDA gives emergency authorization to Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax, a biotechnology company in Maryland that received significant federal funding to produce the shot. 

The vaccine will be a new option for Americans as vaccination rates stagnate. The vaccine is authorized as a primary immunization series for adults, rather than a booster. However, the shots can’t be administered until the CDC signs off on the recommendation later this month. Read more.

Florida Governor DeSantis signs PBM executive order

As expected, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the PBM transparency order.  The order is aimed at lowering the price of prescription drugs. AAP Member Ben Levine was at the governor’s side during the signing. Levine calls this order a victory for all Floridians. “This transparency will really help drive down drug prices, and also improve access for patients in our community so that they can go to the pharmacy they choose.” Read more about the executive order.

AAP Member Ben Levine

What is a Long-Term Care (LTC) Pharmacy in 2022

AAP Preferred Partner, GeriMed, explains what a long-term pharmacy is.

Thirty years ago, pharmacies were just realizing the opportunities available to them in the long-term care space.  At that time, long-term care pharmacy and pharmacists were servicing residents living in nursing homes (SNF) and that was the end of the story.  In 2022, the healthcare spectrum has changed.  Everyone is looking for a way to decrease healthcare costs and provide better care.  Adverse drug reactions account for many hospital admissions – according to a recent meta-analysis, one in ten hospital admissions are for elderly patients.1 This makes pharmacists—more specifically, long-term care pharmacists— part of the solution for both costs and care; especially as the definition of appropriate long-term patients and services continue to be defined. Long-term care pharmacies can be a closed-door pharmacy servicing only long-term care residents or a long-term care pharmacy can be in a “combo” pharmacy where both retail and long-term care pharmacy are being offered under a retail license.

As you know, long-term care pharmacies provide services above and beyond what is delivered at the counter of a typical retail pharmacy for a walk-in patient.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has specific requirements for pharmacies servicing Medicare Part D beneficiaries in long term care facilities2.  LTC pharmacies must have the capacity to provide specific drugs in units of use packaging, bingo cards, cassettes, unit dose or other special packaging commonly required by LTC facilities.  They must also have services available twenty-four hours, seven days a week for emergency calls. These are but a couple of the services needed to take care of patients in a long-term care setting. Many pharmacies have added other services such as medication reconciliation, medication management, medication regimen reviews (MRRs), etc., in addition to the ones specified by CMS. Read More.

FDA allows pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid for COVID-19 treatment

01 March 2022, Berlin: The drug Paxlovid against Covid-19 from the manufacturer Pfizer is lying on a table. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

It’s a win for pharmacies, which had been pushing for the FDA to allow them to prescribe the medication, saying that it would ultimately expand access to the antivirals. 

Paxlovid is authorized for the treatment of “mild-to-moderate” COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients that have tested positive and are considered to be at high risk of developing severe disease.

Read more about the authorization.

In the news: PBM legislation inside a new gun bill

Many Americans across the political spectrum are clamoring for federal action on guns in the wake of a mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and hundreds of other places.

But buried in a bipartisan compromise hashed out by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday is an unrelated provision they might not be so happy about.

The gun bill would enhance the exemption drug middlemen working with Medicare have from the federal “Anti-Kickback Statute.” Read more.

Recognizing pharmacy techs as ‘heroes,’ Walmart vows to raise pay and hire more workers 

Walmart recently announced its plan to raise wages for its more than 36,000 pharmacy technicians working in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. Additionally, the retail giant plans to hire an additional 5,000 workers in these positions this year. Are you ready to compete for staffing with Walmart? Read the full article from Drug Topics here.

Cardinal Health issues new alert on fraudulent activity

Cardinal Health issued a new alert regarding recently reported fraudulent activity. There are reports of individuals falsely claiming to be representatives from pharmaceutical wholesalers and courier service employees. This is an industry-wide issue, as criminals attempt to place orders and intercept delivery of the product. Be on the lookout, and read the full alert here.

Independent pharmacy tips for improving patient engagement and education

More than 90 percent of people in the United States live within five miles of a community pharmacy. Additionally, patients visit the pharmacy twice as often as they visit their primary healthcare provider. So, your pharmacy can make a significant impact on the lives of your community members, but you must get them through the door first.

One way is standing out from your competition by personalizing your services. From simple handwritten, thank you notes for a new patient to loyalty programs or just recognizing a birthday, the possible ways to connect with patients are endless. To learn more ideas about how to increase your pharmacy customer base, watch the AAP Preferred Partner webinar from TDS here.

Digital medication information reduces your printing costs

Have you ever thought about what it would take for your pharmacy to go green? If you could give your patients their medication information digitally, it would save you thousands of dollars every year in paper and toner costs. Our Preferred Partner, Vuca Health, has an innovative solution called MedsOnCue. Their platform has a library of informational videos about hundreds of medications, in both English and Spanish. 

The system can integrate into your pharmacy’s system and deliver the medication information video straight to your patient’s computer, smartphone or tablet. To learn more about MedsOnCue, watch our AAP Preferred Partner webinar from Vuca Health here.

Tips for making your pharmacy more successful

We know that every pharmacy faces different challenges. That is why we partner with a variety of vendors to give you choices that address YOUR business needs. Our Preferred Partner, Rx30, can make your pharmacy faster and more efficient by optimizing your workflow and customizing it around you.

Check out the AAP Preferred Partner webinar about the types of tools they can provide your business. From integrated pharmacy point-of-sale to insurance claim reconciliation or pharmacy inventory management, Rx30 has a solution for you.

How independent pharmacies should bill for medical services

Independent pharmacies are the cornerstone of every community. And the role your pharmacy plays in your community is constantly evolving. You are not just filling scripts. You are doing healthcare counseling and testing. In many underserved areas, you are becoming the primary care provider for many patients. 

But the question is – how do you bill for all of these services you are offering? In this Preferred Partner webinar, EnLivenHealth explains some of the programs they offer to help you navigate the medical billing system. Watch the webinar here.

Optimize Medication Returns in the Pharmacy

Expiring drug products are a problem in every pharmacy. But out-of-date pharmaceuticals don’t have to be an unmanageable business expense. The right business partner can turn expired medications into cash.

Medication returns vendors, more formally known as reverse distribution or reverse logistics providers, manage between 3.5% and 4% of all pharmaceutical sales, according to a 2018 estimate from the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Research Foundation. That’s more than 120 million units annually, worth more than $13 billion, based on 2016 pharmaceutical product sales of $450 billion.

“Return Solutions comes to the pharmacy quarterly and goes through our entire stock to pull everything that is expired or set to expire in the next few months,” said Lisa Stahlman, RPh, pharmacy manager at the WellSpan Pharmacy in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. “A few weeks later, we get a check. I’m sure there are plenty of pharmacies that don’t use a returns company, but it’s so much more time-efficient and cost-efficient than trying to keep up with return policies and requirements for every manufacturer on your own.” Read More.