Uh Oh

Bad news out of Pittsburgh. This article addresses an automated system to fill prescriptions. The writer questions whether robotic systems should be adopted to cut costs and possible lawsuits.

Where do the savings come from? Your job being cut.

Currently only three few hospitals in the United States have purchased and installed the one million dollar RIVA platform. Apparently, this long term investment pays itself out after two years by trimming a few lower level pharmacist jobs, reducing the number of medication errors and potential medical malpractice lawsuits, reducing wastes of doses and batches and avoiding disastrous cross contaminations of fluids.

Perhaps people need to read the articles from the LA Times to learn that a pharmacist does more than move pills from a bigger bottle into a smaller one.

Continuing Article

The LA Times carries several articles regarding the role of pharmacists in healthcare. Here is another.

Evidence shows that when clinical pharmacists collaborate with physicians, they improve health outcomes. And with their extensive knowledge of available drugs, pharmacists can help to save money by using the most cost-effective ones.

"Traditionally, pharmacists have not been seen as caregivers, says Dr. Paul Gregerson, chief medical officer for the institute. "But these days, they fill a gap that has been left in the current healthcare system where physicians are so rushed."

Underutilized Role of Pharmacists

The LA Times has an article describing the important, if underutilized, role that pharmacists can and should play in healthcare.

Physicians wholeheartedly agree about the importance of the pharmacist's role. "Pharmacists know more about medications than anybody else in the healthcare system," Gregerson says. "That's what they went to school for. . . . They're like walking encyclopedias."

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. No matter what, we all have things to be thankful for.

Follow Up on Nevada Pharmacy Case

Here is a more recent article regarding Sanchez v. Wal Mart Stores et al. I posted an article from the Wall Street Journal earlier.

I was interviewed by USA Lawyer's Weekly regarding this case recently and I will post the article when it is online.

My thoughts on the defense are different. Rather than saying that this would be a burden on pharmacists and that not all pharmacies have Internet access, the focus should be on the woman. If the state had time to put her on a list of people suspected of doctor shopping, why couldn't the state bring charges against her? Target the offender, not the pharmacists.

How Does This Happen? Twice!

What is going on at these manufacturing centers to allow this type of contamination?

Federal health regulators have found tiny particles of trash in drugs made by Genzyme, the second time this year the biotechnology company has been cited for contamination issues.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that bits of steel, rubber and fiber found in vials of drugs used to treat rare enzyme disorders could cause serious adverse health effects for patients.

Department of Justice Crackdown

The Department of Justice is warning drug companies that the DOJ is investigating them for corruption. The DOJ will be primarily focusing on foreign dealings.

The U.S. Justice Department plans to focus on prosecuting those in the pharmaceutical industry who try to bribe foreign officials for preferential treatment of their products, a senior official said on Thursday.

The department has been examining fraud and corruption in the healthcare system as part of the overall Obama administration drive to overhaul the system and reduce skyrocketing costs.

Another Wrinkle in the CVS-Caremark Story

The Wall Street Journal had an article in yesterday's paper reporting another wrinkle in the CVS-Caremark story.

Coventry Health, which is moving more than $1 billion a year worth of pharmacy-benefits-management business from CVS Caremark to a rival PBM, accuses the company of wrongfully paying hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in prescription drug claims.

The Coventry Health account is one of several "big client losses" amounting to a net $4.8 billion in erased business for next year that CVS Caremark discussed with investors last week. While investors already knew about some of the lost accounts, including Coventry, there were more than expected, and CVS stock swooned on renewed concerns about the company's hybrid drug retailer-PBM business model.

In a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against CVS Caremark in September and moved to a U.S. district in Tennessee last month, Coventry alleges that Caremark incorrectly paid numerous drug claims to Coventry members that it should have denied.

Mississippi Court Ruling

Here is a story from Mississippi regarding Medicaid rates for pharmacists.

Mississippi Medicaid officials should have asked the Legislature for approval before tinkering with a law that would change reimbursements for pharmacists, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a chancery judge's ruling that the Division of Medicaid had no authority to change how pharmacists were paid to fill prescriptions for people enrolled in the program.

Justice Randy Pierce, writing Thursday for the Supreme Court, said while the courts usually bow to agencies on issues or rules and regulations, Medicaid officials acted outside their authority.

Compliment

I noticed this blog today. It praises my website. The blog is "dedicated to showing off the very best business law website designs from around the Country."

I welcome the compliment.

Speaking of my website, it is newly re-launched with new pages and some new layouts. I hope you like it.

Salary Discrimination

Some people have asked me whether employers can prevent you from disclosing your wages. The short answer is- No.

According to Michigan law, an employer cannot prevent you from disclosing your wages as a requirement of employment. Included is requiring you to sign a waiver denying your disclosure rights. Neither can an employer fire, punish or discriminate against advancement for employees who disclose their wages.

The importance of these rules is to prevent pay discrimination between employees based upon age, sex or race. In my most recent newsletter, I address a pay discrimination case out of Massachusetts. The woman involved in the case received a $2 million award because Walmart paid her less than her male colleagues.

Newsletter

For those who haven't received it, the newest Pencak Report is in the mail. You can also access it via PDF on my newly re-launched website.

If you are not on the mailing list for my newsletter, please send me an email at cpencak@pharmacylawpro.com with your name and address so that you can join the mailing list.

Sheepdogs Back on Duty

I was hoping that a Democratic President could change the culture of the executive agencies that had neglected their responsibilities to protect the public from predatory monopolistic corporations for more than eight years. I was beginning to lose hope. Then the following news was released.

CVS Caremark has come under criticism from various groups and lawmakers who have asked the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] to review the nearly $27 billion merger of a major drug-store chain and large pharmacy benefits manager that formed the company in March 2007.

In June, the FTC said it was referring to its Bureau of Competition a national independent pharmacists group's concerns that CVS Caremark's pharmacy-benefits-management operation, or PBM, had improperly shared patient information with the company's retail side to steer customers to CVS stores, to the detriment of competitors and customers.

The National Community Pharmacists Association called on the FTC to reopen the CVS Caremark merger, claiming the company engaged in anticompetitive behavior. State legislators and members of Congress this year also asked the FTC for a review.

In May, the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, a nonprofit directed by state legislators, encouraged the FTC to open an investigation into CVS's acquisition of Caremark Rx "and the activities and conduct of the firm since the merger." The legislative group said CVS Caremark's conduct threatens to harm consumers by increasing prices and decreasing service and convenience.

While community pharmacists and lawmakers voice concerns that CVS Caremark has improperly wielded its power as a combined drug retailer and PBM, the company has had trouble keeping and winning PBM clients, a situation made clear Thursday as Chief Executive Tom Ryan said the company had some "big client losses" for 2010.

The client news sent CVS shares down nearly 21%, or $7.50, to $28.65, and left some Wall Street analysts questioning the company's retail-PBM business model.

Whether or not CVS Caremark is guilty of the allegations is to be determined. But I am greatly encouraged to see the FTC is back in the business of investigating violations of predatory corporate activities.

I has always struck me as inherently objectionable when a fox is allowed to guard a chicken, much less over the entire chicken coop. We citizens are essentially sheep at the mercy of large corporate wolves. It is a delight to see that sheepdogs are back.

HPRP Provider

I recently had lunch with Dr. Bruce Baker of West Brook Recovery Center in Grand Rapids—an HPRP provider. Dr. Baker is a fascinating person and genuinely cares about the best results for his patients and health professionals.

Dr. Baker told me about the increased usage of prescription drugs among high school students. Although illicit drug usage has fallen among high school students across the country, 15.4% of 12th graders have abused prescription drugs within the past year. The most popular drugs are Vicodin, amphetamines, tranquilizers and sedatives. The majority admit to obtaining the drugs from a friend or relative and only 20% admit to purchasing from a dealer or stranger.

Perhaps reminding patients to secure their prescription drugs at home as a routine part of your counseling may decrease availability of drugs to youth.

Lucrative Business Plan?

Veterinary drug filling could be a lucrative opportunity for pharmacies. If you wish to research this opportunity further, I would be happy to work with you.

Generic Tamiflu

An interesting scenario could unfold if the H1N1 outbreak worsens. NPR reports that the CDC is open to importing generic Tamiflu, named Antiflu, made in India. However, Tamiflu is under patent in the United States until 2016. Would the government override this patent if the outbreak worsens and Tamflu shortages persist?

Prescription Disposal

I know that the Wayne County Pharmacists Association has done some work to reach a solution to disposal of prescription drugs in Michigan. Here is an article about Iowa's new plans.