Reminder: Louisiana Board Meeting Tomorrow Feb. 27 to Discuss Patient-Specific or Office Use Prescriptions

2013-E ~ Amends the section of rules that allows pharmacies to prepare practitioner-administered compounds without a patient-specific prescription; specifically authorizes preparation of copies of commercial products when such products are unavailable; limits the amount of products that may be prepared by a pharmacy without a patient-specific prescription to ten percent of total products dispensed and distributed on an annual basis.
               01-23-2013 - Regulation Revision Committee approved Draft #1 (corrected).
               01-29-2013 - Draft #1 amended further.  Board adopted Declaration of Emergency and Emergency Rule with a stipulated effective date of January 31, 2013.
               01-30-2013 - Incorporated as Regulatory Project 2013-1.2.

 

2013-D ~ Repeals the sections of the rules that allow pharmacies to prepare practitioner-administered compounds without a patient-specific prescription.
               12-13-2012 - Board adopted Emergency Rule, with an immediate effective date.
               12-14-2012 - Incorporated as Regulatory Project 2013-1.1.
               01-18-2013 - Louisiana Senate Committee on Health and Welfare rejected the Emergency Rule.  The effect of that decision voided the Emergency Rule effective immediately.  However, in recognition of the continuing potential risk, the legislative committee directed the Board to develop a replacement emergency rule reflecting a different balance of risk vs benefit within two weeks.

 

Source found here

Agenda
Louisiana Board of Pharmacy
3388 Brentwood Drive
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809-1700
www.pharmacy.la.gov
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing has been ordered and called for
9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at the Board office, for the purpose to wit:
A G E N D A
1. Call to Order
2. Appearances
3. Notice of Intent re Regulatory Project 2013-1 ~ Compounding for Prescriber’s Use
4. Notice of Intent re Regulatory Project 2013-2 ~ Satellite Pharmacies
5. Opportunity for Public Comment
6. Adjourn
 

BREAKING NEWS: Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy Backs Down After PCMA Threatens Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2013 -- Drugstore Lobby 'Power Grab' Hits Legal Roadblock

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Facing a lawsuit alleging violations of federal law, the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy (BoP) reversed course and rescinded a proposed regulation that would have imposed unprecedented – and costly – new fiduciary mandates on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the companies that employers, unions, and state agencies hire to negotiate discounts from drugstores.  Most states, including Mississippi, have traditionally relied upon the State Department of Insurance – not the Board of Pharmacy – to oversee PBMs.

The overreach by the Mississippi BoP and ensuing legal challenge by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) should give policymakers in other states pause when considering granting sweeping new authority to state boards of pharmacy, the association said today.

"Mississippi is the only state to empower pharmacists on a Board of Pharmacy to regulate those with whom they negotiate and do business," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. "When Boards of Pharmacy push anti-competitive regulations that violate federal laws, we intend to vigorously challenge them."

Allowing pharmacy boards to regulate PBMs creates a conflict of interest since the Board members are pharmacists – a group which contracts with PBMs and could financially benefit from the policies they set. The Federal Trade Commission warned the Mississippi legislature when it transferred regulatory authority from the Insurance Commission to the Board of Pharmacy that allowing pharmacists to regulate PBMs could "increase pharmaceutical prices and reduce competition" and potentially "facilitate collusion" among pharmacies.

PCMA represents the nation's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 215 million Americans.

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/26/5218618/mississippi-state-board-of-pharmacy.html#storylink=cpy

Source found here

Part D 2014 Draft Call Letter Addresses Automatic Rx Refills, Drug Safety Issues--including Compounded Drugs

By Gregory Twachtman, Cathy Kelly / Email the Authors / Feb. 25, 2013 
Reimbursement / Word Count: 1315 / Article # 00130225004 / Posted: February 25 2013 12:00 AM

Executive Summary

CMS instructions to Part D sponsors cite elimination of waste as a reason to require plans to confirm members want a refill. Draft call letter also addresses expanding drug utilization reviews beyond opioids, added controls on compounded drugs.

Purchase required here

Innovator Predicts that There Will Be A Shift In Pharmacy Industry to Compounded Drugs For Each Patient

Information technology will drive innovation in healthcare, Kurzweil surmises

 

FEB 26, 2013

By: Michelle Sprehe, Digital and Interactive Content Producer

When attendees at the Ninth Annual Independent Pharmacy Business Growth Conference in Orlando, Fla. heard famed innovator Ray Kurzweil speak, they quickly realized Kurzweil is a man decades ahead of his time.

Continue reading here

Reminder: Free Webcast Regarding Texas Board of Pharmacy Rule Changes Feb. 28, 2013

 

The Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) is hosting a free one-hour webcast on Thursday, February 28, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. The program will review recent changes to pharmacy rules; review some bills filed in the 2013 Texas Legislative session that may effect the practice of pharmacy or the Board of Pharmacy; and review the most common deficiencies found during inspections of pharmacies. One hour of continuing education (CE) credit approved by TSBP is available for attendees of the program. Please register for the Texas Pharmacy Laws and Rules Update webcast. One hour of TSBP approved continuing education credit will be provided for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians participating in the program. You may register for the webcast at: https://student.gototraining.com/r/6951458104106044672 Please note, space is limited.  If the program does fill up, an additional webcast will be scheduled. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.

CDC Launches Free App ‘Solve the Outbreak’

Affirunisa Kankudti

First Posted: Feb 20, 2013 08:47 AM EST

The recent meningitis outbreak linked to compounding pharmacy has shown how important it is to be able to locate the center of the outbreak and how people must be equipped to deal with such emergencies. Now, you may not be a disease detective, but you can play a game of disease investigation at home.

As part of its efforts to connect with people on social networks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a free app that lets you solve a disease outbreak.

"You'll play the role of an Epidemic Intelligence Service agent. Find clues about outbreaks and make tough decisions about what to do next: Do you quarantine the village? Talk to people who are sick? Ask for more lab results?," CDC said.

Users will be first included in the 'training staff", after which they'll have to earn points based on their ability in analyzing the data. Each answer will earn points and save lives of people affected by the "outbreak".

Players will earn badges and cracking the outbreak case will make them a Disease Detective.

CDC said that the app was designed in-house and hasn't given any development costs, The Huffington Post reported.

This isn't the first time that a federal agency has come up with a free application. Other examples of apps created to provide information to the public include "Ask Karen" launched by the Agriculture Department, and National Institutes of Health's Wireless Information For Emergency Responders, or WISER.

The Solve the Outbreak app from CDC can be found at iTunes.

Source found here

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/massachusetts/madce/1:2013cv10351/149614/

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/massachusetts/madce/1:2013cv10351/149614/

Landon et al v. New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc

Landon et al v. New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc

Fusco v. New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc.

Fusco v. New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc.

Baer et al v. New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc et al

Baer et al v. New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc et al