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The pharmaceutical industry largely snubbed Democrats when it came to doling out campaign contributions last year after the Democrat-controlled Legislature passed a bill to increase drug-pricing transparency in June...Only four Democrats — two members of Assembly leadership and the chairs of the Assembly and Senate health committees — received any contributions from the industry last year while 19 received industry contributions in 2016. By contrast, 19 Republican lawmakers and candidates and four Republican PACs or committees received donations from pharmaceutical companies in 2017, roughly comparable to 2016 trends...The $17,000 in pharmaceutical donations Democrats received represented about 1 percent of the more than $1.4 million the industry spent in Nevada in 2017. Republicans received 67 percent of the industry’s contributions, while the remaining 32 percent went toward funding the industry’s opposition, through the Healthy Nevada PAC, to the insulin pricing transparency bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Yvanna Cancela in 2017.

TOP 10 PHARMA MONEY RECIPIENTS:

• Republican State Leadership Committee: $914,000
• Attorney General candidate Wes Duncan: $8,500
• Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson: $8,250
• Sen. Ben Kieckhefer: $6,500 (including $1,250 to his PAC)
• Sen. Joe Hardy: $6,250 (including $1,250 to his PAC)
• Assemblyman James Oscarson: $5,000
• Gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Adam Laxalt: $3,500
• Assemblyman Mike Sprinkle, 2017 chair of the Assembly health committee: $3,250
• Assemblyman Chris Edwards: $3,000
• Assembly Minority Leader Jim Wheeler: $2,850

Message From the Executive Secretary, Larry Pinson - It is with mixed emotions that I announce my decision to retire, effective sometime within the next year, after over 22 years of being associated in one way or another with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy.

New Executive Secretary Announced (The Ultimate Bearcat!) - J. David (“Dave”) Wuest, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and hence an avid Bearcat fan, has been selected to succeed Executive Secretary Larry Pinson upon Larry’s pending retirement in 2018.

Regulatory Update

SB 59 requires the uploading of Schedule V opioid medications into the state’s prescription monitoring database.
SB 337 authorizes a registered pharmacist to manipulate a person for the collection of specimens.
SB 131 requires each retail community pharmacy in the state to provide a prescription reader upon the request of a person to whom a drug is dispensed or advice on obtaining a prescription reader.
SB 260 authorizes a pharmacist who has entered into a valid collaborative practice agreement (CPA) to engage in the collaborative practice of pharmacy and collaborative drug therapy management in the retail setting.
SB 171 requires retail pharmacies in Nevada to post instructions for the safe disposal of unused drugs.   Assembly Bill 474 - many requirements on practitioners using CS to treat patients...

Bowl of Hygeia Recipient 2017 - Congratulations to Mark C. Decerbo

Friendly Reminder - Technicians-in-training must have a separate registration for each individual pharmacy in which they receive their training.

Is Your Pharmacy Helping or Hindering the Health of Nevadans? - Adults may grow up, but they never outgrow the need for vaccines.

.Pharmacy Domain Signals Safety on the Web - With only 4% of websites selling pre­scription drugs online following United States pharmacy laws and practice stan­dards, consumers seeking medications online are faced with the daunting task of finding a safe site. To assist consumers and those legitimate pharmacies with an online presence, NABP has streamlined its website verification programs.

Quality Processes, Risk Management, and Culture: HR-Related Policies That Conflict With a Just Culture

AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse Promotes Safe Storage, Disposal of Opioids

CDC Guide Shows Importance of Physicians, Pharmacists Working Together

FIP Report Shows Value of Pharmacists’ Role in Consumers’ Self-Care

FDA Restricts Use of Codeine and Tramadol Medicines in Children; Recommends Against Use in Breastfeeding Women

AVMA Warns Pharmacists and Pet Owners About Xylitol Pharmaceutical Products

CDC Publishes Guide to Help Pharmacists Initiate CPAs With Prescribers

DEA Releases New Edition of Drugs of Abuse Resource Guide - 2017 edition of Drugs of Abuse, A DEA Resource Guide

...the Nevada Department of Corrections is preparing to use fentanyl in a three-part drug combination for an upcoming execution....The combination includes the sedative diazepam...the muscle relaxant cisatracurium; and fentanyl...Nevada turned to fentanyl for an execution because the state had no other drugs to carry out a lethal injection after "pharmaceutical industry opposition to the use of their products in executions,"..This fentanyl drug combination is to be used in the execution of 46-year-old Scott Raymond Dozier on November 14 at Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada...Dozier was sentenced to death after a first-degree murder conviction for the 2002 killing and dismemberment of Jeremiah Miller, 22...The concern is that this specific chemical cocktail that they have proposed has never been used in this way before. It's not like they can point to some success or result. This will be the first time...

The University of Nevada, Reno, is collaborating with an international company who is in the business of cancer treatment. They will be investing millions of dollars in better equipment at the College of Science (Nevada Terawatt Facility in Stead)...a...new venture with Israeli company HIL Applied Medical who is pouring millions of dollars into bringing UNR's "cheetah laser" to its full potential. They hope to find new ways to deliver proton therapy for cancer patients that is smaller, more effective and less expensive...This might scale into small and medium size hospitals like the ones we have in our local community here...Less than 5 percent of patients around the world have access to proton-therapy cancer treatment because equipment can cost upwards of $100 million. With this collaboration, they think they could get costs down to $1 million so it's a feasible option for more hospitals...Researchers from HIL Applied Medical will visit Reno often to conduct tests alongside Terawatt Facility technicians. As they move forward, the company anticipates creating more jobs in Reno...

Nevada's new opioid prescription law is only days old but doctors already are worried about how it might be implemented...physicians, lawyers and others expressed concerns this week to the state medical and dental boards over draft disciplinary rules for doctors who write improper prescriptions for pain medications...Under the proposed rules, doctors who violate the new law five times would lose their licenses. The threshold on losing a license would be reduced to three violations by 2020...Several doctors who attended the meeting say the proposed rules don't specify the exact conduct that could lead to penalties or the loss of medical licenses...The doctors voiced concerns that they could be punished for relatively minor mistakes or employee errors.

Thousands of Nevadans have limited access to specialty health care, including the nearly 300,000 living in rural areas and many others living in urban centers who have no health insurance or Medicaid coverage. To help remedy this issue, the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine Office of Statewide Initiatives has expanded Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) with new clinics in cardiology, pediatric endocrinology, medication assisted therapy for substance use disorder, as well as a unique school-based behavioral health program...Project ECHO uses teleconferencing technology to connect specialists at UNR Med with primary care clinicians in rural and urban under-served communities...These virtual clinics give primary care physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants and other professionals the tools and resources to deliver high quality care in their communities...The impact is enormous...The work...has been transformative in providing critical rural outreach and health care to patients who otherwise would be without. Their work is changing the face of rural health care in the state of Nevada and is a model for delivering access to health care in efficient and affordable ways...

A new nonprofit created by heavy hitters from Nevada’s business and medical communities gave the state a D grade on its first report card on the state’s health care system...The report card was released...by the Nevada Medical Center and is intended to focus attention on improving access to quality health care in the state...Larry Matheis, the NMC’s CEO, said the report card will help state leaders focus on the gaps that must be filled to improve Nevada’s medical standing. Currently, he said, the state’s medical system “resembles a series of isolated communities…due to the lack of collaboration among medical professionals and the dearth of thought given to enhancing our community’s reputation.”...The report card’s grades, based on analysis of data supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies, show how Nevada fares in the categories of health care access, chronic disease, nutrition and activity, mental health and substance abuse. The grades weren’t all bad, with the state receiving a passing “C” grade on chronic disease and a better-than-average “B” on nutrition and activity.

The Mojave Mental Health Clinic, a component of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, will be closing its doors by the end of the year...the university and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services decided it was best to cease services at Mojave. The clinic, funded completely by patient revenue, has been operating under a deficit of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the past several years..."These patients would be best served by other providers in the community,"...Mojave is working to transition its 485 patients, the vast majority who are on Medicaid, to other mental health facilities in the area...Mojave will officially close its doors on December 31st...

Join Together Northern Nevada is holding a semiannual “Prescription Drug Round Up” day on October 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The goal of the round up is to collect unused, unwanted and expired prescription - or non-prescription - medications.

Locations:

• Raleys - 18144 Wedge Parkway, Reno
• CVS – 55 Damonte Ranch Parkway, Reno
• SaveMart – 105—N. McCarran Blvd., Reno
• Smith’s – 175 Lemmon Drive, Reno
• Scolari’s – 4788 Caughlin Parkway, Reno
• UNR Student Health Center, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno
• CVS - 680 N. McCarran Blvd, Sparks
• CVS – 5151 Sparks Blvd., Sparks

You may also drop off your pet medications and liquid form of medications.

Saint Mary's will close its outpatient Women's Health Center next month and will "align" with unnamed community health providers who offer similar services…Employees of the women's health center at the hospital's main location on Arlington Avenue have been offered transfers to open positions elsewhere in the system...The center will close Oct. 13...The hospital's Family Birthing Center will remain open and will continue to offer lactation support and childbirth education...Our goal is to remain focused on the obligation we have to our patients to provide quality services that are affordable and accessible...Therefore, when the advancement of medical services goes beyond our available resources, we seek to find collaborative opportunities so patients have access to the highest level of care offered locally...