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Without more transparency on how such financial decisions are made…Americans may be doomed to see more generics zoom up in price… under the terms of my insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, it will cost me $85.54. That’s a 232% price increase for…a drug that has been on the market for about 90 years… Americans spend significantly more for prescription medications than do citizens of any other developed nation. We do so directly, through higher prescription costs, and indirectly, as high drug costs drive up our insurance premiums and our taxes, via higher Medicaid and Medicare costs…negotiations between the industry and insurers feature "no transparency"…The bad news? The situation could get worse, and affect more drugs, more insurance companies and more consumers, as consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry reduces the number of potential rivals in the generic drug field.

Joe Moose, the 2015 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year winner..The independent pharmacist and co-owner of Moose’s Pharmacy in Concord, N.C., was honored at the convention’s first general session…with the award…One of Moose’s notable achievements is his role as the lead community pharmacy coordinator for Community Care of North Carolina, which came about as the result of his involvement in a $15 million grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which supports pilot programs aimed at improving outcomes and lowering costs…Joe Moose is at the forefront of efforts to make independent community pharmacies an integral part of a more coordinated and efficient health care delivery system…

Nick Gentile, Director of State Grassroots Advocacy and Political Action for ASHP, discusses how compounding laws vary from state to state.

• Walgreens’ Markes-Wilson: Extraordinary care for all
• CVS pharmacists show commitment to diversity
• Rite Aid’s Afilaka goes ‘above and beyond’
• Excelling in diabetes management, care
• Sam’s Club’s Cavan merges passion for people, pharmacy
• H-E-B’s Lehew, Stehling ‘do whatever it takes’
• Supporting communities through the pharmacy
• ‘Best Practice’ winners set mark for innovation
• Filling local health needs with compounding, infusion
• Topeka Pharmacy is community’s service center

…mass merchandiser pharmacies offer opportunities to provide patient care that may not be available to those in hospitals or smaller retail pharmacies…gives you a huge patient population to tap into…you really have a great opportunity to impact the lives of those customers…This setting is ideal for pharmacists who truly enjoy interacting with patients and being a resource for health information…we can walk the grocery department with our diabetic patients and discuss the impact their diet has on their blood sugar…mass merchandiser provides a holistic approach to the practice of pharmacy and overall health care…Do not think of a career with a mass merchandiser as a production facility or assembly line meant to mass-produce prescriptions…Remember that each prescription is tied to a person, not a number or a process.

QS/1 this week launched SharpRx...pharmacy management software…brings touchscreen capability and an intuitive design and layout…SharpRx gives small chain and independent pharmacies a more efficient way to fill prescriptions and bill third-party insurance, in turn enabling faster customer service…allowing pharmacists to quickly navigate through the system…to do everyday tasks as quickly as possible…

St. Louis College of Pharmacy is one of the oldest and largest pharmacy schools in the country…the school itself doesn’t look or feel old…the college just opened a 213,000-square-foot academic and research building and library, which will serve as home base for pharmacy students…"Prospective students and parents are looking for that extra special something when they visit colleges, and we have that with our new building…another building with gyms, a student center, fitness center, residence halls, and dining areas will open in about a year…

• What is unique about your school/program?
• What is the teaching style or philosophy?
• What are some community outreach activities or programs the school participates in? What volunteer opportunities are available to students?
• What opportunities do students have for internships or co-ops?
• What advice do you have for students who will graduate this year?

Marc O'Connor, chief operating officer of Curant Health, discusses methods Curant uses to maintain adherence to specialty drug regimens.

1. Johnson & Johnson
2. Pfizer
3. Novartis
4. Merck & Co.
5. Roche Holding
6. Sanofi
7. Bayer
8. GlaxoSmithKline
9. Amgen
10. McKesson
11. Gilead Sciences
12. Teva Pharmaceuticals Inds.
13. AstraZeneca
14. Abbott Laboratories
15. Eli Lilly & Co.

Andi Lane Clark, PharmD, Director of Clinical Field Services at Rite Aid, discusses how proper medication adherence habits allow patients to better manage their chronic conditions.