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Dozens of pharmacy chains and grocery stores with pharmacy counters are slated to start offering COVID-19 vaccinations this week, creating a wealth of employment opportunities. The companies are vying with one another—offering lucrative signing bonuses, in some cases—to hire established pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, student pharmacists, nurses, and other help. CVS Health is working toward 15,000 new vaccine-related hires, Walgreens has targeted 9,000, Kroger plans to recruit nearly 1,000 health care workers, and Rite Aid is looking to fill more than 2,000 pharmacy jobs...READ MORE

A federal judge in Minnesota has decided that Mylan must face a lawsuit accusing it of paying bribes and kickbacks to pharmacy benefit managers and of conspiring to fix prices on its EpiPen device...Drug wholesalers Rochester Drug CoOperative and Dakota Drug filed separate but similar lawsuits in March 2020 and June 2020, respectively, claiming that Mylan paid bribes and kickbacks to a group of pharmacy benefit managers —referred to collectively as CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx — to ensure that Mylan could raise the price of its EpiPen auto-injector with impunity while also keeping a monopoly share of the market...Mylan and the PBM defendants filed separate motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim...READ MORE

Within the past two months, the online pharmacy marketplace has experienced some market-shifting dynamics that could alter the scope and direction of the industry. Within the span of approximately two weeks, e-commerce behemoth Amazon announced the launch of its NABP-accredited pharmacy website against the backdrop of Food and Drug Administration’s Importation of Prescription Drugs final rule becoming effective...The two updates highlight the growing chasm in the online pharmacy environment and continued threat to public health and patient safety by those who solely seek profit. With the entrance of Amazon Pharmacy comes a safe and legitimate source of prescription drugs via the internet, and an opportunity to raise the visibility of accredited pharmacies operating legitimately and within the confines of the law...READ MORE

The Trump administration sued Walmart Inc. Tuesday, accusing the retail giant of helping to fuel the nation’s opioid crisis by inadequately screening for questionable prescriptions despite repeated warnings from its own pharmacists...The Justice Department’s lawsuit claims that Walmart sought to boost profits, understaffed its pharmacies and pressured employees to fill prescriptions quickly. That made it difficult for pharmacists to reject invalid prescriptions, enabling widespread drug abuse nationwide, the suit alleges...Walmart, the country’s largest retailer by revenue, has been expecting this complaint and sued the federal government in October to fight the allegations pre-emptively...In its suit, Walmart accuses the Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration of attempting to scapegoat the company for what it says are the federal government’s own regulatory and enforcement shortcomings...READ MORE

With many ICUs reaching or exceeding maximum capacity in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may not be a surprise that about 60% of critical care pharmacists reported feeling burned out in a recent national survey...In an electronic survey that queried critical care pharmacists about their institutions and number of activities performed in May and June 2020, 128 of 221 respondents (58%) reported feelings of burnout such as emotional exhaustion and depersonalization...READ MORE

A Mississippi owner of pharmacies and pharmacy distributors has been sentenced to 18 years in prison and ordered to repay the government nearly $287.7 million for his part in what prosecutors described as a $510 million health care fraud involving high-priced pain cream...Wade Ashley Walters...of Hattiesburg, also was ordered...to forfeit nearly $56.6 million that he gained personally from the scheme...Walters had been charged in a 37-count indictment. He pleaded guilty in July to one count each of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering...Between 2012 and 2016, Walters orchestrated a scheme to defraud Tricare, the insurance program for U.S. military, veterans, and their families, and private health insurers by distributing compounded medications that were not needed...READ MORE

In order to deliver COVID-19 vaccine to more people more quickly, the Trump administration intends to expedite rollout of its immunization partnership with pharmacies. The logic behind the concept is that getting vaccinated at a local pharmacy will be more accessible and efficient for many Americans than going to a hospital...READ MORE

...the governor of Massachusetts signed legislation that includes language recognizing pharmacists as health care providers in the state...The new law, S.2984: An Act Promoting a Resilient Health Care System That Puts Patients First, not only expands scope of practice for certain health care providers, but also increases insurance coverage for telehealth services...“This is a culmination of nearly a decade of advocating for pharmacists and their profession in our state,” said Massachusetts Pharmacists Association President Maureen Judkins, PharmD...READ MORE

Walgreens is establishing a tech-enabled healthcare startup with the goal of creating a new patient platform that blends physical and digital tools...The decision is part of a larger trend in the pharmacy space of retail chains aiming to expand their digital offerings...“We see an extremely complex healthcare system in the U.S. where the patients are confused,” said Walgreens Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe on the need for the startup. “Somebody with multiple conditions getting calls from three advisers.”...He added that “everybody has a point of view on how they manage their health. We believe we can, because of our assets, provide a unique interface between patients and partners to create an ecosystem of healthcare.”...READ MORE

Jocelyn Konrad, Rite Aid’s executive vice president and chief pharmacy officer, said the mission of RxEvolution and the new store format is to unlock the value of its pharmacists to support its customers and communities...“The Store of the Future highlights the RxEvolution strategy as the whole store is reimagined and remodeled,” she said. “Whether it be the front-end merchandise and, in particular, the way we have reintroduced the pharmacist to our customers in a very different way that has never been done before. Historically, the industry kept that pharmacist back in the production end of the pharmacy and what we have literally done is pulled that pharmacist out to be front and center for our customers, so there’s always a connection every time the customer is in our stores.”...READ MORE