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In a letter-to-the-editor, National Association of Chain Drug Stores President and CEO Steven Anderson took extremely strong issue with a recent Wall Street Journal editorial that ignored the unique role of pharmacies and pharmacists in patient health, medication safety, healthcare cost reduction and crisis response...The newspaper referred to the pharmacy as a “needless middleman” – a point that Anderson confronted vigorously by detailing the trusted value that pharmacies deliver in the face of extreme barriers and often unfair and unsustainable reimbursement policies...READ MORE

...CVS Caremark and Express Scripts, have once again increased the number of medicines on their standard formulary exclusion lists...As these PBMs control over half of the market combined, these changes have widespread implications for patients across the country...PBMs leverage their vast purchasing power and ability to exclude medicines from their standard formularies to negotiate large rebates and discounts from biopharmaceutical companies. PBMs then compel insurers and employers to use standard formularies by reducing the rebates offered to those who choose to adopt custom formularies without exclusions, which increases costs to the plan sponsor. In 2019, manufacturer rebates, discounts, fees and other price concessions grew to $175 billion. However, these rebates and discounts are typically not shared with patients at the point-of-sale...formulary exclusions can create additional barriers for patients who may experience challenges accessing prescribed treatments. These barriers to access can lead to health complications resulting from delayed treatment initiation or treatment disruption...READ MORE

CVS Health will try delivering prescriptions with self-driving vehicles in a test that begins next month...The drugstore chain said...that it will partner with the Silicon Valley robotics company Nuro to deliver medicines and other products to customers near a Houston-area store...A CVS spokesman said the prescriptions will routinely be delivered within an hour of being ordered...Nuro has previously started partnerships to test the delivery of pizzas for Domino’s or groceries for Kroger, also in the Houston area. This is the company’s first venture into health care...READ MORE

Digital health technology is transforming every aspect of pharmacy practice, whether it deploys robotics to fill prescriptions, uses analytics to track medication data, or offers access to digital therapy. Pharmacists in both the hospital and retail settings are using recently developed technology to prevent adverse drug effects, monitor the use of antibiotics, modify unhealthy behavior, and promote medication adherence...Not only can technology make a pharmacist’s day more efficient by automating repetitive tasks, but new digital health products are providing more insight into data and the opportunity for real-time patient interaction...READ MORE

Monitoring Medication
Digiceuticals and Behavior Modification
Preventing Adverse Effects
Antibiotic Stewardship in Real Time

With little still known about the novel coronavirus and its treatments, some shady websites are grabbing coronavirus-related URLs to push unproven products to consumers...The Food and Drug Administration has issued more than 20 warning letters since mid-May to websites selling unproven COVID-19 treatments. These online retailers are selling products like hydroxychloroquine, essential oils and alternative sanitizers that claim to treat COVID-19 or kill the virus on surfaces...The FDA took action against these websites, requiring that they remove claims that certain products will treat COVID-19 and stop selling drugs like chloroquine for unapproved uses...READ MORE

Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and other pharmacy staff felt overtaxed even before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic hit, according to findings from the 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Study. The survey results showed that 69% of full-time pharmacists reported that their workload “increased” or “greatly increased” compared with the prior year...Although the profession is much more racially and gender diverse than in previous years, pharmacy staff reported age, race, and gender discrimination...Among full-time, actively practicing pharmacists, 71% rated their workload level at their primary place of employment as “high” or “excessively high” in 2019, compared with 66% and 68% of full-time pharmacists in 2014 and 2009, respectively...READ MORE

Walgreens has taken a big first step in meeting the growing need for mental health resources in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s health outcomes pharmacists have completed the first phase of training in mental health first aid, administered by the National Council for Behavioral Health...Mental health first aid training... includes information about mental health literacy and understanding the risk factors and warning signs of mental health and addiction concerns, as well as strategies to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations...“With the prevalence and rise of incidents of depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD and others, specialized training can be key to identifying warning signs, and working with other providers, even finding gaps in care or treatment. We’ve long believed pharmacists can play an even greater role as part of patient’s care teams, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of our industry expanding our efforts in the area of mental health to help meet this growing need.”...READ MORE

Professional burnout among pharmacists, already a growing concern in the United States, could be exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis. The current pandemic strains pharmacy capacity and exposes persistent underlying problems, according to 3 experts on pharmacy burnout...A national survey of more than 4700 pharmacist concluded that, although more than half (54.2%) of respondents reported meaningful work, 32% and 33% also said they felt “a lot” or “totally” emotionally and physically exhausted. Community pharmacists demonstrated higher rates of work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement, as well as lower levels of professional fulfillment, compared with those practicing in hospitals and other work settings...READ MORE

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its employment data for 2019...our annual Drug Channels analysis of pharmacist salaries and employment...Average base salaries were about $125,000, though there was substantial variation across practice settings...Total pharmacist employment grew in 2019...the share of pharmacists who work at hospitals reached a new high...the number of pharmacists working in retail settings decreased. The challenges facing the retail pharmacy industry...are now showing up in the employment data...READ MORE

U.S. pharmacy chains are preparing a big push for flu vaccinations when the season kicks off in October, hoping to curb tens of thousands of serious cases that could coincide with a second wave of coronavirus infections...CVS Health Corp...said it is working to ensure it has vaccine doses available for an anticipated surge in customers seeking shots to protect against seasonal influenza...Rival chain Rite Aid Corp has ordered 40 percent more vaccine doses to meet the expected demand. Walmart Inc and Walgreens Boots Alliance said they also are expecting more Americans to seek these shots...READ MORE