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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday he has asked the United Nations to help the South American nation alleviate medicine shortages, which have become increasingly severe as the oil-producing nation's economic crisis accelerates...Triple digit inflation and a decaying socialist economic model have left medications ranging from simple anti-inflammatory drugs to chemotherapy medication out of reach for most Venezuelans...The Venezuelan Pharmaceuticals Federation estimates some 85 percent of drugs are unavailable to the country's citizens...Maduro often blames the deteriorating economy and widespread shortages of goods on an "economic war" led by opposition politicians with the help of the United States...Critics say the problems are the result of dysfunctional price and currency controls that have decimated private industry.

Nicole Crisano, PTNN. This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.

Laura Joszt, assistant managing editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

The National Community Pharmacists Association recently requested Congressional hearings on legislation, the Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Spending Act, that would stop the unfair practice of pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees being applied retroactively under Medicare Part D...Retroactive pharmacy DIR fees are creating a system of winners and losers...While pharmacy benefit managers profit, the unpredictable timing and amount of these clawbacks are wreaking financial havoc on pharmacies, seniors, and taxpayers...By requiring PBMs to divulge the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries at the point of sale, these bills fix a problem even the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services acknowledges has contributed to rising costs in Medicare Part D.

• DIR fees are pushing seniors into the donut hole coverage phase faster, where seniors absorb all of the costs for their prescriptions;
• DIR fees are also pushing seniors into the ensuing catastrophic coverage phase faster, where the government's costs have risen from $10 billion in 2010 to $33 billion in 2015;
• In both of those instances, the PBMs' co-pay burden disappears, which is not the case in the initial phase of coverage;
• Independent community pharmacies' ability to plan in advance is being undermined by how PBMs currently apply DIR fees, threatening patient access to these pharmacies, especially in underserved communities; and
• All of this is occurring while PBMs continue to operate in a non-transparent manner when it comes to DIR fees.

APhA releases position on health care...the future of health care continues to be a major focus of Congress, the American Pharmacists Association emphasizes the importance of patients’ access to care, including pharmacist-provided services and safe and affordable medications. APhA Executive Vice President and CEO Thomas E. Menighan issued the following statement further explaining APhA’s position on health care:

Consistent with our recommendations related to the Affordable Care Act and other health care reforms, APhA continues to call for policies that support patient access to and coverage of —pharmacists’ patient care services, the pharmacy of their choice, and safe and affordable medications. An important component to providing access is ensuring adequate reimbursement to pharmacists for their patient care services and to pharmacies for medications and other products. Securing enactment of these policies increases access, improves quality and decreases costs...APhA strongly advocates for a health care system better structured to optimize the skills and expertise of practitioners, including pharmacists, to provide the best care to patients and value to the system…

Medicine on the Move...The unusual clinic on wheels is a partnership between Health Plan of Nevada and Southwest Medical Associates. It has been operating since April, as many as six days a week. Drivers Ernie Drown and Chris Philips take the 45-foot truck to locations across the state, but primarily in Southern Nevada...The clinic can handle immunizations, X-rays, ultrasounds, and physical and laboratory exams. It has been to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, FamilyConnect, St. Patrick’s Church food pantry, the Volunteers of America shelter for the homeless and more...The idea behind the mobile clinic was that we really need to reach our patients out in the community and make it easy for them to access health care,"’ said Toni Corbin, senior vice president of operations at Southwest Medical Associates. "We’re taking health care on the road to where it’s needed."

Nicole Crisano, PTNN. This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.

Laura Joszt, assistant managing editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

Industry groups are taking aim at a rule created by the Food and Drug Administration that could restrict drugmakers' truthful and non-misleading promotion of its drugs — commonly referred to as off-label promotion — by expanding the evidence the agency can use to assert that a drug has been misbranded...For example, under the new rule — pertaining to the FDA's definition of intended use — if a manufacturer discovers that one of its products is being used off-label and, as a result, adjusts its supply and scales its manufacturing to meet higher demand for those off-label uses, the FDA could use the company's internal documents describing that intention to scale up as evidence of a new intended use...The agency expanded the definition of intended use to now include “totality of evidence.”...The new intended use rule exposes manufacturers to a significant risk of liability for conduct that is entirely lawful and beneficial to the public health...

Pharmacy managers and pharmacists both landed in the top five of Glassdoor's annual list of the best-paying jobs in the United States. Glassdoor...noted health care jobs showed up in four of the top five spots. For the third year in a row, "physician" took the top slot, with a median base salary of $187,876...Pharmacy managers ($149,064) and pharmacists ($125,847) were listed at number two and number five, respectively. "Medical science liaisons" ($132,842)—specialists who work for pharmaceutical or biotech companies to establish relationships with medical experts—came in at number four.