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GoodRx has entered into an agreement with Surescripts, to deliver drug discount price information to prescribers using Surescripts Real-Time Prescription Benefit when prescribing medications for uninsured patients and patients whose price information isn’t already available from their PBM or health plan...By improving price transparency at the point of care, prescribers can have more informed conversations with their patients and ensure they can afford the treatment they need before getting to the pharmacy counter...READ MORE

CVS Health is expanding its program to offer no-cost, community-based screenings to 14 more markets...Project Health, which is now in its sixteenth year, offers a slew of free biometric screenings at CVS Pharmacy locations, including blood pressure, glucose levels and cholesterol. Patients can then meet with a nurse practitioner, who can provide additional guidance and referrals for treatment if needed...The program is also launching four new mobile units, CVS said, and anticipates providing 1,700 screening events across its 32 markets by the end of the year...READ MORE

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart are enrolling customers in patient systems in order for them to book vaccine appointments...Perk of data allows these chains to use information to promote their stores and services, which includes coupons and promotions, and tailor marketing...After customers create profiles for Walgreens, they get marketing emails and agree to let Walgreens 'automatically collect information about you'...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

In an interview with Drug Topics®, Ken Perez, MBA, vice president of Healthcare Policy and Government Affairs at Omnicell, explained the crucial points of Medicare Part B provider status for pharmacists, which would allow pharmacists in underserved communities to be reimbursed for certain primary care services that they already provide in commercially ensured populations...READ MORE

Two U.S. representatives, G.K. Butterfield and David McKinley introduced the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Area Enhancement Act, which would provide reimbursement to pharmacists who deliver Medicare Part B services that are already authorized by their respective state laws...“Under this bill, Medicare will pay pharmacists at 85% of the Physician Fee Schedule,” explained Tom Kraus, the vice president of government relations at ASHP. “This is an important step to improve access to care for Medicare beneficiaries and helps ensure that serving these patients will be financially sustainable.”...READ MORE

Nearly 82% of hospitals surveyed by the Joint Commission in 2019 were noncompliant with at least one Medication Management chapter item. Still, experts say they are hopeful that recent revisions will help those hospitals meet the accreditor’s expectations...Topping the list of noncompliance in 2019 was the medication administration standard, which 49% of hospitals failed to adhere to, Mansur noted. “Surveyors have been finding medications being administered for an indication when another medication was specified, or an ordered medication given for a different indication, and often this is done without a documented explanation,” she said. “Surveyors will also often see that administration of medication, particularly titration medication, is performed differently than is directed by the order.”...READ MORE

Lawmakers behind the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act...not only requires electronic prior authorization for MA plans, but also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to create a process for faster decisions on items and services that commonly get approved...While the bill only applies to MA plans, lawmakers hope to eventually tackle more types of insurance such as commercial plans...READ MORE

A December 2020 opinion issued by Washington Attorney General...affirmed pharmacists’ standard of practice under collaborative drug therapy agreements (CDTAs)...“[The opinion] clearly states that pharmacists working under CDTAs can identify and treat illness. This is reassuring news to practitioners who have developed practices that care for patients with these agreements,”...The opinion was a response to questions from the Washington State Medical Commission about whether pharmacists can diagnose patients pursuant to CDTAs—and if that constitutes unauthorized practice of medicine—and whether prescribers can enter CDTAs permitting pharmacists to diagnose patients...READ MORE

Preventing medication errors is an essential component of caring for patients and must be a core mission of every pharmacy. For medication error–prevention efforts to be effective, they must be a priority...The information in the tables of this review summarizes many of the significant error-prevention strategies recommended in the ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute Care newsletter from January through December 2020...READ MORE

Table 1. Safety Issues Related to Labeling, Packaging, and Nomenclature
Auxiliary label obscures critical reconstitution information on label of REVATIO (sildenafil; Pfizer) oral suspension carton

Table 2. Safety Issues Associated With Order Communication and Documentation
Confusion between LYUMJEV and HUMALOG (both insulin lispro by Lilly), which have different onsets of action

Table 3. Problems Involving Drug Information, Patient Information, Patient Education, and Staff Education
Administer adenosine rapidly for cardioversion

Table 4. Safety Issues Related to Medical Devices and Equipment
Bypassing soft low-dose alerts for subtherapeutic heparin infusions

Table 5. Other Discussion Items
Differences between human error, at-risk behavior, and reckless behavior

Table 6. ISMP’s Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals
FDA removes syringe administration from vinCRIStine labeling