- Walgreens combats drug abuse with installation of medication disposal kiosks across California (drugstorenews.com)
Walgreens...announced that it has installed 50 safe medication disposal kiosks in Walgreens drug stores across California, representing the first of two programs in California to combat drug abuse...By making safe medication disposal kiosks available in select California stores and expanding to other states this year, Walgreens is taking an important first step to curb the misuse of medications throughout the country...As a pharmacy, we are committed to playing a role in what must be a comprehensive solution to prevent prescription drug and opioid abuse…To kick off the launch of the safe medication disposal program in California, Walgreens will host a series of events with local lawmakers working to fight the drug abuse crisis in the state leading up to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30…Walgreens also is working to make naloxone, a potentially lifesaving opioid antidote, available without requiring a prescription from an individual’s physician at California pharmacies. The medication is currently available with a prescription in California and can be used in the event of an overdose to reverse the effects of heroin or other opioid drugs, and is administered by injection or nasal spray.
- Managers at Boots, the UK’s biggest pharmacy chain, have been pressuring their pharmacists to abuse Medicine Use Reviews, providing them to patients who do not need them or cannot use them, the Guardian reports. (ajp.com.au)
MURs are carried out by pharmacists, who offer patients health, diet and medicines management advice....The NHS pays £28 ($39) for each MUR (medication utilization review) carried out; MURs are capped at 400 per pharmacy to prevent abuse...Boots stores have been found to be using that number as a target to aim for, rather than a maximum...pharmacists...reported being pressured into conducting MURs whether patients needed them or not...With...big companies answering to shareholders before patients, there really is the risk of profits being the highest priority before patient care...It’s always a risk when we have a shareholder interest being first and foremost...restrictions in Australia to limit pharmacy ownership to pharmacists, they’re accountable to the public as they’re registered health professionals under a national scheme...Australian guidelines could offer protection to any pharmacists subject to similar pressure to provide services...We (pharmacists) have a responsibility, with taxpayer funds, that they’re used appropriately in targeting the right patients to get the best outcomes...Directing pharmacists to undertake, or be expected to deliver a certain number of reviews, irrespective of the suitability or eligibility of that patient, could possibly be considered incitement or directing unprofessional conduct under the national law...Boots makes it clear to staff that services should not be carried out ‘inappropriately’...All of its staff are ‘empowered’ to use their professional judgement to assess the appropriateness of offering services...
- Jean Coutu launches Rx image transmission service (chaindrugreview.com)
Jean Coutu Group has introduced an image transmission service for new prescriptions that’s designed to make it easier for patients to fill medications...The Canadian drug chain said...that the new service is accessed via the Jean Coutu mobile application. To use the service, patients open their Health Record in the app and then take a photo of their prescription. The image is then sent directly to their Jean Coutu pharmacy. When the medication is ready for pickup, the pharmacy sends a text message to the patient...the image transmission service is a time-saver for both patients and their pharmacists. Prescriptions can be sent to the pharmacy as soon as patients get them from their doctors, and pharmacists can prepare the medications in advance...Besides the new prescription image transmission service, the Health Record also enables users to complete a simultaneous request for prescription renewals for one or more family members; receive an "it’s ready" notification via email or text when prescriptions are available for pickup...and scan a prescription label to request a refill.
- NACDS: Pharmacists make impact on Congress with new ad debut (drugstorenews.com)
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores...announced the expansion of its get-out-the-vote initiative for 2016, with new video ads to encourage pharmacy personnel to volunteer and vote for the candidates of their choice...The new ads are part of the larger NACDS RxIMPACT Votes get-out-the-vote effort, one aspect of NACDS’ suite of grassroots advocacy resources under the NACDS RxIMPACT name. The ads will bear the "hashtag" #PharmacyVoter that will be used in social media to foster a community-wide focus on voter engagement. NACDS also launched PharmacyVoter.org – a website targeted to the pharmacy community to showcase the effort... The first 30-second ad — called "Effective" — debuted...during the launch of NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill, when nearly 400 pharmacy advocates will meet with 90% of the U.S. Congress to discuss key patient care issues.
- MSC, SinfoníaRx team to bring patients on-demand pharmacist access (drugstorenews.com)
A new partnership between savings program company Medical Security Card’s ScriptSave WellRx app and medication management company SinfoníaRx will bring on-demand pharmacist access to users of the savings program app...ScriptSave WellRx app users can use a click-to-call feature that will connect them to one of SinfoníaRx’s on-call pharmacist, who will answer patients’ questions about their prescriptions, medication interactions and OTC drugs...Our ability to help patients by leveraging the latest technology makes this partnership with MSC a natural fit...Our companies share the same goal — to ensure patients follow their prescribed medication regimens to achieve better health outcomes. The ScriptSave WellRx app also gives patients the ability to reduce their out-of-pocket drug costs, which can be a huge barrier to medication adherence and improved health...SinfoníaRx's pharmacists bring an important component to ScriptSave WellRx, offering medication information to our members if they have a question about drug interaction, dosage or alternatives...
- CMS reportedly proposes 2-year ban of Theranos founder Holmes, revocation of lab’s license (biopharmadive.com)Walgreens Is Reportedly Taking Steps to Dump Theranos (fortune.com)
Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services is reportedly proposing to ban Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from owning or operating a laboratory for two years, along with revoking the license of Theranos' Newark, CA lab...Theranos had ten calendar days from receiving the notice to explain to CMS why the sanctions should not be imposed on Holmes and the company...The proposed sanctions stem from a number of key deficiencies CMS found in inspections last fall. Theranos had sent in a correction plan for the deficiencies but the regulator found it to be not credible.
- DH launch consultation on hub and spoke and prices on labels (psnc.org.uk)Is hub and spoke really the answer for pharmacy? (pharmacymagazine.co.uk)
The Department of Health and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency have launched a consultation on changes to the Human Medicines Regulations and the Medicines Act...The consultation seeks views on the following proposed changes:
- allowing independent pharmacies to make use of ‘hub and spoke’ dispensing models – a ‘hub’ pharmacy dispenses medicines on a large scale, often by making use of automation, preparing and assembling the medicines for regular ‘spoke’ pharmacies that supply the medicines to the patient;
- allowing the price of medicines and a statement on how the costs of medicines are met to be published on dispensing labels should this be required for NHS medicines dispensed as part of NHS pharmaceutical services;
- clarifying the current dispensing label requirements for monitored dosage systems and medicines supplied under patient group directions; and
- amending the pharmacists’ exemption in section 10 of the Medicines Act, regarding the preparation and assembly of medicines, following a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
- London Drugs announces oral health screenings after successful pilot (drugstorenews.com)
London Drugs announced...that it would be holding 15 oral health screening clinics in the Vancouver metro area between April 25 and May 18. The clinic initiative follows a successful pilot...which featured what the chain said was the first oral cancer screening in a pharmacy..."What began as a three clinic trial with a dental professional in collaboration with our pharmacists in April 2015, quickly grew to 12 clinics in a matter of weeks, during our first ever attempt at this program,"..."There is clearly demand for the oral screening and continued need for awareness of oral cancer and oral cancer prevention."...the sixth most-common cancer in the world..."London Drugs' clinics bring incredible awareness to oral cancer screening and the importance of early detection,"..."The best way to monitor your oral health is to work with your dental care provider either at the dental office or at a screening clinic such as the one offered at London Drugs. This program is especially popular among individuals who might not regularly visit a dentist."...Screenings are done by appointment and cost $25, with $5 being donated to the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program.
- As U.S. Pharmacy Sales Slow, Walgreens Says Rite Aid Deal On Track (forbes.com)
Walgreens Boots Alliance reported improving profits as it cuts costs in its U.S. pharmacy business ahead of its Rite Aid acquisition that executives expect to close in the second half of this year. Walgreens growth continues to be hampered by slowing U.S. retail pharmacy sales due in part to reimbursement pressures and a weaker-than-expected flu season with far fewer reported cases across the country. Walgreen U.S. pharmacy sales, which account for 65% of the U.S. division sales, were up just 3.2% in the company’s second quarter...compared to the year-ago period...Walgreens still reported a 14.4% increase in net earnings as the company continued to cut costs and improve margins amid the ongoing integration with Alliance Boots. Total sales were up 13.6% to $30.2 billion, "largely due to the full consolidation of Alliance Boots."...Walgreens executives say they continue their "integration planning," assuming the Rite Aid deal will close in the "second half of calendar 2016."
- Lawyers consider judicial review of consultation on community pharmacy (pharmaceutical-journal.com)Hundreds of local chemists set to close leaving sick and elderly without vital lifeline (express.co.uk)
Lawyers have given health minister Alistair Burt a deadline of 4pm on 18 March 2016 to respond to claims that the consultation on proposed cuts to the pharmacy budget in England is illegal and should be abandoned...If the government does not accept that the consultation is illegal then lawyers will consider going to the High Court to seek a judicial review of the consultation process and the content of the consultation document...The prospect of legal action comes three months after the Department of Health first outlined its proposals for the community pharmacy sector in England in a letter to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. The letter...set out plans to cut the community pharmacy contractual framework by 6.1% in 2016. As well as the funding cuts, the proposals include a range of measures to make efficiency savings in the sector while extending clinical roles for the profession...Healthwatch England told the government that there is a "clear appetite" for community pharmacy to play a greater role in health prevention, the treatment of minor ailments and supporting people with long-term conditions. It says consumers value pharmacy’s accessibility and some believe co-locating pharmacies to GP surgeries makes sense...However, the organisation gives a cautious welcome to the idea of ‘hub-and-spoke’ dispensing and says that where medicines are assembled centrally, patients will still need local access to expert pharmacy advice.