- Pharmacy Podcast – The Changing Landscape of Retail Pharmacy (pharmacypodcast.com)
We interview the Vice President of Sales with H. D. Smith – Rob Meriweather about the impact of drug wholesale on the future of our pharmacy industry. (podcast 24:29)
- Bartell Drugs maintains ‘hyper-local’ focus with latest store opening (drugstorenews.com)
Bartell Drugs will unveil the largest of its 64 locations at Bellevue Village (Bellevue, WA)…with the completion of a major 5,500-square-foot expansion and remodel…In keeping with Bartell Drugs' “hyper-local” focus, the store includes an array of new features and product areas spotlighting local partners, including the “Bellevue Fountain” offering in-store barista services with fresh-brewed coffee and espresso drinks from Seattle’s Caffe Vita and scooped servings of Bartell Drugs’ own Emerald & Spruce premium ice cream in partnership with local Snoqualmie Ice Cream. And then there's the Bellevue introduction of Bartells’ “Growler Station” with nine local craft beers on tap for take-home.
- Four Fun Facts About the Walgreens-Rite Aid Merger Agreement (drugchannels.net)Sec. and Exch. Com. Form 8-K AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER Among WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., RITE AID CORPORATION (files.shareholder.com)
Late last week, Walgreens Boots Alliance filed an 8-K with the full text of its merger agreement with Rite Aid….The document containing the Agreement and Plan of Merger weighs in at a hefty 137 pages. Below, I highlight four fun facts about the deal’s timing, its termination fees, and what the companies will do to achieve antitrust approval.
- The deal must be completed before Halloween 2016.
- If Rite Aid backs out of the deal, then it owes as much as $370 million to Walgreens Boots Alliance.
- WBA could owe Rite Aid a termination fee as large as $650 million.
- To get the deal approved, WBA is willing to dump as many as 1,000 stores.
- New York Pharmacist and Two Others Face Criminal and Civil Charges for Multimillion-Dollar Oxycodone Distribution Scheme (dea.gov)
Drug Enforcement Administration…announced...an indictment today against three individuals and two pharmacies for a multimillion-dollar oxycodone distribution scheme…through pharmacies operated in Brooklyn and Queens. Lilian Jakacki, Marcin Jakacki, Robert Cybulski, European Apothecary Inc, Chopin Chemists, MW&W Global Enterprises Inc…charged with illegally distributing more than 500,000 pills of oxycodone...with a street value between $10 million and $15 million. The defendants are also charged with money laundering and health care fraud…one of the largest illegal diversions of oxycodone…in a New York State pharmacy. Pharmacies also illegally diverted more than 160,000 additional pills by accepting 1,300 fraudulent prescriptions…including prescriptions made out in the names of famous luxury brands such as “Coach” or “Chanel.”
- Pharmacies Face Financial Hardship with Rising DIR Fees (specialtypharmacytimes.com)
Direct and indirect remuneration fees rise from preferred network drug plans offered by insurers and pharmacy benefit managers…fees…are causing financial hardship for many pharmacies…These fees may encompass “pay-to-play” fees for network participation, periodic reimbursement reconciliations, or non-compliance with quality measures…Many pharmacists feel that there is a lack of transparency regarding how DIR fees are calculated…the fees are retroactive, which can make it hard for pharmacy owners to run a business…Originally, DIRs were established to allow PBMs and Medicare to share in rebates that the insurers received from drug manufacturers under Medicare Part D coverage…cost imposed by the PBM on pharmacies that is not necessarily disclosed to Medicare officials…the financial realities associated with very high DIR may force many pharmacies to withdraw from networks…CMS has said in the past that the fees distort the real price of prescription drugs in the market.
- CVS proposes Orange County operation with 500 jobs (orlandosentinel.com)
Caremark, a division of CVS Health, won an incentive package Tuesday from Orange County (FL) to bring a pharmaceutical operation here next year that could create as many as 500 jobs…County commissioners approved the company's request in a 6-1 vote…Caremark plans to establish a support operation here for its pharmacies in the southeastern U.S…The jobs, including 100 pharmacists and 350 pharmacy techs, will pay an average annual salary of about $49,000, qualifying it for a "high-wage jobs" tax break…The Caremark proposal also will boost the county's tax roll by $18.7 million…Caremark would add 275 jobs by the end of next year and another 225 jobs in 2017…The company would be in line for $1.5 million in tax refunds from the state, or about $3,000 per job. The county would kick in up to $300,000.
- OPA announces opposition to marijuana oligopoly ballot initiative (ohiopharmacists.org)Ohio voters weigh legalizing recreational marijuana use (reuters.com)
Ohio Pharmacists Association, the state organization representing Ohio’s pharmacist practitioners, announced their opposition to the Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Issue 3, which if passed which would place legalized marijuana and a protected oligopoly of select commercial marijuana growers into the Ohio Constitution…OPA is unconvinced that marijuana is appropriate or beneficial as a form of treatment for illness or disease. Further, OPA rejects any medical marijuana proposal that removes the function, counsel, and expertise of the prescriber and pharmacist from the prescription process, as Issue 3 does…“If there is going to be a legitimate discussion about marijuana policy or the possible effectiveness of marijuana for medical purposes, then let’s have it. But ‘Responsible Ohio’ bypasses the discussion altogether in an effort to benefit to a few wealthy investors. Issue 3 is a slap in the face to Ohioans who genuinely care about sensible marijuana policy.”
- Safeguards Pharmacies Can Put in Place to Avoid Issues with Controlled Substance Prescriptions (pharmacytimes.com)
James Schiffer, RPh, associate at Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLC, discusses some safeguards independent pharmacies can implement to avoid issues with controlled substance prescriptions.
- Walgreens goes to Epic for EHR (healthcareitnews.com)
Work to begin in early 2016…Walgreens is poised to roll out Epic EHRs (Care Everywhere) in its more than 400 healthcare clinics across the country…The Epic platform will replace Walgreens' own proprietary EHR…The goal…is to...enable more seamless communication with health systems and local providers, and gives us enhanced capabilities to deliver better health outcomes through greater care coordination and interoperability…our clinics play an increasingly important role in healthcare, supporting the healthcare system, provider practices and patients' medical homes, care coordination can be critical. This will benefit our patients, clinic providers and partners, and serves as an instrumental part of our strategic growth plan…
- Pharmacist at center of Valeant scandal accuses drugmaker of ‘massive fraud’ (latimes.com)
..pharmacist Russell Reitz…agreed to sell his pharmacy (R&O Pharmacy), in a quiet suburban office park, to the group (East Coast investors) for $350,000…he continued as manager, Reitz began finding his store's name and his national pharmacy license number on an avalanche of prescriptions nationwide…a torrent of insurers' money started flowing to his small shop…on pace to equal $230 million a year…Reitz now finds himself at the center of the national scandal enveloping Valeant…In the last two months, Reitz has filed papers in two Los Angeles courthouses laying out details of what he and his lawyer call "a massive fraud."…Until Reitz's court filings…few people knew about Valeant's close ties to Philidor...Reitz detailed how he had discovered that Philidor was using his national pharmacy identification number on prescriptions being filled at other pharmacies — and even on some that were filled and billed before he signed the agreement to sell R&O…Reitz said he believes that Philidor had targeted his pharmacy because it needed access to his licenses, which he has in California and 33 other states, as well as to the contracts he had negotiated with insurers.