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It was August 2020. The pandemic was in full swing, straining an already weary workforce hit by a decade of relentless budget cuts and rising demands. ..One by one, the pharmacists dialed into a weekly conference call with their boss. He could have empathized with them or addressed the reality of their pressure-cooker environment – one that breeds medication errors and creates missed opportunities to prevent potentially deadly mistakes...Instead, CVS District Leader Khalil Haidar turned up the heat. He harped on his Texas-and-Louisiana-based team to hit corporate quotas: Sell more store memberships. Push for more prescription pickups. Vaccinate more people. He threatened discipline and staff cuts unless pharmacists convinced at least five customers that week to get a flu shot before flu season had even officially started...READ MORE

The role of pharmacy technicians in immunizations has evolved rapidly, particularly over the past 2 years because of COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, pharmacy technicians for the most part were limited to assisting pharmacists in basic tasks related to immunizations. These included screening patients, preparing for the immunization, and performing administrative tasks required for immunization programs...In 2016, Idaho led the way in expanding the role of pharmacy technicians to include administering immunizations...the results were clear: All pharmacy technicians taking part in the study passed their assessments on the first attempt...The momentum for pharmacy technician-administered immunizations continued in Michigan, Washington state, Rhode Island, Utah, and Nevada...READ MORE

The Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (H.R. 7213) is legislation to help ensure that patients can receive point-of-service testing, treatment, and vaccine services provided by pharmacists for COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and strep throat. ASHP, as an executive committee member of the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition, is working aggressively to secure congressional support for H.R. 7213. You can help by sending an email to your representative asking them to co-sponsor the bill. Personalize the email provided in ASHP’s online advocacy center with examples from your practice that demonstrate your critical role on the healthcare team...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

When people needed critical COVID-19 testing and, later, vaccinations, many visited their local pharmacy to secure those services...As the healthcare industry continues to grapple with labor shortages and staffing issues, experts argue pharmacists are an underutilized resource that could play a much greater role in patient care. Pharmacists have high levels of trust with patients, who visit their local pharmacy more frequently than they go to other sites of care; pharmacists see patients three or four times more often than primary care doctors...A survey from CVS Health and Morning Consult, released in October, found that 61% of people would like to get a broader range of services at their local pharmacy. It also found that 74% of people trust their local pharmacist and agree they should be able to step in when primary care is not available...READ MORE

The White House announced the launch of the first federally supported test-to-treat site, a part of the White House test-to-treat initiative designed to improve access to COVID-19 antiviral oral medications for certain high-risk patients. In response, ASHP sent a letter to Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, requesting the administration dramatically expand access to COVID-19 antivirals in all communities by removing the federal barrier preventing pharmacists from initiating therapy with these time-sensitive medications...READ MORE

A rush of vaccine-seeking customers and staff shortages are squeezing drugstores around the U.S., leading to frazzled workers and temporary pharmacy closures...And pharmacists worry another job might soon be added to their to-do list: If regulators approve antiviral pills from drugmakers Merck and Pfizer to treat COVID-19, pharmacists may be able to diagnose infections and then prescribe pills to customers...“There’s crazy increased demand on pharmacies right now,” said Theresa Tolle, an independent pharmacist who has seen COVID-19 vaccine demand quadruple since the summer at her Sebastian, Florida, store...READ MORE

Local pharmacies are welcoming the news they will soon be able to refill some prescriptions for customers who don’t have a family doctor...But they agree with doctors who have said the change is not a long-term solution to the shortage of physicians...Overall, however, it is really needed right now, said Moez Karim, pharmacy manager, at The Pharmacy in Langley...“A lot of patients, especially in this area, they’re either seniors or they have real difficulty getting access to doctors and their family doctors. Often times, they are seeing them on the phone. I think they’re falling through the cracks. This is one way of reducing their stress.”...Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced last week that, starting Oct. 14, pharmacists across B.C. will be able to renew prescriptions for a wider range of medications so that people in B.C. can access medication “in a timely fashion and ensure continuity of their treatment.”...READ MORE

Self-Administered Hormonal Contraceptives Dispensed Without a Prescription

Senate Bill (SB) 190 was passed during the 2021 legislative session. The language to the bill can be located here. SB 190 permits a pharmacist to dispense a self-administered hormonal contraceptive to a patient under a protocol established by regulation by the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy without a prescription from a practitioner.

Nevada Medicaid Fee-for-Service Transition of Pharmacy Benefits Management to Magellan Medicaid Administration, Inc

On July 1, 2022, Magellan Medicaid Administration, Inc, (MMA) will assume the administrative operation of pharmacy benefits management on behalf of the state of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Care Financing and Policy for the Nevada Medicaid fee-for-service...READ MORE

...the new crop of pharmacy students nationwide will need much more than an introduction to rudimentary science courses, thanks to the notable progress that the pharmacy industry has made in advancing the clinical role of pharmacists. The pandemic also has elevated pharmacists’ roles and allowed them to assume expanded responsibilities...Many pharmacy schools are stepping up to the plate with new courses and electives, as well as honing some of their existing courses, to ensure that their students are well prepared to meet the myriad challenges that they will face as newly minted pharmacists...READ MORE