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Hoping to save a few bucks on your prescription, or just trying to avoid a trip to the drugstore?...While mail order can be a good option, it can also be a hassle, and savings aren’t guaranteed...using mail order can be easy, it could lead to communication errors or safety problems...The problem...is that medications may not arrive on time, which can be dangerous for people who rely on lifesaving drugs...The opposite problem can happen, too: Mail order pharmacies might auto-renew your prescriptions without confirming you’re still taking a drug or whether your dosage has changed. When possible, pick a service that will alert you before they ship out any medication...Medicare Part D drug plans require mail order pharmacies to get the okay from a patient or caregiver before shipping a new prescription or refill...Whether you shop in store or by mail order, once you find a pharmacy that fits your needs, our medical consultants strongly recommend you fill all your prescriptions there whenever possible. That way one pharmacy has a complete record of what you’re taking and can flag any potentially dangerous interactions. That might not be feasible, say, if you get your blood pressure drug through mail order and your doctor prescribes a post-surgery pain medicine that you need right away. When that happens, let each pharmacy know all the medications you're taking and update them regularly on any changes.

Despite rising prices for prescription medicines, Express Scripts released data today showing spending for its health plans rose 5.2 percent in 2015, roughly half of what was seen the year before...the average price of brand-name drugs rose 16.2 percent in 2015...Most of the increased spending was for specialty medications — such as those for hepatitis C, cancer, and other hard-to-treat diseases. Spending for these drugs rose nearly 18 percent, compared with a 0.1 percent drop for traditional drugs for chronic conditions...usage rose nearly 7 percent for specialty medicines, compared with 2 percent for other drugs...Express Scripts boasted that it has successfully used various techniques to manage drug costs. These include formularies with various so-called tiers, which are lists of preferred drugs that require consumers to pay varying amounts. Another tactic is prior authorization, which involves requiring consumers to try different treatments before a more expensive medicine...Another move...was...to curtail coverage of many compounded medications...Total spending on compounded treatments for pain and skin conditions fell 54 percent as usage dropped 56 percent.

The Kentucky Senate...approved legislation in preparation for an expected increase in the use of biologically similar medications. The bill’s sponsor says these medicines can substantially save on costs when treating certain diseases...more medications for specific ailments are biological products made from living organisms. Bio-similar drugs, which are much cheaper, are being produced as interchangeable medicines...legislation allows pharmacists to dispense bio-similar drugs in the place of biologics without having to notify the doctor in advance...pharmacists would still be required to notify doctors of interchangeable bio-similar drugs within five days of dispensing. "If a patient has a reaction to a drug and I think I’m prescribing them drug A and you’ve given them drug B, and they may have to come to the hospital with a reaction, I’m the one treating them and assuming that liability," Alvarado (Winchester Senator, Doctor Ralph Alvarado) explained. "I have to know what drug you gave them..."

With 2016 well underway, pharmacies of all sizes should review recent regulatory updates to ensure compliance with rules already in effect, and preparation for those to be implemented soon. Three, in particular, warrant a close look.

USP 797 Pharmaceutical Compounding – Sterile Preparations. The comment period for USP’s proposed revisions for compounding sterile preparations closed January 2016, and comments are now under review. If finalized as-is, USP 797 may publish by November 2016, at which time pharmacies will face significant changes...

USP 800 Hazardous Drugs – Handling in Healthcare. This was approved and published in February 2016. It defines hazardous drug containment processes to promote patient safety, worker safety, and environmental protection...

Drug Supply Chain Security Act. Enacted in November 2013, this sets forth requirements to build electronic systems to identify and trace certain prescription drugs in the United States. Pharmacies should consider which aspects of the law they’re held accountable for now, and which aspects they will be held accountable for in the future...

Benzer Pharmacy, listed in the top 30% of fastest growing companies by Inc. magazine in 2015, announced... that it is looking to expand the reach of its more than 50 locations in nine states by offering a franchise opportunity to independents...Benzer Pharmacy is now offering a franchise opportunity for those looking to start a new pharmacy and a conversion opportunity for pharmacies currently in operation...To thrive in this industry, independent pharmacy owners need to collaborate under one unique yet individual brand...Benzer Specialty Pharmacy offers a hub and spoke specialty model for independent pharmacies. The pharmacy is currently in process of getting accredited with the Accreditation Commission for health Care for specialty pharmacy...

PillDrill won this year’s Drug Store News/ECRM Most Innovative Product Award...PillDrill was developed to be a smart, friendly medication tracking system that simplifies the task of everyday pill taking. It gives reminders when pills need to be taken, tracks what’s being taken with a quick scan and sends real-time adherence updates to those people involved in the patients' well-being...We learned early on that medication adherence is not a technology problem, it’s a human problem...So what makes PillDrill special is that it’s completely user-centric. It’s not some complicated piece of hardware, and it’s not an app; those things don’t really work for people in their everyday context…PillDrill is a light overlay onto an existing routine that provides all the benefits of a technology product without any of the hassles.

According to URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission), an independent accreditor that establishes benchmarks and standards for pharmacy practice, any "duly licensed pharmacy in good standing within the jurisdiction of its practice that has at least 1 retail location handling prescription intake and dispensing as well as providing and reporting outcomes on medication therapy management and drug therapy management is the type of organization that applies for URAC Community Pharmacy accreditation."...To earn this accreditation, CVS/pharmacy underwent a rigorous evaluation that validated the quality of the patient care and services it provides, including medication therapy management, wellness services, patient counseling and education, and preventive and chronic disease management...community pharmacy standards assessed by URAC include quality measures reporting, quality management and performance oversight, and pharmacy structure, operations, and drug utilization management..."Having a widely recognized and respected accreditation organization such as URAC independently scrutinize our operation and attest to the quality of the pharmacy care and services we provide demonstrates our continued commitment to helping people on their path to better health as a leader in the healthcare industry," Josh Flum, senior vice president of retail pharmacy at CVS Caremark..."Other URAC Pharmacy Quality Management accreditation programs include specialty pharmacy, mail service pharmacy, drug therapy management, pharmacy benefit management, and workers’ compensation pharmacy benefit management.

...at APhA’s 2016 Annual Meeting & Exposition...they discussed...the proposed nondiscrimination rule, pending pharmacist provider status legislation, and draft guidance on prescription drug abuse...

1. Proposed Nondiscrimination Rule - Under this proposed rule, pharmacies would be required to offer language assistance services to patients with limited English, unless the pharmacy would face "undue financial burden," or if doing so would "result in a fundamental alternation in an entity’s health program or entity,"...also applies to the requirement that pharmacies provide auxiliary aids and services and the accessibility of programs through electronic and information technology...HHS does not expect compliance with the proposed rule to cost too much, and training employees on these new requirements is voluntary.
2. Pharmacist Provider Status Legislation - legislation would allow pharmacists to be reimbursed for their services as long as the pharmacist serves in medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, or for medically underserved populations and follows the state’s scope of practice laws...there has been no opposition to the proposed legislation...cost will be a challenge...The next steps are getting a Congressional Budget Office score, meaning a cost estimate for the bill...they hope to see a score within a few weeks, and then a few weeks later, they can expect a House hearing.
3. Draft Guidance on Prescription Drug Abuse - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued draft guidance for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, which were fairly controversial...APhA’s comments on the guidelines included the fact that a team-based approach to care including pharmacists was needed. In addition, the guidelines should mention that the lowest-effective dose should be patient-specific, and more education is needed for health care professionals.

FlavoRx debuted its newest piece of pharmacy equipment — the FlavorMaster — the reconstituting and flavoring device...The FlavorMaster uses FlavoRx’s Fillmaster water dispensing technology and its flavors, making reconstitution available with the press of a button...pharmacies have the power to boost pediatric adherence and improve a child’s health outcome...

Diplomat Pharmacy announced Thursday that the Michigan Board of Pharmacy approved the company to offer a pharmacy technician training program with on-site exams. The program, which is offered exclusively to Diplomat employees, allows employees who complete it and the exam to be considered for state licensure..."The need for licensed pharmacy technicians is growing tremendously in Michigan," Diplomat’s education and training manager, Stephanie LaPointe, said. “Having a program at Diplomat that focuses on specialty pharmacy helps to ensure that the individuals serving in technician roles are appropriately supporting the specialty patient experience.“...“Through this training program, Diplomat will continue to support its pharmacy staff professionally and provide the best customer care to our patients by becoming experts in their field,” LaPointe said.