Independent Pharmacy Newsroom is AAP's information, resource blog for independent and community pharmacies. We highlight news about new medications, pharmacy legal issues and tips to grow your independent pharmacy business.
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What do you need to consider when buying a pharmacy? Here is a guide to buying an independent pharmacy.
Whether buying your first business or tenth, acquiring an independent pharmacy presents unique challenges. Similar to any retail business, you’ll be performing your due diligence evaluating:
But when you buy an independent pharmacy, there are more dimensions to understand about each of these elements. They involve additional evaluation, regulation, legal, and financial guidance to determine what may or may not be a good buy for you. Below is a guide to some things to consider as you make your plans. Read More >>
Ordering your most popular items can be done simply with SmartSync, AAP’s customized intelligence-based bulk ordering program. It is available to AAP Members who are opted into ProfitAmp Full Access or ProfitAmp Monthly Assessment, and it is designed to help you save even more on your pharmacy’s most common inventory.
Watch the video to see how it works.
First, AAP analyzes your dispensing data each month to suggest a 1-, 2- or 4-week supply bulk order, customized to your store’s needs.
Your prime vendor GCR and rebate structure are taken into account and API NDCs with the highest-dollar savings are selected.
Next, you can approve the order as-is or adjust the order based on your current inventory. You have until 7 a.m. CT Saturday morning to approve the order.
And finally, you will receive an extra five percent off the invoice price (minus controlled substances).
That’s it. Fast and Easy. SmartSync saves you time and money.
To find out how SmartSync can help you, contact your AAP Business Advisor today.
Make restocking your shelves fast and easy with Scan & Toss. Available on both Android and Apple devices, shopping from API Warehouse is more convenient than ever.
You now have the freedom to quickly purchase from API Warehouse and AAP’s primary contracted wholesaler, anywhere you go, straight from your mobile device.
Watch the video to see how it works.
You can place your order with just a few taps. You simply scan a product’s barcode to get started, or manually enter an item’s UPC, NDC, API or Cardinal item number, or search by item description.
The app works with Brand Rx, Generic Rx, and even OTC products. It goes wherever you go, allowing you to place and view orders quickly and efficiently, no matter where you are!
Scan & Toss syncs all your data across multiple devices! Plus, you can review past orders right on your phone. And the app’s Message Center delivers your rebate information as soon as your API order is placed.
To get the Scan & Toss Mobile app, you can download it from the Google Play Store on your Android device or the App Store on your Apple device.
Contact your A-A-P territory manager to get started today.
A group of pricey breakthrough prescription drugs are poised to shake up the market this year — including an Alzheimer’s treatment that could be approved today by the FDA.
Why it matters: Though the drugs offer hope to patients with hard-to-treat conditions like Alzheimer’s or sickle cell disease, or who struggle with obesity, their potentially eye-popping prices are sure to create dilemmas for insurers, government programs and patients themselves.
The big picture: The approvals could fuel already-contentious debates around affordability and equity, giving ammunition both to those who say innovation doesn’t come cheap and others who contend medical advances are meaningless if patients can’t access them.
Driving the news: The FDA is expected to today decide whether to approve Eisai and Biogen’s lecanemab, a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, setting into motion another round of debate over how much the drug should cost and whether Medicare should cover it.
State of play: The drug pipeline is brimming with other experimental cures that could make headlines this year.
Between the lines: Some novel drugs present an inherent dilemma: They’re worth a lot of money because of the way they can dramatically improve patients’ lives. Even so, manufacturers can still price these drugs well above what experts say they’re worth.
Yes, but: The final cost burden hinges on several factors, starting with where manufacturers set the launch price.
CMS has issued the final physician fee schedule for CY 2023, which updates vaccine payment information. The CY 2023 payment amount for influenza, pneumococcal, and HBV vaccine administration is $31.14. This amount will be geographically adjusted based upon the fee schedule area where the preventive vaccine is administered. With regard to COVID-19 vaccine administration, for CY 2023 the payment amount is $41.52. This differential will remain in place until the end of the calendar year in which the current Emergency Use Authorization declaration for drugs and biologicals with respect to COVID-19 ends. Thereafter, the payment amount for COVID-19 vaccine administration will be adjusted to align with the payment rate for the other Medicare Part B preventive vaccines. Learn more.
Two of the largest U.S. pharmacy chains, CVS Health and Walgreen Co., announced agreements in principle Wednesday to pay about $5 billion each to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids, and a lawyer said Walmart is in discussions for a deal.
Together, the developments amount to what could be the last round of huge settlements after years of litigation over the drug industry’s role in an overdose crisis that has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades. Read more.
The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a booster dose of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (NVX-CoV2373) in adults aged 18 years and older.1 The booster dose should be administered at least 6 months following the completion of a primary vaccination series with an authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine. It can be administered to patients who do not have access to an authorized bivalent COVID-19 booster, in whom a bivalent booster would not be clinically appropriate, or who chose to receive the Novavax booster because they would not otherwise receive a COVID-19 booster dose. Read more.
Drug-related deaths are soaring among older Americans, driven by factors including unintentional misuse of prescription medications, self-medicating to treat pain, recreational drug use and social isolation.
In just a decade, the drug-related death rate doubled for those 65 years and older, climbing from 4.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2008-2010, to 8.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2018-2020, according to a report on senior health by United Health Foundation, which is part of UnitedHealth Group, earlier this year. The report drew on statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s a really sad finding,” says Rhonda Randall, D.O., chief medical officer at UnitedHealthcare. “There’s a misperception that seniors may be exempt from this problem.” Read more.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it had granted emergency use authorization for updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters for Americans as young as 5 years old, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially signed off on their use. The boosters can be given at least two months after their previous shot of the vaccine. Read more.
Your patients are the lifeblood of your business. With an increased number of pharmacy alternatives popping up these days — including mail order pharmacies and online pharmacies — how can you ensure your patients stay your patients?
Did you know you can create a customer retention strategy through Medicare plan consultations that keeps your current customers engaged and happy? You can, and we’ll get to that shortly.
Before we understand how you can improve patient retention, however, let’s first look at what patient retention is and how you calculate your patient retention rate. Read More.
Courtesy of Apotex
With the adjournment of the California Assembly on August 31, only four state legislatures remain in session for 2022—Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. (As of this writing, Missouri is in Special Session to deal with state tax issues; a state legislature calendar is available here.) The National Conference of State Legislatures bill tracking database shows that through August, 418 bills had been introduced, in 47 states, directly addressing prescription drug-related issues. Read more.
Courtesy of Apotex
At last! After nearly a year of committee hearings and political maneuvering, Congress finally has approved legislation to reauthorize FDA’s user fee programs for brand and generic drugs, biosimilars, and medical devices. The current programs expire with the close of fiscal year 2022 on September 30. Reauthorization will enable FDA to continue collecting application and facility user fees from industry for fiscal years 2023 through 2027, a 5-year period that begins October 1. Read more.
A federal judge ruled on September 19, 2022, against a Justice Department antitrust challenge to UnitedHealth‘s $13 billion acquisition of health-technology firm Change Healthcare, rejecting government claims that the deal would unlawfully suppress competition and limit innovation in health-insurance markets.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled for the companies in an opinion that he kept under seal for now because he said it “may contain competitively sensitive information.” The judge said he would release a redacted public version of the ruling in the coming days. In a one-page public order, he denied the Justice Department’s request to block the companies from completing the deal. Read more
Starting a new pharmacy can seem like a daunting task, and it certainly is one. However, the road to opening a pharmacy that runs successfully from day one means making the right decisions long before the doors are opened. This article is meant to help independent pharmacists navigate the process of establishing a new pharmacy more easily and successfully.
There’s a well-known adage (often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, though there seems to be no evidence that he ever actually said it) that goes, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” When starting a new pharmacy, this is especially true. Therefore, the first thing to do is write out a business plan that includes the following items:
The Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine has received an expansion of the emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA. The expanded EUA allows the vaccine to be administered as a two dose primary series for children aged 12 through 17. The vaccine was previously authorized under an EUA for adults 18+. Read more about the announcement.
Millions of Americans will soon have access to lower cost hearing aids, thanks to a final rule from the FDA aiming to improve access to them. The rule creates a category of OTC hearing aids, which allows a patient, ages 18+, with mild to moderate hearing impairment to purchase a hearing aid from a pharmacy or online retailer without a medical exam, prescription, or adjustment by an audiologist. Read more.
Under the new law, the U.S. government is now able to negotiate prices on the costliest prescription drugs, cap costs at $2,000 per year for people on Medicare, limit the monthly cost of insulin to $35 for seniors, and extend subsidies for people buying their own health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The law also provides free vaccines for seniors. Read more.
The US Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday. The bill includes provisions that will impact community pharmacies, like Medicare pricing, drug rebates and insulin copays. Read more about the bill here.
It’s back. Americans who thought they had successfully put COVID-19 in the rearview mirror are slowly coming to realize that the virus is not quite done with them. As of mid-July the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a 7-day moving average of 124,000 daily new cases – a 15.7 percent increase over the prior week.
The surge in new cases, driven primarily by the Omicron BA.5 variant, has fueled discussion about reimposing mask mandates, and the possibility of additional booster shots. This, despite evidence the latest variant is more resistant to existing vaccines than previous strains. Read More.
Flu season is fast approaching. And it’s more important than ever for patients, particularly those who are at risk, to be vaccinated against influenza. Adults 65 and older, along with those with severe health problems, people of color and those of lower socio-economic status are at higher risk of developing severe complications from the illness. Getting vaccinated can help protect these vulnerable populations. Learn more about the selected strains, changes to vaccine recommendations and what to expect next.
Humira may face competition from multiple generics in 2023. But, immunology medications aren’t the only biosimilars coming into the market in the next few years. Cardinal Health has compiled a report of more than 40 other biosimilars that we may see by 2030. Read Cardinal’s report here.
Did you know that more than one-third of health care organizations in the United States were hit by ransomware attacks in 2020? Approximately 65% of these attacks were successful, and approximately one-third of the organizations that had data stolen paid up. However, only 69% of organizations that paid ransom actually got their data back. Here are some tips to help you protect your patients’ information. Read more.
With PCMA’s failure to file its appeal by the July 11, 2022 deadline, North Dakota can regulate PBMs as it sees fit. PCMA has exhausted its legal options. So, the ruling in PCMA vs. Wehbi is now the law of the land for the states in the 8th Circuit (Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota). Read more
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax, a biotechnology company in Maryland that received significant federal funding to produce the shot.
The vaccine will be a new option for Americans as vaccination rates stagnate. The vaccine is authorized as a primary immunization series for adults, rather than a booster. However, the shots can’t be administered until the CDC signs off on the recommendation later this month. Read more.
As expected, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the PBM transparency order. The order is aimed at lowering the price of prescription drugs. AAP Member Ben Levine was at the governor’s side during the signing. Levine calls this order a victory for all Floridians. “This transparency will really help drive down drug prices, and also improve access for patients in our community so that they can go to the pharmacy they choose.” Read more about the executive order.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) today announced plans to sign an executive order that would hold PBMs accountable and provide drug cost transparency. Under the order, state agencies will be directed to reevaluate their contracts with PBMs to ensure “that costs to the state of Florida are justified.” Read more about the order.
Thirty years ago, pharmacies were just realizing the opportunities available to them in the long-term care space. At that time, long-term care pharmacy and pharmacists were servicing residents living in nursing homes (SNF) and that was the end of the story. In 2022, the healthcare spectrum has changed. Everyone is looking for a way to decrease healthcare costs and provide better care. Adverse drug reactions account for many hospital admissions – according to a recent meta-analysis, one in ten hospital admissions are for elderly patients.1 This makes pharmacists-more specifically, long-term care pharmacists- part of the solution for both costs and care; especially as the definition of appropriate long-term patients and services continue to be defined. Long-term care pharmacies can be a closed-door pharmacy servicing only long-term care residents or a long-term care pharmacy can be in a “combo” pharmacy where both retail and long-term care pharmacy are being offered under a retail license.
As you know, long-term care pharmacies provide services above and beyond what is delivered at the counter of a typical retail pharmacy for a walk-in patient. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has specific requirements for pharmacies servicing Medicare Part D beneficiaries in long term care facilities2. LTC pharmacies must have the capacity to provide specific drugs in units of use packaging, bingo cards, cassettes, unit dose or other special packaging commonly required by LTC facilities. They must also have services available twenty-four hours, seven days a week for emergency calls. These are but a couple of the services needed to take care of patients in a long-term care setting. Many pharmacies have added other services such as medication reconciliation, medication management, medication regimen reviews (MRRs), etc., in addition to the ones specified by CMS. Read More.
It’s a win for pharmacies, which had been pushing for the FDA to allow them to prescribe the medication, saying that it would ultimately expand access to the antivirals.
Paxlovid is authorized for the treatment of “mild-to-moderate” COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients that have tested positive and are considered to be at high risk of developing severe disease.
A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors, AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp., in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of creating a health crisis. Read about the ruling.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the state budget, including a provision that forgives $142 million in Medi-Cal clawbacks from independent pharmacies in the state. Read more here.
Many Americans across the political spectrum are clamoring for federal action on guns in the wake of a mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and hundreds of other places.
But buried in a bipartisan compromise hashed out by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday is an unrelated provision they might not be so happy about.
The gun bill would enhance the exemption drug middlemen working with Medicare have from the federal “Anti-Kickback Statute.” Read more.
Businesses owners, including those who work within the pharmacy industry, often face situations in which legal advice becomes useful. Getting the right legal advice can be pricey, but it can save a lot of time, money and hassle in the long term. Here are some situations where getting good advice is crucial.
Walmart recently announced its plan to raise wages for its more than 36,000 pharmacy technicians working in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. Additionally, the retail giant plans to hire an additional 5,000 workers in these positions this year. Are you ready to compete for staffing with Walmart? Read the full article from Drug Topics here.
Cardinal Health issued a new alert regarding recently reported fraudulent activity. There are reports of individuals falsely claiming to be representatives from pharmaceutical wholesalers and courier service employees. This is an industry-wide issue, as criminals attempt to place orders and intercept delivery of the product. Be on the lookout, and read the full alert here.
More than 90 percent of people in the United States live within five miles of a community pharmacy. Additionally, patients visit the pharmacy twice as often as they visit their primary healthcare provider. So, your pharmacy can make a significant impact on the lives of your community members, but you must get them through the door first.
One way is standing out from your competition by personalizing your services. From simple handwritten, thank you notes for a new patient to loyalty programs or just recognizing a birthday, the possible ways to connect with patients are endless. To learn more ideas about how to increase your pharmacy customer base, watch the AAP Preferred Partner webinar from TDS here.
Have you ever thought about what it would take for your pharmacy to go green? If you could give your patients their medication information digitally, it would save you thousands of dollars every year in paper and toner costs. Our Preferred Partner, Vuca Health, has an innovative solution called MedsOnCue. Their platform has a library of informational videos about hundreds of medications, in both English and Spanish.
The system can integrate into your pharmacy’s system and deliver the medication information video straight to your patient’s computer, smartphone or tablet. To learn more about MedsOnCue, watch our AAP Preferred Partner webinar from Vuca Health here.
We know that every pharmacy faces different challenges. That is why we partner with a variety of vendors to give you choices that address YOUR business needs. Our Preferred Partner, Rx30, can make your pharmacy faster and more efficient by optimizing your workflow and customizing it around you.
Check out the AAP Preferred Partner webinar about the types of tools they can provide your business. From integrated pharmacy point-of-sale to insurance claim reconciliation or pharmacy inventory management, Rx30 has a solution for you.
Independent pharmacies are the cornerstone of every community. And the role your pharmacy plays in your community is constantly evolving. You are not just filling scripts. You are doing healthcare counseling and testing. In many underserved areas, you are becoming the primary care provider for many patients.
But the question is – how do you bill for all of these services you are offering? In this Preferred Partner webinar, EnLivenHealth explains some of the programs they offer to help you navigate the medical billing system. Watch the webinar here.
Expiring drug products are a problem in every pharmacy. But out-of-date pharmaceuticals don’t have to be an unmanageable business expense. The right business partner can turn expired medications into cash.
Medication returns vendors, more formally known as reverse distribution or reverse logistics providers, manage between 3.5% and 4% of all pharmaceutical sales, according to a 2018 estimate from the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Research Foundation. That’s more than 120 million units annually, worth more than $13 billion, based on 2016 pharmaceutical product sales of $450 billion.
“Return Solutions comes to the pharmacy quarterly and goes through our entire stock to pull everything that is expired or set to expire in the next few months,” said Lisa Stahlman, RPh, pharmacy manager at the WellSpan Pharmacy in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. “A few weeks later, we get a check. I’m sure there are plenty of pharmacies that don’t use a returns company, but it’s so much more time-efficient and cost-efficient than trying to keep up with return policies and requirements for every manufacturer on your own.” Read More.
