2016-06 Georgia Pharmacy magazine

June/July 2016

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Georgia Pharmacy 1June/July 2016

3 prescriptTable or menu — your choiceThere’s a reason we want you to stand by our friends in the legislature: your practice is at stake.

4 newsWhat’s happening in the Georgia pharmacy worldMedicaid overhaul, new career center, license renewal approaches, and more

7legal injectionMAC complaintsThe commissioner of insurance is rejecting many MAC-pricing complaints. Here’s why.

9 GPhA academiesThis issue: The Academy of Independent Pharmacy

Are you getting the most you can out of your GPhA membership? We do more than advocate — there’s a long list of products and services GPhA provides.

From helping with student loans, to offering training and certifications, to providing a portfolio of insurance products for individuals and groups, to offering back-end services for independent pharmacies, we really want you to take us for all we’re worth.

14 COVER STORY: RIGHT TOOLS. RIGHT HERE.

contents

12legislative recapThe final status of the 2016 bills affecting Georgia pharmacy

19in briefMember survey results

21PharmPACInvestors in the future of the pharmacy profession in Georgia

25contact usWho does what at GPhA, and how to reach us

24postscript A final note from President Tommy WhitworthLooking back at what we’ve accomplished over the year

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Georgia Pharmacy magazine is the official publication of the Georgia Pharmacy Association.

Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Direct any questions to the editor at [email protected].

President and Chair of the Board Tommy Whitworth

President-Elect Lance Boles

First Vice President Liza Chapman

Second Vice President Tim Short

Chief Executive Officer Scott Brunner, CAE [email protected]

Vice President of Communication and Engagement Phillip Ratliff [email protected]

Director of Communication & Editor Andrew Kantor [email protected]

Art Director Carole Erger-Fass

ADVERTISING All advertising inquiries should be directed to Denis Mucha at [email protected] or (770) 252-1284. Media kit and rates available upon request.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Georgia Pharmacy is distributed as a regular membership service, paid for with membership dues. Non-members can subscribe for $50 per year domestic or $65 per year international. Single issues are $10 per issue domestic and $20 international. Practicing Georgia pharmacists who are not members of GPhA are not eligible for subscriptions.

POSTALGeorgia Pharmacy (ISSN 1075-6965) is published bi-monthly by the GPhA, 6065 Barfield Road NE, Suite 100 Sandy Springs, GA 30328. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, GA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Georgia Pharmacy magazine, 6065 Barfield Road NE, Suite 100 Sandy Springs, GA 30328.

4

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> David Graves - Graves Pharmacy, Georgia


Every time I sit down to write one of these columns, I struggle. It’s not because I’ve run out of things to say. (Me at a loss for words? Never.) No, it’s the ongoing challenge of capturing your attention, of telling you what I need to tell you in such a way that you not

only hear it, but heed it. I admit that’s the reason for the snappy head-

line above: It’s the most accurate and concise way I know to communicate what’s at stake in Geor-gia’s upcoming elections, and to spur you to do something about it — to take action.

Here’s the skinny:This November, all 236 seats in the General As-

sembly will be up for election. (Yes, I know there’s a presidential race, too, but don’t let that circus distract you from legislative races, which affect your practice much more directly than Donald or Hillary ever could.) Georgia pharmacists have some good friends — champions for your pro-fession and the patients you serve — who are standing for re-election in the legislature. Some of them will face tough challenges.

We need to stand by those friends… by which I mean, support them… by which I mean, you need to support PharmPAC of Georgia so we can fund the campaigns of candidates who think like you do about your pharmacy practice.

These elections are important for two reasons, the first being: How can we not support those elected officials who’ve supported pharmacy? And the second being: You can bet that PBMs and insurance companies and other groups will be engaged in these races, too, and needless to say, their perspective isn’t always the same as yours or GPhA’s on issues impacting Georgia pharmacy.

One way to counter the influence of their money in these races is with funding of our own, via PharmPAC. This year, we need to raise an

prescript

You’re either at the table or you’re on the menu

1

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Georgia PharmacyA S S O C I A T I O N

SCOTT BRUNNER

Leveraged Buying PowerWith 1,300+ members and

over $4 billion in annual

wholesale purchases of

brands and generics, CPA

offers real buying and rebate

power. All prospective

members get an opportunity

analysis to ensure a CPA

relationship is beneficial.

Dedicated Support TeamWe have your back. A

dedicated support team of

industry specialists proactively

works on your behalf to resolve

issues, save you time, and

ultimately, make your business

more successful. We work for

you and we will always make

your best interest “the” priority.

888.434.0308 COMPLIANTRX.COM170 Business Park CircleStoughton, WI 53589

Member Owned + 100% Transparent

For over 20 years, member-

owned CPA® has shown a

commitment to transparency

by providing detailed

accounting of all rebates and

expenses, by watching every

basis point and by pursuing

every opportunity to improve

the bottom line of all members.

Data + Analytical Services

CPA’s industry experts continually

research trends, turning

information and insights into

business opportunities. Expect

consistent, timely and actionable

data reports customized for your

pharmacy. Receive support that

empowers you to do business

more effectively and efficiently.

See us at the Georgia Pharmacy Convention

The one great thing about CPA is the completely open, transparent network. You get all the financials.

> David Graves - Graves Pharmacy, Georgia

additional $125,000 in PharmPAC investments in order to execute our political strategy in legislative elections. That’s why we urge you to invest $100, $200, $500: It’s your political insurance.

In coming months your PharmPAC board of directors will make funding and endorsement decisions in key legislative races. We’ll share those with you via a sample ballot in the October/November issue of Georgia Pharmacy. If your pharmacy practice factors into your voting deci-sion, you owe it to yourself to consider supporting those PharmPAC-endorsed candidates.

An equally important way you can counter the influence of those who don’t support pharmacy is by volunteering now in your legislators’ cam-paigns. Give a few hours to knock doors. Place a campaign sign in your yard. Hand out candidate brochures in your pharmacy. It’s that kind of in-volvement that those who oppose us can’t match — and in so doing, you’ll grow your influence with that candidate.

Which is all to say: Do something.Because when it comes to the Georgia General

Assembly, you’re either at the table, or you’re on the menu.

Scott Brunner is GPhA’s chief executive officer. Contact him at [email protected].

GPhA’s Greg Reybold (top row, third from right) volunteered with Representative Sharon Cooper’s reelection campaign, knocking on doors and getting the word out. That kind of work can make a big difference in a close race — think about doing it for your legislator one weekend soon.

Georgia Pharmacy 4 June/July 2016

State Medicaid Director Linda Wiant visited in April with the GPhA Board of Directors to discuss a range of issues impacting GPhA members, from concerns about CMO network adequacy to prob-lems with prior authorizations.

Wiant, a Mercer-trained pharma-cist, also commented on recently passed legislation that will subject Medicaid recoupments to the audit bill of rights, indicating that she had implemented new policies several months ago to address concerns about excessive claw-backs, and that in her opinion the GPhA-supported legislation simply made those policies part of the Code of Georgia. (Directors alerted Wiant that her policy changes were clearly not being adhered to by some state subcontractors.)

The GPhA board also met with of-ficials from the Health Prevention Division of the State Department of Public Health to discuss partnering

Get the CPE you need and the CPE you need from GPhA — from now through the end of the year.

Visit GPhA.org/education for more info and to sign up for courses.

June 16 – 19 2016 Georgia Pharmacy Convention (Hilton Head) More than 35 hours of CPE on a wide range of topics.

July 23 CPE Weekend — Immunization (Atlanta)

July 30 GPhA’s Practical Skills Refresher Course (Suwanee)

August 13 CPE Weekend — Specialty Pharmacy (Atlanta)

September 17 CPE Weekend — New Laws, Drugs, Opportunities (Atlanta)

October 22 Rising to the Top: A Leadership Symposium for Women in Pharmacy (Atlanta)

November 5CPE Weekend — Fraud and Abuse (Atlanta)

December 10 CPE Weekend — Senior Care (Atlanta)

GPhA EDUCATION CALENDAR

news

GPHA BOARD BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS, ADDRESSES CONCERNS

opportunities in chronic disease management, immunizations and prescription drug abuse prevention. The officials, Director of Health Protection Dr. Pat O’Neal, Director of Chronic Disease Prevention Dr. Jean O’Connor, and Director of Pharmacy Dr. Kimberley Hazel-wood, indicated they welcomed further conversations about how pharmacists and DPH can work together.

The meetings with Wiant and Public Health are the latest in a se-ries of stakeholder visits the Board has undertaken to engage and build relationships with key stakeholders and partners in Georgia pharmacy including student pharmacist lead-ers and faculty at the state’s four pharmacy schools and leaders of the Medical Association of Georgia, Georgia Food Industries Associa-tion, Georgia Society of Health Sys-tem Pharmacists. and the Georgia Association of Chain Drug Stores.

L to R: GPhA board members Tim Short, Daryl Reynolds, Sharon Deason, Tommy Whitworth, Medicaid Director Linda Wiant, board members Bobby Moody, David Graves, Chris Thurmond, and Drew Miller.


On the off chance you forgot, remember that 2016 is a license-renewal year for all Georgia’s pharmacists.

One of the requirements, of course, is documentation of at least 30 hours of continuing pharmacy education.

GPhA members have it a bit easier. We’ve got plenty of CPE available, much of it free and all of it timely and interesting.

Our major clearinghouse for education is at GPhA.org/education, where you’ll find links to our certification courses, CPE Weekends, and printable CPE from our friends at the Ohio Pharmacy Association.

And if you’re reading this before June 19, don’t forget the 35+ hours of courses available at the Georgia Pharmacy Convention — check out GPhAconvention.com/grow.

Marijuana could be rescheduled as C-II this yearThe DEA announced that it’s con-sidering changing its classifica-tion of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II. That would mean it no longer considered pot to be as dangerous as heroin (!), and would open up medical research.

n n n

Morning flu shotsWho knew? Flu vaccines are more effective when given in the morning, according to a paper published in the journal Vaccine.

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E-cigs can’t be sold to minorsRetail folks, take heed: Starting in August, federal law says e-ciga-rettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookahs can’t be sold to minors.

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PharmacyLibrary now available at deep member discount GPhA is partnering with PharmacyLibrary to offer mem-bers an exclusive rate for the ser-vice, which features 31 textbooks,

more than 3,000 NAPLEX practice questions, and more than 450 case studies for just $225 for an annual subscription. That’s $150 off the nonmember rate.

Go to store.pharmacylibrary.com and enter promo code GPhA during checkout.

n n n

Overpresciptions more common with older women If you have older female patients, keep an eye on their meds — they’re apparently more likely to be overprescribed than men are, according to a study from the University of British Columbia.

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Study: Almost $100 billion in unnecessary brand-name drug spending An Ohio State Univeristy study of Amercans’ prescription drug spending found that we could have saved $73 billion over two years by buying generic drugs instead of brand name — plus $25 billion in consumers’ out-of-pock-et expenses.

License renewal is this year — do you have the CPE you need?

Did you know that Georgia companies and universities get more than $740 million in federal research funding from the NIH, National Science Foundation, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Energy? That’s a nice chunk of change being pumped into the state’s economy.

(You can see the break-down by district at fllw.me/gataxdollars.)

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK ... IN GEORGIA

It’s a word you’ll be hearing a lot, and it going to be affecing your patients.

As Americans get older they’re taking more meds — almost 40 percent of people over 65 now use five or more prescription medications every day, according to an article in JAMA Internal Medicine.

To add a wrench (or three), almost two-thirds were also using dietary supplements, including herbs and vitamins that could interact with other meds, and nearly 40 percent took over-the-counter medi-cation as well.

We don’t need to explain why that might be an issue....

THE WORD IS “POLYPHARMACY”

QUICK TAKES...


news

The Medical Association of Georgia says that the potential merger of Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna “would have disastrous results for patients and physicians in this state.”

Writing for Georgia Health News, MAG president John Harvey strongly opposed the merger, saying, “[T]he truth is that these deals would result in higher prices and fewer choices.

“With little competition,” he explained, “Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna could control costs by further reducing the size of their already limited health care networks and restricting a patient’s access to the doctors and specialists the patient has come to know and rely on.”

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community • specialty • compounding

long-term care • robotics • file buys

GPHA DEBUTS CAREER CENTER

Looking for a job? Looking for an employee? We’ve got you covered with the new GPhA Career Center.

Search hundreds of phar-macy jobs across Georgia and the nation, or browse hun-dreds of résumés and CVs to fill that open spot.

Pharmacists and techs: Whether it’s your first job, you’re thinking about a change, or you feel it’s time to move up a notch on the ladder, the Career Center is the place to start.

Pharmacy owners: You aren’t still using craigslist, are you? Find qualified candidates for any pharma-cy-related position in minutes.

Check out the new GPhA Career Center today at GPhA.org/careers.

MAG OPPOSES INSURER MERGERS

Diabetes boom tied to better medical careDiabetes has become more prevalent across the globe in recent years, and a team of Australian researchers think they know one reason why.

Ironically, it’s better medical care that’s to blame, at least in an overall sense.

The study, published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, found that today’s longer lifespans, combined with diabetes’s genetic component, mean it’s more likely to be passed down to a new generation.

“Up to the early 20th century, type 1 diabetes was a horrible and dangerous disease, usually leading to people’s death during their teens or early 20s.”


SUICIDE41K

FIREARMS34KMOTOR

VEHICLES34K

OTHER892K

HEART DISEASE

611K

CANCER585K

MEDICAL ERROR

251K COPD149K

A new study finds that, although not officially tracked (yet), medical errors — including drug

errors — are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease and cancer.

CMS OVERHAULS MEDICAID AND CHIP, INCLUDES ACCESS TO PHARMACY

MEDICAL ERRORS ARE THE U.S.’S THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH

For the first time in a decade, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid has instituted a major overhaul of Medicaid and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program). The goal, as always, is to “deliver better care, smarter spending, and healthier people.”

The final rule — get to it through GPhA.org/2016overhaul — looks like it will benefit all pharmacy practice settings by ensuring patients have access to pharmacy services.

In fact, it specifically mentions access to pharmacy services in one stated goal: “Develop and implement time and distance standards for primary and specialty care (adult and pediatric), behavioral health (adult and pediatric), OB/GYN, pediatric dental, hospital, and pharmacy providers…”

The latest info on Georgia’s air quality is out from the American Lung Association. Breathe deep, Sumter. You too, Glynn. Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton? Not so much.

The ALA looked at the number of high ozone days occurring in select counties across the state, as well as the amount of particle pollution recorded and gave each county a letter grade.

See the details and grades at fllw.me/ga-air.

BREATHE DEEP, GEORGIA

read more @gphabuzz.com


hundreds of thousands of dollars. One audit alone exceeded $100K, while often it’s just a few hun-dred bucks. “But,” Lurey says, “it’s still our mem-bers’ money.”

For AIP, it’s not just about pocketbook issues. It’s on a mission to “keep independents independent,” Lurey says. He lectures to student pharmacists on independent pharmacy ownership, and he’s instru-mental in matching buyers and sellers with one another. And with more than 80 percent of Geor-gia’s independent pharmacy owners being GPhA members, making successful matches is common.

GPhA is working to expand what AIP offers, from the nascent High Performance Pharmacy Network (which aims to have independent pharmacies provide a variety of services to Georgia businesses and organizations), to developing diabetic courses, hypertension courses, and asthma programs. Says Lurey, “Any way we can help strengthen indepen-dent pharmacy, we’re going to find it.”

If there’s one overarching, if slightly paradoxical, truth in the world of independent pharmacy, it’s this: Being independent means sticking together.

When an independent pharmacy owner is facing an adverse PBM audit, looking for the best deal on unique OTC products, or hoping to sell a practice to an aspiring owner, independent phar-macists can’t go it alone.

These words of advice come directly from Jeff Lurey, the vice president of the Academy of Independent Pharmacy (AIP). He has known inde-pendent pharmacy for more than 40 years as an employee and as an owner, and today he and six team members field phone calls from members, organize continuing education, and, when called on, step in to solve problems affecting indepen-dent pharmacy owners’ bottom line … and peace of mind.

Nothing has the potential to upend both of those more than adverse audits. When a notice comes in that a PBM or state agency is requesting a recoupment — running as high as six figures in extreme cases — GPhA knows how to push back.

“We help with a lot of audits,” Lurey says, “and we save members big dollar amounts on a regu-lar basis.”

And they’ve got the numbers to back that up; GPhA and AIP have helped save members

academy profile

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GPhA has three practice academies, and each exists to promote a particular practice area of pharmacy: the Academy of Clinical and Health-System Pharmacists (ACHP), the Academy of Employee Pharmacists (AEP), and the Academy of Independent Pharmacy (AIP)

We’re going to profile each of them in the next several issues of Georgia Pharmacy.

AIP: Helping independents

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Academy of Clinical Pharmacists


Academy of Employee Pharmacists


Academy of Health System Pharmacists


Academy of Independent Pharmacy


Academy of Students and Academicians


Academy of Pharmacy Technicians


For more information about insurance services, contact:Bryan Turner Vice President J. Smith Lanier & Co. Tel: 678.656.2093 Email: [email protected]

Denis Mucha Manager – Member ServicesGeorgia Pharmacy AssociationTel: 404.419.8120 Email: [email protected]

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2. Complaints have been filed without completing the commissioner’s complaint form or GPhA’s complaint form. Some of these complaints have failed to identify the PBM responsible and the basis/reason for the complaint. Complaints have even been filed without providing the name of the pharmacy or pharmacist — and with no contact information!

For the investigators to do their jobs, they need as much information as possible. Completion of the commissioner’s complaint form and GPhA’s complaint form will put your complaint in the best position possible for success. Visit GPhA.org/mactransparency for more information.

3. Filing a complaint when there is a relatively small negative reimbursement without looking at acquisition costs the day the claim is processed. The law does not require reimbursements at or above acquisition costs, but rather, that pricing be updated at least every five business days. The greater the disparity between wholesale prices the day of processing and reimbursements, the more compelling complaints will likely be.

Why has my MAC com-plaint been denied/rejected by Commissioner of Insur-ance’s Office?

Based upon communi-cations with the commis-sioner’s office, as well as conversations with GPhA members, it appears there

have been many deficient complaints filed by pharmacies.

While the commissioner’s office takes all com-plaints seriously, it may be forced to deny or reject complaints that are deficient or incomplete.

It’s important for your pharmacy — and for all pharmacies — that complaints filed are complete and grounded in the law.

Here are a few typical “deficiencies” in com-plaints to the commissioner’s office:

1. Complaints have been filed without the pharmacies first following internal complaint procedures set forth by the PBM. By way of example, complaints have been filed the day after the fill date. Remember: Pharmacies must exhaust every internal appeal process prior to the commissioner of insurance taking any action.This position is consistent with the law, which requires PBM’s to establish an internal appeal process — and it’s also likely consistent with your PBM agreements.

legal injection

In which Greg Reybold, GPhA ‘s vice president of public policy and association counsel, answers questions about Georgia pharmacy law.

(Greg can’t actually give legal advice to members, but he’s happy to offer his interpretation of the law here. You know the drill: If you have a legal issue, consult your own attorney.)

GREG REYBOLD

Plausible deniability

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Use of this article, or the information it contains, does not con-stitute any legal advice, does NOT establish any attorney-client relationship, and does NOT create any legal duty on the part of the author or the Georgia Pharmacy Association. When making a decision that may have legal consequences, readers should consult with qualified legal counsel.

DO YOU HAVE AN ISSUE YOU’D LIKE TO SEE ADDRESSED IN THIS COLUMN? LET US KNOW — SUBMIT IT TO GREG AT [email protected].

PHARMACIES MUST EXHAUST EVERY INTERNAL APPEAL PROCESS BEFORE THE COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE CAN TAKE ANY ACTION

REGISTER ONSITE FOR THE CONVENTIONGROW, PLAY, CONNECTIf you’re reading this, the Georgia Pharmacy Convention is at best only a few days away. Here’s an idea: Why not come to the convention for the day? The drive isn’t bad, the island is gorgeous, and you can pop in for the day to take some seminars and make some connections.

Check out some of the 35+ hours of CPE, and sit in on a session. (You can find the full schedule at GPhAconvention.com/grow.)How about this: If you try a session and decide the convention isn’t for you, we’ll refund your registration fee — and we’ll even let you keep any CPE credit you earn. (Fine print: You need to come back to the registration desk within two hours of registering.)We’re confident you’ll want to stay for the day. Besides that CPE, there’s the best professional networking you’ll get all year, and the biggest expo hall we’ve ever fielded: dozens upon dozens of vendors, tools, services, and potential partners to check out.

Bottom line: On-site convention registration is a smart move. So why not make it?

HILTON HEAD MARRIOTT RESORT, JUNE 16-19, 2016


Listed below are some of the key bills from the 2016 legislative session that affect Geor-gia pharmacy — and their final status.

We’ll be addressing the impact of many of these bills, as well as others, in detail in the New Laws Update session at the Geor-gia Pharmacy Convention.

BY GREG REYBOLD

BILLS GPhA SUPPORTED

PDMP reform (HB 900)Gives pharmacists the ability to delegate retrieval and review of PDMP information to technicians, and it allows pharmacists and physicians to com-municate concerns about a patient’s inappropriate use of a controlled substance. Passed legislature, signed by governor on April 26, 2016.

Limiting DCH audit recoupment (HB 916)Would have given pharmacists (and others) the right to correct any clerical errors on the part of the Department of Community Health, and would have limited (to the amount of the error itself) how much the DCH could recoup. Passed legislature, vetoed by the governor on May 3, 2016.

This one hurts. While the governor made clear in his veto that he believes Medicaid audits should focus on overpayments and fraud and abuse rather than clerical errors, the governor felt compelled to veto the bill due to language that goes beyond DCH — it applies to all state agen-cies. He felt that could “interfere with the efficient processing of payments and sound fiscal manage-ment practices.”

Despite the veto, GPhA would like to thank our members who responded to our call to action to petition the governor’s office. We also appreciate the support of the many legislators who reached out to the governor to express their support for HB 916.

In recent conversations with Medicaid Director

legislative recap

New laws, changed regs, and one lost battle

Linda Wiant, she indicated she had implemented new policies several months ago stopping the practice of recoupment for certain clerical errors.

In light of these comments, the Georgia legis-lature’s overwhelming support for prohibiting recoupment for corrected clerical errors (164-0 in House and 52-1 in the Senate), and the governor’s similar position on the issue, GPhA will reach out to DCH and seek clarification with regard to its policies in connection with clerical errors, and will try to obtain a commitment to refrain from past clerical error recoupment practices. Stay tuned.

Pseudoephedrine ID requirements (HB 588)Requires pharmacies to use an electronic system to track and limit pseudoephedrine purchases. Passed legislature via HB 362. While unsigned by the governor, this bill still becomes law. GPhA will continue to apprise members as more information becomes available in terms of system rollout.

Annual update to state’s overall drug and pharmacy law (HB 926)Notable to pharmacy, includes language protect-ing the ability of pharmacies to provide pa-tient-specific sterile and non-sterile compounded drug products to providers. Passed legislature, signed by governor on May 3, 2016.

Annual update to controlled-substance law (“Drug update,” HB 783)Passed legislature, signed by the governor on May 3, 2016.

OTHER PHARMACY LEGISLATION

GPhA monitored these bills. In several instances we worked to improve or clarify the legislation, but we took no active position on them.

Allowing PAs to prescribe hydrocodone compound products (SB 115)Passed Senate; died in House.


DOWN BUT NOT OUTThe issue of medicinal cannabis oil may be tabled for this year, but it’s certainly not going away.

GPhA does not have a position on the broader issue of whether the oil should be available. Our focus remains strictly on the issue of patient care and safety. We want to be sure pharmacists are involved — not in dispensing the drug, but in counseling patients, discussing possible interactions, and evaluating response.

We’re grateful that Representative Allen Peake, who is leading the effort to allow the use of cannabis oil in Georgia, has been listening to our concerns and involving us in the process.

Allowing for volunteer health practitioners in an emergency (SB 230)Passed legislature; signed by governor on April 26, 2016.

Regulating mail order pharmacies (HB 886)Passed legislature; awaiting governor’s signature.

Establishing a drug repository for unused medication for indigent and elderly patients(HB 897)Passed legislature; signed by governor on May 3, 2016.

Governor oversight of professional boards (HB 952)Gives the governor’s office the authority and duty to actively supervise Georgia professional licens-ing boards in order to avoid anti-trust issues.GPhA agrees that oversight is necessary if boards are to enjoy immunity, but we advocated for the oversight to lie with the attorney general in order to give Georgia’s boards the best chance of successfully invoking state action anti-trust immunity. Passed legislature, signed by governor on May 3, 2016. 1

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Exempting hospitals and health systems from certain requirements in administration of the influenza vaccine (HB 1043)Passed legislature; signed by governor on April 26, 2016.

MKT-06070-0410Tracking #639543

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Georgia Pharmacy 14 June/July 2016Georgia Pharmacy 14 June/July 2016

What’s the point of having an association? It’s 2016 — if we want to associate we’ve got Facebook and LinkedIn and Skype and Whatsapp and listservs and more message boards than we know what to do with. Associating is simple.

It’s an easy mistake to make, but associating is a lot more — and a lot more important — than connecting with colleagues.

RIGHT TOOLS. RIGHT HERE.

The obvious benefit: Associations represent you. You’ve heard us talk about that, especially when the General Assembly is in session. An association of pharmacists (or teachers, or police chiefs, or what have you) has much more influ-ence than its individual parts ... er, people.

But associations like GPhA do more than just help you speak in one voice. By combining resources, we’re able to offer services that can advance not only the pharmacy profession as a whole, but you and your practice.

We’re firm believers that a rising tide lifts all pharmacists. And let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of organizations that exist solely to help you be better at your job.

At GPhA, we brainstorm about what ser-

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Georgia Pharmacy 15June/July 2016 Georgia Pharmacy 15June/July 2016

vices we can offer individual members. We ask. We survey. And then we offer services and pick products that you’ve asked for — and that are in your best interests, representing real needs.

Getting good continuing education is some-thing we heard mentioned a lot — CPE courses that weren’t the same old, same old. Manage-ment training, too. Insurance, both personal and professional. Services to help with running the business end of a pharmacy.

So we continue to work for you: offering programs, seeing how they work, getting feed-back, and repeating. And every now and then we sit down with members to say, “Tell us how we’ve worked for you.” Because at the end of the day, that’s what counts: How our programs and products and services help our people.

STUDENT LOAN REDUCTION A newly minted pharm school grad moves the needle on her student loan’s principal

The interest rate of a student loan seems an abstract notion when you’re in pharmacy school, but once you’re out it can take its toll — especially for pharmacists with loan debt well into the six figures.

The math is simple: A pharmacy school grad with $100,000 in student loans at a 6.8 percent interest rate (a typical figure) and a 10-year term will pay about $38,000 in interest over the life of the loan — and that’s if he makes every payment on time.

Looking at the growing number of recent grads in our membership, GPhA reached out to SoFi, a company that specializes in student loan refinancing.

What we learned: The average pharmacist who refinances with SoFi saves $25,000.

Yes, you read that right. And since the GPhA/SoFi partnership began about a year ago, GPhA members have refinanced more than $3 million in student loan debt.

One of those is Publix pharmacist Amanda Westbrooks of Kennesaw, who graduated with her PharmD in 2012.

Westbrooks spent years paying on her student loans, but high interest rates meant that

she was hardly touching the principal. “Each month, I’d pay $750 in student loan payments, and see my principal go down $20,” she said.

She estimates that, before switching to SoFi, she had paid out some $22,000 in payments to lenders, yet only brought her principal down by about $2,000.

The problem, Westbrooks said, was interest rates running as high as 8.5 percent. She knew market rates were much lower, so she tried call-ing her lenders to negotiate a reduction. But her lenders weren’t budging.

“The only way to change that was to move the loans,” Westbrooks said.

By turning to SoFi, got her rate down to about 5 percent. Refinancing at the lower rate gave her the chance to shave ten years off her loan duration while paying just a little more than she’d been paying each month.

And what will the combination of shorter loan duration and highly competitive interest rates do for Westbrooks’s bottom line?

“I’ll save about $52,000,” she said. Learn more: GPhA.org/sofi

HEALTH COVERAGE AND BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

How one entrepreneurial pharmacist from Wood-stock found that bundling can mean big savings.

There’s a rumor you may have heard: Pharmacists like treating patients. Strange but true — there are actually some pharmacists who don’t enjoy the paperwork, administra-tion, and other hassles of the business end of a pharmacy.

Kidding aside, the desire to get away from the office and back to your patients is something we heard a lot. GPhA already offered group health (and other) insurance plans — why not up the game by providing a more comprehen-sive back-office solution?

Enter GPhA’s PEO, or professional employer organization. Working with StaffMetrix, GPhA now lets independent pharmacies hand over the administrative paperwork — HR, payroll, taxes, even background checks — to a company that specializes in back-of-store operations and work-

AMANDA WESTBROOKS

JONATHAN MARQUESS


place compliance laws, letting pharmacist-owners focus on patient care.

Add to that a robust group-health plan from Humana, and we’ve got a package that’s just about impossible to beat, and will continue to fit the bill. StaffMetrix regularly surveys the marketplace to find what challenges owners face so it can always offer a comprehensive solution.

Jonathan Marquess, co-owner of almost a doz-en pharmacies across north Georgia, turned to the GPhA PEO so he could get back to doing pharmacy — after he did his homework, that is.

He liked the product and its simple per-month/per-employee pricing. “They process payroll taxes and manage direct deposit services,” Marquess said, and — not being a lawyer (or wanting to pay one) — he was happy to let the PEO handle his person-nel. “Their HR services provide employees with all the disclosures federal law requires,” he said.

And, of course, there’s the health insurance he gives those employees.

“Health insurance rates are on an upward tra-jectory,” Marquess said. “With the PEO solution, I’ve curbed those increases and then some. I can now offer competitive benefits to my employees — at a competitive price.”

“Under StaffMetrix, we can save a compa-ny paying out $150,000 on employee healthcare benefits more than $30,000 annually,” said GPhA’s member services manager Denis Mucha.

But not everyone needs PEO services — say, if you’re already happy with your payroll provider.

cover storySometimes all you need is the health insurance portion. We can help there too, and still save you money through one of GPhA’s non-PEO group health plans, Mucha said.

For Marquess, it’s not just about savings. Going with the PEO has allowed him to turn his attention away from the minutiae of running a business, toward doing what pharmacists do best.

“There are only so many hours in the day, only so many things you can do,” he said. “StaffMetrix allows me to focus on the things we pharmacists are good at: patient care, the clinical side of phar-macy — the things we ought to be focusing on.”Learn more: GPhA.org/peo

WORKFLOW AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Continuous quality improvement supporting state and third-party network compliance

If you’re an independent owner, you already know that your pharmacy needs a workflow system. There are compliance issues at play, from state and third party networks. And there are patient safety issues. A quality improvement process reveals weak spots in your pharmacy workflow that can result in near misses, and can head off potential medication errors.

With the advent of Star Ratings and pharmacy networks looking to up their quality game (to put it mildly), GPhA set about looking for a partner who could help pharmacy owners with their workflow. We selected Pharmacist Quality Assurance for its affordable and comprehensive pharmacy workflow platform.

Pharmacy workflow is full of variables — one workplace isn’t necessarily like another; best practices can be a guide, but only that. As Tara Modisett, executive director at the Alliance for Patient Medication Safety quipped, “If you’ve seen one pharmacy workflow, you’ve seen one.”

There’s the size and layout of the physical space. The size and composition of the staff — is there high turnover or a more stable roster of pharmacists and technicians behind the counter? There are the patients and what medications they need, what types of insurance they have, and what counseling they require.

By inputting real-world data into the PQC platform, pharmacies can find patterns and look to make improvements. The more data provided, the

MEDICARE PART C AND D COVERAGE THROUGH GPHA When former GPhA board president Larry Braden was working as an independent pharmacist, he used GPhA health insurance because it was a product he trusted. Now that he’s retired, he gets his supplemental health insurance through GPhA (and our partner, J. Smith Lanier) for the same reason.

“I was confident that GPhA officers and staff had thorough-ly vetted the new insurance or they wouldn’t be offering it,” Braden said. Choosing GPhA-endorsed insurance streamlined a process that could have could have taken hours or days to about 15 minutes. The representatives at J. Smith Lanier were cordial and best of all, their price was extremely competitive.

“Relying on GPhA is proving to be a wise and responsible decision,” Larry said.


better the chances of revealing the patterns. The PQC software takes all that into account

and produces analytics covering all sorts of factors that might be impacting the quality of a phar-macy’s workflow. Part of that are “near misses” — when something almost went wrong but didn’t.

Pay attention to those, Modisett said, because they account for about 97 percent of PQC report-ing, and they are “the canary in the coalmine” when it comes to revealing actual threats to patient safety. Reduce those and you’re reducing the risk of something more significant happening.

“There’s often a story behind the near misses,” she explained. “Just telling someone to ‘be more careful’ is not necessarily going to reduce near misses. You have to get in the way of the near miss. That might mean changing physical space, refining your basket or hanger system, or working through how you do shift changes.” The bottom line, and what PQC aims to help with, is: “Are you asking the right questions to make sure the drug goes to the right patient?”

Eventually, you’re not only reducing near miss-es. You’re creating a transparent culture committed to patient safety.

“We have to move from a system of name and blame toward a culture committed to real improvement,” Modisett said. “It’s all about moving toward a culture that assumes we all come to work wanting to help patients.”Learn more: PQC.net

CERTIFICATIONS

The trend today in pharmacy is towards pharmacists provid-ing more services to patients, often through their employers. Two major examples: diabetes management and medication therapy management. Getting APhA certification through

GPhA to provide either — or both — can mean a revenue stream (for pharmacy owners) or a great way to differentiate yourself on your résumé (for pharmacist employees).

Take Kroger pharmacist William Huang. When an opportunity to expand his training with MTM certification training opened up, he took it.

“I’m a member of GPhA. Access to CPE like certification training is one of the perks,” he said.

First and foremost, Huang said, MTM and dia-betes certification training helps pharmacists help patients manage chronic disease states. But MTM and diabetes certification training also makes financial sense.

If you’re an employee pharmacist, having certification on your résumé shows employers that you are on the forefront of the profession. “You’re current. You’re not lagging behind. You know where healthcare is trending,” as Huang put it.

And the certification training is a revenue generator. Right now, there are billing codes for Targeted Medication Review and Comprehensive Medication Reviews. Patients meet one on one with their pharmacists to make sure medication is appropriate, that they’re following their regimens, that they’re taking the right drugs, that they’re questions are getting answered.

“These aren’t three-minute consults,” Huang said. “These are 30- to 40-minute conversations in person or telephonically. Insurance companies [and] third parties are covering these services.”Learn more: GPhA.org/certifications

TRACK AND TRACE SUPPORT

The Drug Supply Chain Security Act, which took ef-fect earlier this year, requires pharmacies to be able to ‘track and trace’ the medication shipments they receive. Most notably, they have to be able to accept and archive information from their suppliers about the history of the shipments they receive.

Facing a “track and trace” that was just a few weeks away, the pharmacists of ElderCare knew they needed a tracking system that ran on all cylinders: The system needed to be convenient and

Upping your MTM gameGPhA is committed to helping our phar-macist members integrate MTM into their practice. In May, we launched a new initia-tive: Practical MTM. It features a webinar series and a community discussion forum for members to post best practices, tips and tricks, and other topics related to MTM for feedback and support of colleagues. Practical MTM is free to GPhA members.Learn more: GPhA.org/practicalmtm

WILLIAM HUANG


adaptable, allowing ElderCare’s five stores to chan-nel inputs from multiple wholesalers into one easy to access portal. It needed to be reliable, backed by solid client services and designed by programmers who got the demands pharmacist face. Implemen-tation would have to be swift, with opportunities for pharmacists to train in the new system and help along the way. Most of all, it would have to be effec-tive and thorough at protecting their drug supply chain and keeping patients safe.

What ElderCare found was InfiniTrak, a plat-form designed for pharmacies — not wholesalers. InfiniTrak works in pharmacies of all sizes, from single-store independents, to chains large and small, to clinics and long-term-care facilities.

What made InfiniTrak a winning product? Deborah MacLean, consultant pharmacist at ElderCare, sums it up in one word: convenience. By integrating multiple wholesalers’ data into a single portal, she said, InfiniTrak does what individual wholesaler platforms don’t.

MacLean mentions one more item in Infini-Trak’s plus column: GPhA endorsement. She knew GPhA had spoken to InfiniTrak about what our

pharmacists were looking for. “We figure that GPhA had done their homework,” she said.

InfiniTrak’s training regimen and responsive client service have helped. They have been proac-tive in bringing ElderCare’s multiple wholesalers into a single system, and “if a transaction and duplicates, other issues, the CEO, Greg [Moulthrop], has been extremely and quickly responsive to our needs,” MacLean said.

Routine audits will reveal how successful phar-macists have been at tracking their supply chain. The beauty of InfiniTrak is that if a pharmacy does face an audit, the system allows a user to quickly pull up all drug supply information without having to go into each and every wholesaler’s system.

It’s that single portal is what serves ElderCare every day. “When an order comes in, before we can put it on the shelves to dispense, we have to make sure the transaction data matches everything we ordered. With multiple wholesalers I’d have to go into each wholesaler’s website. Having everything flow into one system is a huge time saver for a busy pharmacy,” MacLean said.Learn more: GPhA.org/infinitrak

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survey says

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IN BRIEF: Member survey results

82 PERCENT OF MEMBERS HAVE USED INFORMATIONPROVIDED BY GPHA IN THEIR PRACTICES

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Academy of Clinical Pharmacists


Academy of Employee Pharmacists


Academy of Health System Pharmacists


Academy of Independent Pharmacy


Academy of Students and Academicians


Academy of Pharmacy Technicians


Each year we ask GPhA members what services we should offer, and how well we’re doing in a survey that cuts across geographic regions and practice areas. This year we had a total of 445 respondents, 316 of whom were practicing pharmacist members.

What do members want?We needed to be sure that our overall values were in line with what members expected. In other words, were we being the kind of association members wanted?

Almost every member (94 to 100 percent) agreed that GPhA should offer educational opportuni-ties that are important to their practice, support legislation that helps their pharmacy practice and oppose legislation and regulation that hurts it, offer networking opportunities with other pharmacists, and provide news and information that enable its members to be better pharmacists.

They also say that they consider themselves aware of GPhA’s legislative priorities.

How are we doing?Then we went on to ask how well we’re actually performing. Are we good at what we’re trying to do? Where can we improve?• 84 percent of members agree that PharmPAC’s

success is al beneficial for their livelihood. • 86 percent of members agree that they consider

GPhA to be a “go-to” resource for information about pharmacy.

• 82 percent of members agree that they have, in the past year, used GPhA-provided information in their pharmacy practices.

• 75 percent of members agree that GPhA offers sufficient opportunities for networking within their professional community.

• 70 percent of members agree that they are aware that GPhA membership includes various affinity/group buying program discounts.

JOIN YOUR ACADEMY!

We’ve long known that far too few GPhA members — barely 60 percent — join their practice academies. (Joining is free, and lets you interact with other GPhA members in similar practice settings.)

We asked those non-affiliated members why they hadn’t selected an academy.

• 41 percent didn’t know that there were academies.

• 27 percent didn’t know what the academies were.

• 22 percent didn’t know which one they should join.

• 10 percent fell into more than one academy so they punted and just didn’t join any.

You can find information about GPhA’s three academies at GPhA.org/academies.

Georgia’s AIP pharmacies are now under contract with private Georgia payers and Accountable Care Organizations to provide clinical services through our partnership with CriticalKey, LLC.

As part of this CriticalKey-powerednetwork, AIP member pharmacies will be able to expand patient offerings to provide care coordination and clinical services for MTM, smoking cessation, obesity control, diabetes management, and more.

Network members will get the training they need to up their game and be ready to provide the services payers are asking for.

Look for more information about the AIP High Performance Network in your mailbox, or talk to your AIP member service representative, and get paid for doing what you were meant to do.

Introducing the AIP CriticalKey High Performance Network


INVESTING IN PHARMPAC IS INVESTING IN YOUR PRACTICE.

The following pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, students,and others have joined GPhA’s PharmPAC.

The contribution levels are based on 2016 investment as of April 30, 2016.

David Graves, Macon, PharmPAC chairman

Diamond Investors ($4,800 or $400/month)

Titanium Investors ($2,400 or $200/month)

FRED SHARPEAlbany

SCOTT MEEKSDouglas

CHARLIE BARNESValdosta

MAC McCORDAtlanta

RALPH BALCHINFayetteville

GREG HICKMANMonroe

JEFF SIKESValdosta

BEN CRAVEYHawkinsville

DAVID GRAVESMacon

DEAN STONEMetter

2016 PHARMPAC INVESTORS

TOMMY LINDSEYOmega

Introducing the AIP CriticalKey High Performance Network


THOMAS BRYAN, JR.WILLIAM CAGLEHUGH CHANCYKEITH CHAPMANWES CHAPMANDALE COKERBLAKE DANIELAL DIXONJACK DUNNNEAL FLORENCEROBERT HATTONCASSIE HAYESWILLIAM HUANGIRA KATZJEFF LUREY

JONATHAN MARQUESSDREW MILLERLAIRD MILLERMARK PARRISHOUSTON ROGERSTERRY SHAWTIM SHORTCARL STANLEY CHRIS THURMONDDANNY TOTHTOMMY WHITWORTH

JAMES BARTLINGLANCE BOLESBRUCE BROADRICKLIZA CHAPMANMARSHALL CURTISMAHLON DAVIDSONSHARON DEASONROBERT DICKINSONBENJAMIN DUPREEKEVIN FLORENCEKERRY GRIFFINMICHAEL ITEOGUSTEPHANIE KIRKLANDCHAD MCDONALDBOBBY MOODY

SUJAL PATELDARYL REYNOLDSBRIAN RICKARDANDY ROGERSJOHN SHERRERSHARON SHERRERDANNY SMITHMICHAEL TARRANTJAMES THOMASCAREY VAUGHANCHUCK WILSONH.D. WILSON, III

2016 PHARMPAC INVESTORS (CONTINUED)

Silver Investors ($300 or $25/month) Renee AdamsonNelson AnglinWaymon CannonJames CarpenterBilly ConleyGregory DrakeYolanda EllisonMarshall FrostWillie LatchBrandall LovvornKalen ManascoHillary Jack Mbadugha Bill McLeerDonald Piela, Jr.

Steven PurvisAshley RickardKenneth RogersJonathan SinyardAustin TullLindsay Walker

Bronze Investors ($150 or $12.50/month)

Bonnie Ali-WarrenPhil BarfieldNicholas BlandJean CoxMichael CrooksMandy DavenportMelanie DeFusco

Wendy DormineyJohn DrewJames ElrodSheri GordanLarry HarkleroadPhillip JamesBrenton LakeLon LewisMicheal LewisSusan McCleerAmy MillerAmanda PaisleyJonathan RileyKrista StoneJames StricklandFlynn Warren

Member Investors(up to $150)

Sylvia AdamsMarla BanksCarroll LowreyF PaulThomas SherrerCharles TignerWilliam Wolfe

Platinum Investors ($1,200 or $100/month)

Gold Investors ($600 or $50/month)

HELP US REACH OUR GOAL FOR 2016!

Thank you to all our PharmPAC investors for their contributions to the future of pharmacy in Georgia.

Visit GPhA.org/PharmPAC to find out more.

$0 $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125 000

$39,092.50

In this election year it’s critical that PharmPAC raises enough funding to support pro-pharmacy candidates for the Georgia legislature. You can bet the PBMs will be well funded!

GET INVESTED TODAYVisit GPhA.org/PharmPAC

or call (404) 419-8118

As of April 30, 2016


Get in touch

contact

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For questions about our magazine, Web sites, or social mediaAndrew Kantor Director of Communication [email protected]

For questions about engagement with the Georgia pharmacy community, our events, or CPE credits

Phillip Ratliff Vice President of Communication and Engagement [email protected]

For membership questions Tei Muhammad Director of Membership Operations (404) 419-8115 [email protected]

For questions about any of our insurance productsDenis Mucha Manager of Insurance Services (404) 419-8120 [email protected]

For questions about governmental affairsGreg ReyboldVice President of Public [email protected]

For questions about the Board of Directors or for scheduling the CEORuth Ann McGehee Executive Assistant and Governance Manager (404) 419-8173 [email protected]

For operational or accounting questions:Dianne Jones Vice President of Finance & Administration (404) 419-8129 [email protected]

Patricia Aguilar Accounting Coordinator [email protected](404) 419-8124

For assistance with independent-pharmacy issuesJeff Lurey, R.Ph. VP of Independent Pharmacy (404) 419-8103 [email protected]

For questions about your AIP membershipVerouschka “V” Betancourt-Whigham Manager of AIP Member Services (404) 419-8102 [email protected]

AIP Member Service RepresentativesRhonda Bonner (229) 854-2797 [email protected]

Charles Boone (478) [email protected]

Melissa Metheny (678) 485-6126 [email protected]

Gene Smith (423) [email protected]

REACH US AT 404.231.5074 OR GPhA.ORG

GPhA LEADERSHIPPresident & Chair of the BoardTOMMY WHITWORTH, LaGrange [email protected]

President-Elect LANCE BOLES, [email protected]

First Vice President LIZA CHAPMAN, [email protected]

Second Vice PresidentTIM SHORT, [email protected]

Immediate Past PresidentBOBBY MOODY, [email protected]

Chief Executive OfficerSCOTT BRUNNER, CAE [email protected]

At-Large Board MembersJOHN DREW, [email protected]

SHARON DEASON, [email protected]

DREW MILLER, [email protected]

DAVID GRAVES, Warner [email protected]

DARYL REYNOLDS, [email protected]

CHRIS THURMOND, [email protected]

Got a concern about a GPhA program or service? Want to compliment or complain?Drop a note to [email protected].

GPhA’S MEMBER SERVICE PARTNERS

InfiniTrakinfinitrak.usTrack and trace compliance software(844) 464-4641

Pharmacy Quality Commitmentpqc.netQuality assurance compliance resources(866) 365-7472

Pharmacy Technician Certification Boardptcb.org(800) 363-8012

SoFisofi.com/gphaStudent-loan refinancing(855) 456-7634

UBSubs.com/team/wileFinancial planning(404) 760-3000


postscript

Besides being famously wise, King Solomon was a pretty decent lyricist. Read the third chapter of his philosophical work, Ecclesiastes, and try not to hear the Byrds’ classic setting:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

When I began my presidency of GPhA about a year ago, I knew that this was our time. I knew that what we had planted a year earlier, under Bobby Moody’s presidency, would eventually yield a rich harvest. We had just assembled a compelling strategic plan. We were fresh off hard-won legislative and policy victories. We had a new CEO, Scott Brunner, who has more energy than anyone I’ve ever met. We had assembled an effective mix of new staff and veterans ready to shake things up.

The streamlining of our board proved key. At a lean and effective 11 members, we had

an intensity I hadn’t seen before. We decided that GPhA should become the envy of every pharmacy association in the United States. We pushed for new educational programs like CPE Weekends. We created an expanded Georgia Pharmacy Convention. We build a new website and revamped our communications. And we insisted on measurable success: an increase in

membership numbers, clear indications from members that our brand is penetrating every practice area, and every facet of association membership.

In due time, we achieved our aims. Check out our new programs on that new website. Visit our new headquarters in Sandy Springs. Check out the results of our member sur-vey on page 19 to see how our members are responding. Consider our increase in member-ship to see how pharmacists who were once on the outside looking in are now a part of the new GPhA.

Thank you for the honor of serving as your president this past year. We’ve accomplished so many things, but let’s remember why: our patients. You know that patients are my first love. It’s always their time. Another Bible verse about time tells us to make the most of every opportunity, or in King James parlance, to redeem the time. Let’s redeem our time for our patients by directing everything about the new GPhA to their good.

TOMMY WHITWORTH

Redeem the time

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WE DECIDED THAT GPHA SHOULD BECOME THE ENVY OF EVERY PHARMACY ASSOCIATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Coverage You Need.Service You Deserve.A Price You Can Afford.

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GEORGIA PHARMACY FOUNDATION, INC.6065 Barfield Road NE | Suite 100 Sandy Springs, GA 30328

Audit Bill of Rights. Allowing pharmacists to administer flu vaccines without a prescription. Licensing of PBMs. Electronic prescriptions. Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Putting the Board of Pharmacy under the DCH. MAC transparency. Allowing pharmacists to give meningitis, shingles, and pneumococcal disease vaccines without a prescription. Insurance commissioner oversight of PBMs. Prescription Drug Monitoring Program enhancements.

Mandatory mail-order. Putting non-pharma-cists in charge of pharmacy licensure and investigations. Out-of-state mail order not adhering to same patient safety standards as in-state community retail. Making generic sub-stitution of immunosuppressant and epilepsy drugs difficult. Moving oversight of GDNA to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Requiring retention of unnecessary documentation. Ro-botic dispensing without pharmacist oversight.

PASSED STOPPED

GPhA ADVOCATES FOR YOU.Think our legislative work doesn’t affect your pharmacy practice? Think again.

AND THAT’S NOT THE HALF OF IT.

JOIN NOW: GPhA.org/join

You need GPhA to help protect your patients and your practice. And we need you to help assure we have the influence we need in order to be effective.

Documents

2016-06 Georgia Pharmacy magazine