NABP e-News: March 5, 2008

March 5, 2008 12:00 AM

Proposed Federal Legislation Would Mandate Electronic Prescriptions
In December 2007, the Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection (E-MEDS) Act of 2007 was introduced in the Senate and a similar bill was introduced in the House that would provide new incentives to push adoption of e-prescribing among prescribers. The act would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require physician utilization of the Medicare electronic prescription drug program. The bill cites several congressional findings, including that “[e]-prescribing can help to eliminate medical errors, injuries, hospitalizations, and even death that can result from illegible prescriptions and bad drug interactions, in addition to reducing patient medication non-adherence.” The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the Committee on Ways and Means and is posted at www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-4296.

NABP to Present CPE on Counterfeiting Drugs, Technician Regulation at APhA Meeting
NABP staff will present two continuing pharmacy education (CPE) sessions during the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting and Exposition March 14-17, 2008, in San Diego, CA. The session “Counterfeit Drugs: The Role of the Pharmacist in Protecting the Medication Supply” will provide insight on the status of this global epidemic, how counterfeit medications infiltrate the system and the pharmacies at risk, and the critical role of the regulators and pharmacists. The session “Pharmacy Technician Regulation: An Evolution in Progress” will highlight the mission and role of NABP and the boards of pharmacy in technician regulation, the prevalence of technician regulation among the states, and the NABP examination validation procedure and its relationship to the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board examination.

HHS Releases Proposed Rule on Patient Safety Reporting
On February 12, 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed rule to establish the authorities, processes, and rules necessary to implement the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. The proposed regulation establishes the process by which Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) will be certified by HHS to accept patient safety data from health care providers to reduce the incidence of medical errors. The proposed rule allows for providers, including pharmacists, to voluntarily report data to a PSO without fear of legal liability. Comments will be accepted online at www.regulations.gov (RIN: 0919-0AA01) through April 14, 2008. More information is available in the Federal Register.

Survey Shows Increased Popularity of Mail-Order Pharmacies
The popularity of mail-order pharmacies has grown, particularly among elderly patients, according to the results of a Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), released in February 2008.The survey shows that the proportion of United States patients buying prescription medications from mail-order pharmacies increased from 8.8% in the year 2000 to 13.2% in 2005. In the same time period, results showed decreases in the proportion of prescriptions filled at drug stores (65.1% to 60.9%); HMOs, clinics, or hospitals (15.2% to 12.9%); and in other stores (31.6% to 28.2%). Among patients age 65 and older, a larger proportion used mail-order pharmacies (37.1%) compared to those buying medications at drug stores (17.2%); an HMO, clinic, or hospital (20.6%); or other stores (20.8%). As a whole, the total number of US outpatients who bought prescription medications increased from 173.3 million in 2000 to 187.0 million in 2005. The analysis is available on the MEPS Web site at www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st200/stat200.pdf.

Five Additional Facilities Awarded VAWD Accreditation
NABP recently accredited five new facilities through its Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors^® (VAWD^®) program, bringing the total number of accredited facilities to 250 as of February 29, 2008. A full listing of VAWD facilities is available under Accreditation Programs on the NABP Web site.

• CVS Pharmacy Inc, dba CVS Distribution Center, is a full-line pharmaceutical provider to company-owned pharmacies in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, and New Mexico. The company received accreditation for its La Habra, CA facility.
• Generics Bidco I, LLC, dba Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, distributes prescription medications to both wholesaler drug distributors and retail outlets throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The company received accreditation for its Huntsville, AL facility.
• Merry X-Ray Chemical Corporation, dba Merry X-Ray Corporation, supplies imaging equipment and prescription medications associated with radiology and cardiology health care. Its customers are hospitals, clinics, veterinarians, and chiropractors in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The company received accreditation for its Hamilton, OH facility.
• PCCA supplies chemicals, equipment, devices, flavors, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education-accredited training, pharmacy software, marketing, and business and pharmacy consulting assistance to more that 3,500 community pharmacies. The company received accreditation for its Houston, TX facility.
• Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, dba Wal-Mart Pharmacy Warehouse #32, supplies pharmaceutical products, including Schedule III-IV controlled substances, and general merchandise to approximately 700 Wal-Mart stores in 16 western states and Puerto Rico. The company received accreditation for its Hanford, CA facility.