NABP e-News May 16, 2007

Advanced Diabetes Supply Earns First NABP DMEPOS Accreditation
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) recently announced that North Coast Medical Supply, dba Advanced Diabetes Supply, is the first pharmacy to receive accreditation through the Association’s durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) accreditation program. Pharmacies accredited through the NABP DMEPOS program are doing their part to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries receive the appropriate products, services, and patient care associated with DMEPOS products and will position themselves for participation in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) competitive bidding process. According to Tim Cady, president of Advanced Diabetes Supply (www.northcoastmed.com), the company chose NABP because of the Association's extensive knowledge of pharmacy and the well laid out procedures of the program.

NABP Selects New NAPLEX/MPJE Test Vendor
Beginning January 2, 2008, NABP will utilize Pearson VUE as the test vendor for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE). After thorough analysis and review of the capabilities of test vendors, it was found that utilizing the services of Pearson VUE would be in the best interests of the candidates, the state boards of pharmacy, and NABP. As such, the Advisory Committee on Examinations recommended, and the NABP Executive Committee approved, the transition of the examinations to Pearson VUE. NABP is working with Pearson VUE and the current examination vendor, Thomson Prometric, to minimize the impact of the transition on the candidates and the boards of pharmacy. NABP thanks Thomson Prometric for the service it has provided over the years and looks forward to continuing a relationship with the company as other opportunities become available within the Association. NABP will communicate new information about the transition to Pearson VUE as it becomes available.

FDA Issues Guidance on Glycerin Testing to Prevent Incidents of DEG Poisoning
Spurred to action by repeated instances of diethylene glycol (DEG) poisoning, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a guidance for industry entitled ‘‘Testing of Glycerin for Diethylene Glycol.’’ This guidance provides recommendations on testing that will help pharmaceutical manufacturers, repackers, and other suppliers of glycerin, and pharmacists who engage in drug compounding, to avoid the use of glycerin that is contaminated with DEG and prevent incidents of DEG poisoning. DEG contamination of glycerin can be detected by using specific analytical test procedures described in the United States Pharmacopeia monograph for glycerin, which quantifies the amount of DEG present at a detection level of 0.1%, as recommended by the interagency Diethylene Glycol Contamination Prevention Workshop of 1997.

DME Suppliers in Florida Arrested for Alleged Medicare Fraud
Federal agents arrested 24 individuals suspected of Medicare fraud – mostly related to durable medical equipment (DME) – on May 8, 2007 in southern Florida. In a press conference on May 9 with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced the arrests as the latest outcome of a newly established Strike Force consisting of federal prosecutors, civil attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the HHS office of the Inspector General, and state and local law enforcement in South Florida. According to indictments filed since the Strike Force began March 1, some of the 38 individuals charged in Miami have been involved in various schemes to defraud the Medicare program, such as operating under false pretenses as a DME company. Some of the defendants were allegedly paying Medicare recipients for use of their Medicare card numbers so that the defendants could submit fraudulent claims. DME suppliers must meet established quality standards and receive accreditation by an approved accrediting organization, such as NABP, to be eligible for Medicare Part B reimbursement for DME products furnished to Medicare beneficiaries. More information on DME accreditation, including deadlines, is available in the DMEPOS section of the NABP Web site.

17 Facilities Awarded VAWD Accreditation
NABP recently accredited 17 new facilities through its Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors® (VAWD®) program, bringing the total number of accredited facilities to 128 as of May 14. A full listing of VAWD facilities is available in the VAWD section of the NABP Web site.

  • CVS Conroe TX Distribution, LP provides prescription products and general merchandise to CVS pharmacies in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arizona. The company received accreditation for its Conroe, TX facility.
  • CVS Texas Distribution, LP provides prescription products and general merchandise to CVS pharmacies in California, Nevada, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri. The company received accreditation for its Ennis, TX facility
  • Express Scripts Specialty Distribution Services, Inc provides Patient Assistance Program services for approximately 40 pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company received accreditation for its Maryland Heights, MO facility.
  • Kenco Logistics, Inc provides labor, logistics and management for pharmaceutical distributors. The company received accreditation for its Durham, NC facility.
  • Masters Pharmaceutical, Inc provides a full line of pharmaceutical services to approximately 7,000 independent pharmacies and several institutional customers. The company received accreditation for its Cincinnati, OH facility.
  • McKesson Medical-Surgical, Inc distributes prescription drug, over-the-counter products, and medical devices to customers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana as well as controlled substances to all but two of the 50 states. The company received accreditation for its Grapevine, TX facility.
  • McKesson Medical-Surgical Minnesota Supply, Inc distributes prescription medications, prepackaged or repackaged products, over-the-counter medications, and devices to homecare businesses. The company received accreditation for its Grove City, OH facility.
  • Midwest Med Specialties, Inc distributes prescription and over-the-counter products for plasma fractions/biological pharmaceutical needs. The company received accreditation for its Loogootee, IN facility.
  • MWI Veterinary Supply Co distributes prescription drug products to approximately 1,500 veterinarians and animal clinics in northeastern United States. The company received accreditation for its Holland, MI facility.
  • MWI Veterinary Supply Co distributes prescription drug products to approximately 2,000 veterinarians and animal clinics in southwestern United States. The company received accreditation for its Grand Prairie, TX facility.
  • Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc dba JOM Pharmaceutical Services distributes ambient temperature pharmaceutical products and provides warehousing and distribution for sample products and branch (non-pharmaceuticals) products. The company received accreditation for its Bridgewater, NJ facility.
  • Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc dba JOM Pharmaceutical Services distributes refrigerated and Control II and III pharmaceutical products and provides warehousing and distribution for sample products and branch (non-pharmaceuticals) products. The company received accreditation for its Somerset, NJ facility.
  • Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, LLC provides logistic support for pharmaceutical products. The company received accreditation for its Plainfield, IN facility.
  • Phoenix Marketing Group, LLC dba Phoenix Sampling Group provides sampling distribution services of literature and both controlled (Schedule III-V) and non-controlled substances for 11 clients. The company received accreditation for its Lincoln Park, NJ facility.
  • Phoenix Marketing Group, LLC dba Phoenix Sampling Group provides sampling distribution services of product literature and non-controlled prescription substances for three pharmaceutical clients. The company received accreditation for its Towaco, NJ facility.
  • South Pointe Wholesale, Inc provides pharmaceutical products to veterinarians, chain pharmacies, and government institutions through out the region. The company received accreditation for its Glasgow, KY facility.
  • Walgreen Co provides a full line wholesale distributorship service to 602 Walgreen pharmacies in south Florida. The company received accreditation for its Jupiter, FL facility.

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