NABP e-News: October 1, 2008

California Awareness Project Aims to Divert Pharmaceuticals from Water Supply
State and local officials in California are joining forces with the US Environmental Protection Agency for a "No Drugs Down the Drain Week" October 4-11, 2008. The statewide campaign recommends that unused medications be dropped off at special collection sites or mixed with water, sealed, and tossed in the trash. The awareness week is a spin-off of Senate Bill (SB) 966, signed into law in 2007, which allocates funds for pilot projects allowing consumers to drop off old prescriptions at retailers and public facilities. The legislation requires the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to establish a model pharmaceutical take-back program for the state. The “No Drugs Down the Drain!” campaign is coordinating with the CIWMB so that data and lessons learned from the campaign can assist in the implementation of SB 966. More information about the campaign and alternative disposal methods is available on the Web site of No Drugs Down the Drain.

Kentucky’s KASPER System Gets Grant to Keep Combating Illegal Rx Drugs
Kentucky's computer tracking system for combating illegal prescription drugs has received a $400,000 federal grant to continue its work and improve efficiency. The US Department of Justice granted the prescription drug monitoring program grant to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) for its Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) program The funding, to cover September 1, 2008 through August 31, 2010, is earmarked to increase KASPER use by health care and law enforcement professionals, expand analysis of KASPER data to support improvements in public health and safety, and to foster collaboration and data sharing with other states that have prescription monitoring programs. The KASPER program tracks all Schedule II-IV controlled substance prescriptions dispensed by licensed pharmacists within the commonwealth. KASPER reports show all scheduled prescriptions for an individual over a specified time period, the prescriber, and the dispenser. More information on the KASPER system is available on the CHFS Web site.

NABP Reports 96% of Internet Drug Outlets Out of Compliance with Practice Regulations
In its October 1, 2008 “Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program Progress Report for State and Federal Regulatory Bodies,” NABP reports that 96.62% of the Internet drug outlets it has assessed thus far appear to be operating in conflict with state and federal laws or NABP patient safety and pharmacy practice standards. The report informs regulators that, as of September 22, NABP has reviewed and verified its assessment of 977 sites. Of those sites, 944 (96.62%) appear to be out of compliance with program criteria, thereby posing a significant risk to the public health. These sites, 839 of which do not require a valid prescription, have been listed as Not Recommended on the NABP Web site. Only 32 (3.28%) of those 977 sites have been found to be potentially legitimate,pending verification of licensure and other criteria, and one (0.10%) non-accredited site qualifies for inclusion on the Reviewed Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites. These findings underscore the importance of this project and other efforts to contain the Web-based distribution of prescription drugs within the appropriate legal and regulatory framework. More information is available under Internet Pharmacies on the NABP Web site.

AAHC Report Highlights Need for National Health Workforce Planning Initiative
In its report “Out of Order, Out of Time: The State of the Nation’s Health Workforce,” the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) highlights a need for a new, collaborative, coordinated, national health workforce planning initiative. The report calls on stakeholders to work together to undertake the following tasks:

  • Make the US health workforce a priority domestic policy issue;
  • Address national health workforce issues immediately to avert crises in national workforce capacity and infrastructure;
  • Develop a comprehensive national health workforce policy that recognizes and compensates for weaknesses of current decentralized multi-stakeholder decision-making; and
  • Create a national health workforce planning body that engages diverse federal, state, public, and private stakeholders with a mission to:
    • Articulate a national workforce agenda;
    • promote harmonization in public and private standards, requirements and prevailing practices across jurisdictions;
    • Address access to the health professions and the ability of educational institutions to respond to economic, social, and environmental factors that impact the workforce; and
    • Identify and address adverse interactions among public and private policies, standards, and requirements.

The report, available on the AAHC Web site, includes additional recommendations for fulfilling each of these missions.

Two Additional Facilities Awarded VAWD Accreditation
NABP recently accredited two additional facilities through its Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors® (VAWD®) program, bringing the total number of accredited facilities to 289 as of September 26, 2008. A full listing of VAWD facilities is available under Accreditation Programs on the NABP Web site.

  • Novis Pharmaceuticals, LLC, distributes biotherapeutic products (no controlled substances) to health care providers through five warehouse locations in Florida, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California. The company received accreditation for its Miami, FL facility.'
  • EXP Pharmaceutical Services Corporation is a reverse distributor for pharmaceutical products and other medical supplies. The business specializes in medical returns processing, professional waste disposal, and customized reporting services for customers in the 50 states. The company received accreditation for its Fremont, CA facility.

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