NABP e-News: September 4, 2008

Model Act Revisions Address Distribution of Drugs; Quality, Safety in Patient Care
NABP recently amended the Model State Pharmacy Act and Model Rules of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (Model Act) to incorporate the changes that were recommended by the 2007-2008 Task Force on Prescription Drug Diversion from Common Carriers; the Task Force on Continuous Quality Improvement, Peer Review, and Inspecting for Patient Safety; and the Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation. The emphasis of the amendments was to further protect the public in the distribution of prescription drugs and, more importantly, improve quality and safety in patient care. The updated Model Act  is available in the Publications section of the NABP Web site.

Consumer Traffic to Internet Drug Outlets Triples since 2007: MarkMonitor
Consumer traffic to Internet drug outlets has nearly tripled in the last year, according to MarkMonitor’s summer 2008 Brandjacking Index™. In second quarter 2008, Internet drug outlets received 99,000 site visits per day, per site, compared 32,000 site visits during the same period last year, according to the report. This increased traffic, in turn, has driven a threefold increase in revenues for these sites, from an estimated $4 billion in second quarter 2007 to $12 billion in the same period of 2008, the report notes. Of the 2,386 Internet drug outlets MarkMonitor surveyed for the report, 64% of them had no protection measures to safeguard patient data. Additionally, the report cites a 36% growth in the availability of drugs in the online supply chain. The report is available for free download on the MarkMonitor Web site, www.markmonitor.com.

NABP to Discuss Online Prescription Drug Safety at Upcoming APhA Meeting
On September 14, 2008, a representative of NABP will discuss the work the Association is doing to improve online prescription drug safety during a meeting held by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) in Washington, DC. The presentation will include discussion of partnership opportunities through which APhA may be able to assist in these efforts.

Meeting participants will include the chief executive officers of individual state pharmacy associations, representing pharmacists in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each fall, these executives meet in the DC area to discuss topics relevant to the practice of pharmacy. Internet pharmacy and prescription drug safety are of great interest to this group, and it is a topic that the members specifically requested to be addressed at this meeting..

FDA Convenes Public Hearing to Seek Input on OTC Pediatric Cough and Cold Products
On Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will convene a public hearing to solicit information about the safety and effectiveness of over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold products on October 2, 2008, in Beltsville, MD. FDA is proceeding with rulemaking to revise pediatric labeling for these products, which include decongestants, expectorants, antihistamines, and antitussives. More information is available in the Federal Register [Docket No. FDA-2008-N-0466 ].

Eight Additional Facilities Awarded VAWD Accreditation
NABP recently accredited eight new facilities through its Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors® (VAWD®) program, bringing the total number of accredited facilities to 287 as of August 29, 2008. A full listing of VAWD facilities is available under Accreditation Programs on the NABP Web site.

  • Butler Animal Health Supply, LLC, Forth Worth, TX facility, distributes prescription drugs and devices and non-prescription drugs to licensed veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and clinics in the central southwestern United States.
  • Butler Animal Health Supply, LLC, Tualatin, OR facility, distributes prescription drugs and devices and non-prescription drugs to licensed veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and clinics in the northwestern United States.
  • Cardinal Health 100, Inc, located in Kansas City, MO, distributes a variety of prescription drugs and medical supplies to pharmacies, hospitals, doctors' offices, and other health care businesses.
  • Cardinal Health 110, Inc, located in Hudson, WI, purchases all of its product directly from manufacturers that are Authorized Distributors of Record and distributes to hospitals and chain and independent pharmacies.
  • Cardinal Health 200, Inc, located in Montgomery, NY, distributes prescription products (prepackaged and repackaged) and over-the-counter medications and devices through the company’s Healthcare Supply Chain Services.
  • Howell Marketing Services, located in Elmira, NY, provides marketing, fulfillment, and distribution services for the health care and consumer products industries and business-to-business marketing.
  • MWI Veterinary Supply Co, Visalia, CA facility, distributes veterinary prescription and over-the-counter drugs and supplies to licensed veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and clinics in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.
  • MWI Veterinary Supply Co, Fife, WA facility, distributes veterinary prescription and over-the-counter drugs and supplies to licensed veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and clinics in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska.

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