I received a letter today from my Representative concerning my request for him to co-sponsor H.R. 3140, aka the Save our Community Pharmacies Act of 2007. He says it's awaiting consideration in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and since he's not on that committee there's not much he can do but if it ever moves to the floor of the whole house he'll do something with it then.
So who are members of this committee? I'm glad you asked. Go to http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/110-whoweare.shtml and see if your Representative is on this list. If they are, contact them and urge them to act positively on H.R. 3140 and why you need it to pass.
In addition to H.R. 3140, there are two other pieces of legislation that are of importance to the independent pharmacy and that my Representative was please to tell me he has co-sponsored both of. They are:
H.R. 1474, aka the Fair and Speedy Treatment of Medicare Prescription Drug Claims Act. The would require Medicare Part D plans to pay clean claims within fourteen days. Unless your are one of the lucky few that cash flow isn't at least of some concern, getting our money within fourteen days would be wonderful.
H.R. 3090, aka the Patient and Pharmacy Protection Act. This would delay the implementation of the new regs requiring tamper resistant prescription pads for all Medicaid scripts. The key thing with the new regulations is that while we, the pharmacy, are required to only except from patients that we bill Medicaid for these new tamper resistant script pads, the physicians are not required to have them. And while it's nice that prescriptions that are called in, faxed in, sent electronically, or ordered from a long-term care facility are exempted from the new requirements, a lot of our time will be eaten up trying to fix the multiple goof-ups sure to come once the new regs go into effect.
So get on the horn or send through cyberspace your encouragement to your Representative to co-sponsor the about legislation.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
But this AMP goes to 11... or actually 36% below acquisition costs.
I'm sure most of you belong to the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) so you've probably gotten the same fax I have regarding H.R. 3140, aka the Save our Community Pharmacies Act of 2007.
Right now, the Average Manufacturer Price (AMP) index that's set to go into effect on generic drugs will reimburse our pharmacies an average of 36% below what it costs us to even get the generic drug. This is because they've set these prices on what it costs your wholesaler to get the generic so that any markup that's passed on to the independent pharmacy isn't counted in. Mail order discounts that we don't get to enjoy also mess us up with the AMP.
What H.R. 3140 does is replace the AMP index with an index that's based on our, the pharmacy's, cost. This is obviously a much better option for us, not only so we can still make a living doing independent pharmacy but also so that we don't have to quit serving Medicare and Medicaid patients because we can't afford to.
What we all need to do is go to www.house.gov , put in our zip code to find the representative for our district, and call or email them in order to urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 3140. I believe there are already 115 co-sponsors. The more the better.
If you need more info on this and/or want to know what to say to your state rep., contact NCPA (ncpanet.org).
Right now, the Average Manufacturer Price (AMP) index that's set to go into effect on generic drugs will reimburse our pharmacies an average of 36% below what it costs us to even get the generic drug. This is because they've set these prices on what it costs your wholesaler to get the generic so that any markup that's passed on to the independent pharmacy isn't counted in. Mail order discounts that we don't get to enjoy also mess us up with the AMP.
What H.R. 3140 does is replace the AMP index with an index that's based on our, the pharmacy's, cost. This is obviously a much better option for us, not only so we can still make a living doing independent pharmacy but also so that we don't have to quit serving Medicare and Medicaid patients because we can't afford to.
What we all need to do is go to www.house.gov , put in our zip code to find the representative for our district, and call or email them in order to urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 3140. I believe there are already 115 co-sponsors. The more the better.
If you need more info on this and/or want to know what to say to your state rep., contact NCPA (ncpanet.org).
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
A shot in the arm for your pharmacy.
Forgive the cliché of the post's title, I couldn't help myself.
What I'm talking about here is having your pharmacy provide flu vaccinations for the upcoming season. If you can do it than I would encourage you to do so. There are many benefits your pharmacy can enjoy if you choose to provide this service.
My pharmacy has already given one round of flu shots and is poised to do another the first week of November. You only have to give flu shots one or two days total for it to be worthwhile.
By choosing to give our flu shots on our historically slowest day of the week, we increased the number of scripts we filled that day above our normal due to the increased traffic. We also had a good number of individuals who have never traded with us come in to our store for the shot. Getting new customers in the store is half the battle because now you get to provide them with the great service they might not get at other pharmacies, encouraging them to come back again. Giving flu shots was also seen as a community service. Many doctor's offices are no longer providing them. And while the Health Department was able to give shots for free, we had many people willing to pay to not have to spend all day out there and virtually everyone the received a flu shot was thankfully we provided them. We had a really great turnout the first time with nothing more than in-store advertising. This next time we may put something in the Sunday paper the weekend before.
I realize I may be coming in with this a little late for some (with the best times to give flu shots in October and November). However, I still think it's worth suggesting none the less.
Each state is different on what exactly you can and can't do as a pharmacy with providing inoculations. Most states will allow the pharmacist to give shots. Some require being registered to do so while others may not. It's best to check with your state board first (isn't it always?). One option is to just hire a nurse for the day to give the shots. If your pharmacy is like ours, you probably have a report with many nurses at doctors offices in your area. You can get the word out and probably find someone who can come in for that day and you can simply pay cash to at a much cheaper rate than from a service.
Another thing to consider is documentation. You need to get a signed release and also proved information about the vaccine to everyone who gets it. All we did was find a flu vaccine release online (there are several), download and change it for our pharmacy (ie replacing the names, dates, etc.). The VIS handouts are fromthe CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/default.htm#flu . Keep the releases in a folder and easily retrievable for at least a year.
As far as getting the vaccine, I'm not promoting these sellers (if you can find someone else you like better, go for it) but I know they have the vaccine and can get it out to you. The first is from www.myfluvaccine.com. The other is from www.vippharm.com.
I would work with an average of $15 to give a shot (that's the cost of the vaccine, needles, gloves, alcohol, sharps disposal, other costs, and personnel). Pricing the vaccine to the public at between $20-$25 is probably what you'd want to do. That's about the threshold the public is will to pay for the convenience of not having to go to the Health Dept., doing it at their schedule, etc. It's alright to only get enough vaccine for 100 vaccinations. That might sound like a small amount but I would really recommend seeing how it goes before getting stuck with a lot of vaccination you don't get to use. 100 vaccinations is a good amount for one day's worth of providing shots. If it costs $1,500 to provide shots, at $20 a shot you would only need to give 75 shots to break even (60 if you do it for $25). Breaking even is a very good thing to do because, remember, you'll still get all these other benefits above just the shots themselves.
Now this next part I'm really going to stress: provide these shots for cash only! It will be much more worthwhile to simple do cash and carry than try and mess with insurance companies and Medicare which most of you won't be able to do anyway. Surprisingly, having this policy will only deter a very, very small amount of people from get flu shots from you.
I hope this was a decent first real post. I'm sure the more I post the better these posts will be to read. If anyone of readers has provided flu shots at their pharmacies and/or has experiences with flu shots please share them. I'm sure everyone would benefit from any comments those that have gone before could provide.
What I'm talking about here is having your pharmacy provide flu vaccinations for the upcoming season. If you can do it than I would encourage you to do so. There are many benefits your pharmacy can enjoy if you choose to provide this service.
My pharmacy has already given one round of flu shots and is poised to do another the first week of November. You only have to give flu shots one or two days total for it to be worthwhile.
By choosing to give our flu shots on our historically slowest day of the week, we increased the number of scripts we filled that day above our normal due to the increased traffic. We also had a good number of individuals who have never traded with us come in to our store for the shot. Getting new customers in the store is half the battle because now you get to provide them with the great service they might not get at other pharmacies, encouraging them to come back again. Giving flu shots was also seen as a community service. Many doctor's offices are no longer providing them. And while the Health Department was able to give shots for free, we had many people willing to pay to not have to spend all day out there and virtually everyone the received a flu shot was thankfully we provided them. We had a really great turnout the first time with nothing more than in-store advertising. This next time we may put something in the Sunday paper the weekend before.
I realize I may be coming in with this a little late for some (with the best times to give flu shots in October and November). However, I still think it's worth suggesting none the less.
Each state is different on what exactly you can and can't do as a pharmacy with providing inoculations. Most states will allow the pharmacist to give shots. Some require being registered to do so while others may not. It's best to check with your state board first (isn't it always?). One option is to just hire a nurse for the day to give the shots. If your pharmacy is like ours, you probably have a report with many nurses at doctors offices in your area. You can get the word out and probably find someone who can come in for that day and you can simply pay cash to at a much cheaper rate than from a service.
Another thing to consider is documentation. You need to get a signed release and also proved information about the vaccine to everyone who gets it. All we did was find a flu vaccine release online (there are several), download and change it for our pharmacy (ie replacing the names, dates, etc.). The VIS handouts are fromthe CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/default.htm#flu . Keep the releases in a folder and easily retrievable for at least a year.
As far as getting the vaccine, I'm not promoting these sellers (if you can find someone else you like better, go for it) but I know they have the vaccine and can get it out to you. The first is from www.myfluvaccine.com. The other is from www.vippharm.com.
I would work with an average of $15 to give a shot (that's the cost of the vaccine, needles, gloves, alcohol, sharps disposal, other costs, and personnel). Pricing the vaccine to the public at between $20-$25 is probably what you'd want to do. That's about the threshold the public is will to pay for the convenience of not having to go to the Health Dept., doing it at their schedule, etc. It's alright to only get enough vaccine for 100 vaccinations. That might sound like a small amount but I would really recommend seeing how it goes before getting stuck with a lot of vaccination you don't get to use. 100 vaccinations is a good amount for one day's worth of providing shots. If it costs $1,500 to provide shots, at $20 a shot you would only need to give 75 shots to break even (60 if you do it for $25). Breaking even is a very good thing to do because, remember, you'll still get all these other benefits above just the shots themselves.
Now this next part I'm really going to stress: provide these shots for cash only! It will be much more worthwhile to simple do cash and carry than try and mess with insurance companies and Medicare which most of you won't be able to do anyway. Surprisingly, having this policy will only deter a very, very small amount of people from get flu shots from you.
I hope this was a decent first real post. I'm sure the more I post the better these posts will be to read. If anyone of readers has provided flu shots at their pharmacies and/or has experiences with flu shots please share them. I'm sure everyone would benefit from any comments those that have gone before could provide.
Welcome to the blog!
To all visitors and interested parities I say, "Welcome!" Let me speak a bit about this blog and why it even now exists.
This blog is a place of many fuctions: it let's me vent, let's me think out loud, let's me throw out ideas and see what you all think of them, let's me let everyone else in the independent pharmacy business know what seems to be working for me, let's you tell me and everyone else what works for you, and much more.
If you're in independent pharmacy than you are a different type of pharmacist. You could just like working of yourself. You could just like being able to provide a level of care considerably higher than what you would be able to do in a chain pharmacy. You could just like building something up of your own and being a fixture of your community. You could... you could... you could... There are a plethora of varying reasons that you're in independent pharmacy and, if you're like me, it's a healthy combination of many different reasons.
If what I have to say on this blog helps you with your pharmacy and/or what you have to say to me helps me with mine, then this blog is doing it's job.
The pharmacy world is changing faster and faster all the time and that's why I figured now is the time to start this blog. With Walgreen's and CVS stores rising up all around us we all need all the help and ideas we can get. Hopefully this little corner of cyberspace can help facilitate that.
So with that, I wish you a very warm welcome and let's get started!
This blog is a place of many fuctions: it let's me vent, let's me think out loud, let's me throw out ideas and see what you all think of them, let's me let everyone else in the independent pharmacy business know what seems to be working for me, let's you tell me and everyone else what works for you, and much more.
If you're in independent pharmacy than you are a different type of pharmacist. You could just like working of yourself. You could just like being able to provide a level of care considerably higher than what you would be able to do in a chain pharmacy. You could just like building something up of your own and being a fixture of your community. You could... you could... you could... There are a plethora of varying reasons that you're in independent pharmacy and, if you're like me, it's a healthy combination of many different reasons.
If what I have to say on this blog helps you with your pharmacy and/or what you have to say to me helps me with mine, then this blog is doing it's job.
The pharmacy world is changing faster and faster all the time and that's why I figured now is the time to start this blog. With Walgreen's and CVS stores rising up all around us we all need all the help and ideas we can get. Hopefully this little corner of cyberspace can help facilitate that.
So with that, I wish you a very warm welcome and let's get started!
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