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Chairman’s Message

F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 9 V O L U M E 2 3 , I S S U E 2 / 3

An official publication of GPhA’s Academy of Independent Pharmacy The mission of AIP is to ensure the economic viability and security of independent pharmacy, and to

advance the concept of pharmacy care designed to enhance patient quality of life and positive outcomes.

The Independent News

I am writing this month’s report on behalf of our illustrious Chairman Scott Meeks.

I just want to update all of you with some of the new and old AIP partners we currently have. Our newest partner is a company called CAREZIPS, www.molly@carezips.com . It is an adult incontinence pants for both men and women. What’s unique about this product is that it has snaps along the interior of the inseams for ease of use to put on and take off. It is a great addition to your incontinence line. I have the product hanging on my SENI rack. For those of you who have not transitioned their incontinence line, from your typical Depend/Attend/Private label, I strongly encourage you to contact our Seni representative to come and demonstrate that their product is superior to those other brands AND IT IS ONLY SOLD IN INDEPENDENT PHARMACIES. (contact Magda @ 770-680-1365 or www.seni-usa.com )

Another new AIP partner is ScimeraMD, www.scimera.com . They offer a high quality bioceutical supplement to support overall health & wellness. Additionally, our current partner, Ortho Molecular, has a full line of high quality nutritional supplements exhibiting the highest efficacy. Their DRUG-NUTRIENT depletion program is second to none. How many of you are dispensing antibiotics and forgetting to talk to your patient about supplementing with a probiotic; or a statin medication and not explaining to the patient about the importance of adding Coenzyme Q-10. Not only are these suggestions a benefit to your patients, but an added source of revenue to the bottom line. (contact Andrew @ 904-252-3602 or www.OrthoMolecularProducts.com )

I want to quickly mention the CBD oil issue. GPhA/AIP can not yet endorse a company that sells or distributes CBD. I hope that before the General Assembly adjourns the issue with CBD legality in Georgia will be clarified. **

Lastly, I want to again mention the benefit of membership to NCPA. They continue to be our advocacy force in Washington, but with the help of Gabe Trahan, have established their FRONT-END MARKETPLACE program. For years Gabe and yours truly have stressed the importance of not neglecting the front end. The product lines I have mentioned along with those provided by our AIP partners and the partnership that Gabe has put together with NCPA will help increase revenue.

I want to give a great shout out to NCPA’s Executive CEO Doug Hoey. Last week CBS This Morning highlighted a piece on the high prices of prescription drugs from chains versus lower prices from independents. When CBS reached out to Doug at NCPA his quote really resonated with me and I hope with each of you.

“We really can’t speculate why certain drug chains are significantly more expensive, but community pharmacies answer to citizens on Main Street, not shareholders on Wall Street.”

Remember, I am always able and ready to help any AIP member. Please feel free to call me @ 404-524-4466 or email me @ L5PRXIRA@GMAIL.COM

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B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

Scott Meeks, R.Ph. Chairman

Ira Katz, R.Ph. Chairman Elect

E. Laird Miller, R.Ph. Secretary

Drew Miller, R.Ph., CDM Immediate Past

Chairman

Hugh Chancy, R.Ph.

Bob Coleman

Ben Cravey, R.Ph.

Carolyn Florence, R.Ph.

Kevin Florence, Pharm.D.

George Launius, R.Ph.

Pamala Marquess, Pharm.D.

Mac McCord, R.Ph.

Fred Sharpe, R.Ph.

Tim Short, R.Ph.

Chris Thurmond, Pharm.D.

Lindsay Walker, R.Ph.

A I P S T A F F

Jeff L. Lurey, R.Ph.

Executive Director of AIP

Verouschka Betancourt-Whigham

Manager of AIP Member Services

Rhonda Bonner

Member Services Representative

Charles D. Boone

Member Services Representative

Amanda Gaddy, R.Ph.

Director of Clinical Services

Melissa Metheny

Member Services Representative

Gene Smith

Member Services Representative

Ira

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S

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*********Members Please Be

Aware

When emailing AIP regarding

pharmacy issues please include your

name, pharmacy

name, address, phone number

and NPI#.

***********

PBMs Enforcing “No Documentation Accepted”

Some PBMs are not allowing documentation to be submitted after the initial desk audit. For example, if the prescription was written for #15 tablets and you called and confirmed it should be #30 but did not document on the hard copy, they could mark that as a discrepancy with no additional documentation accepted. If the prescription is filled in any way different than prescribed,

document on the hard copy. If you receive a desk audit, thoroughly review all prescriptions prior to submitting.

Amanda Gaddy,R.Ph., AIP Director of Clinical

CONTINUATION – FDA CONTINUES TO ADVANCE OVERSIGHT OF DRUG COMPOUNDING; FINALIZES RULE

The 6 chemicals that will be included and 4 chemicals being excluded in Section 503A are below.

The 6 chemicals being included:

Brilliant blue G Cantharidin (topical only) Diphenylcyclopropenone (topical only) N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (topical only) Squaric acid dibutyl ester (topical only) Thymol iodide (topical only)

The 4 chemicals being excluded:

Oxitriptan Piracetam Silver protein mild Tranilast

Pharmacists, lawyers, CEOs: A look at the highest paying jobs for women USA Today (02/20/19) Sauter, Michael

A review by 24/7 Wall Street of the 25 occupations with the highest average full-time salaries for women in the United States found that in all cases, women earned lower annual average salaries than men, and in 18 of the 25 occupations men accounted for a larger share of total employment than women. Ariane Hegewisch, program director of employment and earnings at The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a nonpartisan policy research group, says that these high-paying jobs are a positive sign, even if representation and pay gap is still a work in progress. "The level of pay is important. To have more women in higher-paying positions, even if the men make even more is progress, because it means more women earn higher salaries and can support their families." The highest paying job for women is a pharmacist. In that position, women's annual earnings average $98,280, while men's annual earnings average $118,092. The review found there are 263,000 pharmacists, 62.7% of whom are women.

Jasper Drug Store wins innovation award

Jack Dunn, owner of Jasper Drug Store in Jasper, GA earned the National Community Pharmacists Association’s Innovation Center Excellence (NICE) award for Best Customer Convenience Improvement.

What improvement, you ask? For its "extraordinary work in adding a section at the pharmacy dedicated to babies and mothers who are expecting," according Kurt Proctor, president of the NCPA Innovation Center.

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Georgia Medicaid FFS /PeachCare for Kids - Insulin Policy

- Effective April 01, 2019

March 11, 2019

RE: Insulin Policy Update

Dear Pharmacy Provider,

Effective April 1, 2019, the Department of Community Health is requiring that all pharmacy providers bill the smallest commercially available package size for Insulin Products and are required to bill the Division for the exact days’ supply, based on the directions and quantity prescribed.

In some situations, such as packaged insulin products, a day supply greater than 30 may be permitted.

For the billing of a day supply value greater than 30 days to be reimbursed, one of the following circumstances must be met:

The prescription is written such that the smallest commercially available package size of the product will exceed a 30 day supply OR

The prescription is written so that the smallest commercially available package size is less than a 30 days’ supply and requires an additional package that will supply the member as close to a 30 days’ supply as possible. When billing Georgia Medicaid for multiple packages, the calculated days’ supply cannot exceed 59 days.

In the instance that the smallest available package size will exceed a 59-day supply, providers may contact the Technical Help Desk at 866-525-5826 for further assistance.

Thank you for your continued participation in the Georgia Medicaid & PeachCare for Kids Program.

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CPESN® Luminary spotlight: Charlie Barnes

Each week, we feature a CPESN Luminary, highlighting their important, ongoing work in local networks and why being a part of CPESN networks matters.

Charlie Barnes is chairman and owner of Barnes Drug Stores in Valdosta, Ga. – and a luminary of CPESN Georgia. He says he is proud of “the opportunity to work with the most talented pharmacists in the nation, to transform community pharmacy for the future and change the way pharmacists get paid.” He also noted that CPESN Georgia is focused on payers and partnerships, as well as recruiting more pharmacies into the network.

For information about CPESN networks near you, email info@cpesn.com.

Battling burnout: Nearly two-thirds of pharmacists say they're vulnerable Pharmacy Practice News (03/04/19) Peeples, Lynne The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) seeks to address the issue of pharmacist burnout through its Clinician Well-Being and Resilience Initiative. In addition, the ASHP Research and Education Foundation highlighted burnout in its 2019 Pharmacy Forecast survey, with most respondents predicting that burnout from the growing pressure of advanced practice roles and the complexity of health care will raise the annual turnover rate for front-line pharmacists to at least 15%. Amanda Ball, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, and colleagues at Duke University Health System in Raleigh-Durham, NC, in 2017 conducted a study to focus on health-system pharmacists, finding that nearly one-half reported burnout based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Services Survey. In 2018, they looked at critical care pharmacists and discovered that about 64% of the 193 respondents to their survey reported burnout. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment were reported by 44%, 35%, and 35% of the respondents, respectively. A 2017 study on burnout among U.S. clinical pharmacists reported similar findings, with 84% of the 974 survey respondents saying they were satisfied with their careers, but more than 61% reporting being burned out. According to the survey, just 14.5% of survey respondents said they were aware of any resources for burnout available at their institution.

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S

If you change wholesalers please be sure to let us know. Please contact Verouschka Betancourt-Whigham “V” at

vbwhigham@gpha.org or 404-419-8102. Thank You

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Save The Date: AIP Spring

Program (MTM) Sunday, April 28, 2019 GPhA Offices, Sandy Springs, GA

GPhA Convention Thursday June 13 -Sunday June 16, 2019 Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, Amelia Island, FL

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Convention fun: sandcastles! This year's Georgia

Pharmacy Convention features our first

ever sand castle building contest:

Pharm-A-Sea!

Anyone can register a team to compete, and

proceeds will benefit the Georgia

Pharmacy Foundation. Check out the details

at GPhAconvention.com/pharm-a-sea!

Georgia Pharmacy Day at the Braves!

Who: You, your family, friends, and colleagues

What: The NL East Champion Braves vs.

Milwaukee Brewers

When: Sunday, May 19 @ 1:20pm EDT Where:

SunTrust Park, Atlanta Why: Just for fun!

GPhA price is a mere $17.00 — that's less than

two bucks per inning!

Buy tickets at: https://groupmatics.events/

event/Georgiapharmacy

AIP Member Featured in AJC AIP Member, Robert Bowles, has been featured in the AJC recently on two occasions. Robert was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia six years ago and is using disease awareness advocacy work to keep himself engaged in life.

What is Lewy body dementia? Disease that can look like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s gets attention because of Ted Turner, Robin Williams

Jan 29, 2019 By Rodney Ho, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health/what-lewy-body-dementia/nStCUFL82RKSBaoVGezlQP/

Medical marijuana in Georgia: legal to have, but illegal to get March 20, 2019 By Helena Oliviero, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution https://www.ajc.com/news/medical-marijuana-georgia-legal-have-but-illegal-get/WW8bJbtySGDbb2ttXb4AmK/

Bowles, a retired pharmacist, is shown with his wife, Judy, at their home in December 2018.

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Registration Opens March 1st ● June 13-16, 2019 ● Omni Amelia Island, FL

New AIP Partner

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To advance the concept of pharmacy care. To ensure the economic viability and security of Independent Pharmacy; To provide a forum for Independent Pharmacy to exchange information and develop strategies, goals and objectives; To address the unique business and professional issues of independent pharmacies; To develop and implement marketing opportunities for members of the Academy with emphasis on the third party prescription drug program/benefit market; To provide educational programs designed to enhance the managerial skills of Independent Pharmacy Owners and Managers; and, To establish and implement programs and services designed to assist Independent Pharmacy Owners and Managers.

AIP Mission Statement

KEEP INDEPENDENTS INDEPENDENT

Please don’t forget, if you have a desire to sell your pharmacy or if you have an interest in buying a pharmacy, please contact Jeff Lurey at 404-419-8103. We have been quite successful during the past several years at keeping independents independent. We maintain a list of pharmacists who want to buy additional pharmacies and we also keep a list of young pharmacists who want to own a pharmacy. All information is kept strictly confidential.

6065 Barfield Road, Suite 100 Sandy Spring, GA 30328