Through NACDS, You Remain Part of “The Change”
NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, reflects on the policy and political landscapes created by the 2016 elections--and NACDS' forward-thinking approach to them.
New Poll Results Show Support for TRICARE Pharmacy Pilot
A survey conducted among TRICARE beneficiaries by Morning Consult and commissioned by NACDS shows support for the TRICARE Acquisition Cost Parity Pilot Program for Retail Pharmacy.
Creating the Unique NACDS “Shopping Experience”
During the NACDS Annual Meeting this week, one of the often-discussed trends was the need for retailers and supplier partners to collaborate for a truly positive shopping experience – one that makes consumers enjoy and value their time in the store. I thought a lot about the extent to which NACDS focuses on reflecting the chain and associate membership in this regard. Members tell us often that NACDS meetings and conferences create highly positive experiences that make them uniquely desirable and effective venues for advancing one’s business. In addition, NACDS constantly looks to reinvent itself and its events, for the good of the members.
“NACDS remains focused on keeping our events on the leading edge of member experience – just as you strive to remain on the leading edge of consumer experience.”
I want to thank everyone who made the 2017 NACDS Annual Meeting a tremendous success. Also, thank you to those who did the same at the NACDS Regional Chain Conference in February, and to those who already are thinking ahead to the NACDS Total Store Expo in August. I hope you find the extensive preparation materials to be powerful and effective, and I hope your on-site experience is second-to-none. NACDS remains focused on keeping our events on the leading edge of member experience – just as you strive to remain on the leading edge of consumer experience.
Collaboration, customer-focus, the pursuit of shared value for partners and for society, and other key themes resonated consistently from the conversations at the NACDS Annual Meeting. Through your engagement and input, thank you for helping to keep NACDS focused on the related theme of creating a highly competitive, productive and rewarding experience that constantly delivers satisfaction. In other words, thank you for helping NACDS to operate exactly the way it should: in your image.
Intersection of Business, Policy and Politics on Display at NACDS Regional Chain Conference
I am really looking forward to the NACDS Regional Chain Conference, which begins this weekend. I refer to NACDS as the intersection of business, policy and politics for our industry, and the Conference program again will demonstrate NACDS’ value in this way. A fantastic event awaits, thanks to the efforts of Hy-Vee, Inc.’s Kristin Williams, who chairs the Conference Planning Committee, thanks to all of the members of that amazing Committee, and thanks to the NACDS staff team.
We have a lot to talk about regarding NACDS’ pro-patient and pro-pharmacy agenda given the extraordinary political and public policy landscape.
As you have been reading in NACDS publications and in the national press, we have a lot to talk about regarding NACDS’ pro-patient and pro-pharmacy agenda given the extraordinary political and public policy landscape. NACDS Chairman Martin Otto of H-E-B will initiate that discussion, which will play out throughout the Conference. There will be ample opportunities to talk about pharmacy patient care and pharmacy reimbursement given the potential changes to the Affordable Care Act, as well as about the current focus on regulatory reform and pressing topics like the need to address direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees.
In addition, on the business operations side, we have highly insightful sessions prepared on pharmacy and front-end topics including the pharmaceutical market; new pharmacy services like personalized medicine; third-party negotiations and audits; naloxone developments; retail dynamics and specifically those pertaining to health and wellness; human resources law; and value-based models and their relationship to immunizations.
Chain attendees also will have time to tend to unique business needs with the One-to-One Business Conferences with NACDS Associate members, and during the always-productive-and-enjoyable receptions and networking events throughout the meeting.
We look forward to welcoming many NACDS Chain member representatives to the NACDS Regional Chain Conference – which is central to NACDS’ identity as the place where the industry’s business, policy and political initiatives are advanced in unparalleled ways.
On HHS Nominee Price’s Healthcare Principles, Pharmacy Makes a Powerful Case
During his Senate confirmation hearing this week and since being nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) has focused on six principles of healthcare reform: affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, responsiveness, choices. In fact, Rep. Price has focused on those principles for some time – he described them in an op-ed column in The Hill back in 2013 and likely many times before that during his Congressional and medical careers.
Importantly, pharmacy’s contributions to healthcare affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, responsiveness and choices are highly regarded among Republicans, Democrats and independents alike.
To be sure, these terms are cited frequently across party lines. The real debate exists in the details of how these principles are best achieved. I cannot help but note at this pivotal time in our nation’s healthcare policy skirmishes that pharmacy makes a powerful case for its role in advancing all of these principles. Consider the following:
Affordability: In a national survey commissioned by NACDS, 65 percent of respondents said pharmacists are credible information sources on opportunities to save money.
Accessibility: Nearly all Americans (91%) live within five miles of a community pharmacy.
Quality: In a national survey commissioned by NACDS, more than seven-in-ten respondents who are considered heavy users of pharmacy services reported favorable opinions of pharmacies – which is a very strong rating in comparison with other segments of healthcare delivery.
Innovation: NACDS’ training program to advance pharmacy-based pharmacogenomics – a form of personalized medicine that involves using genetic data to ensure medications are used in a safe and effective manner – presents but one example of the industry’s commitment to innovation.
Responsiveness: NACDS’ training program to advance pharmacy-based point-of-care testing for flu, strep and other acute and chronic conditions reflects pharmacy’s ability to improve options available to patients regarding the manner and environment in which they are treated.
Choices: NACDS advocates strongly for patient choice, and an example of this is maintaining a co-payment structure that secures military families’ and veterans’ ability to choose community pharmacies over mail order as the source for their medications. The Congressional Budget Office has found that higher copayments “cause some chronically ill beneficiaries to stop taking their medications, resulting in more [ READ MORE ]
Election Stress Disorder? Consider NACDS RxIMPACT a Cure
The American Psychological Association last week released a finding from its annual “Stress in America” survey that more than half of adults in the United States feel very or somewhat stressed by the election. Republicans and Democrats are feeling this stress at similar rates. There is even talk of what is formally called Election Stress Disorder.
The only certainty is the vital importance of engagement.
I’m not half kidding when I say that there is a remedy for election-induced stress, and this remedy is to engage in the NACDS RxIMPACT grassroots advocacy program. There are plenty of articles online that offer advice for reducing stress, such as “anxiety will grow if it’s not directed into some positive action” and “courage is not the absence of fear, but taking action in spite of fear.” NACDS RxIMPACT is all about action – specifically, positioning pharmacy for success whatever the outcome of the elections.
For starters, we have 19 days left to continue to demonstrate the political activism of pharmacy through the NACDS RxIMPACT Votes program. Visit PharmacyVoter.org to learn how to make an impact; use #PharmacyVoter in social media posts urging to people to vote for the candidates of their choice; and share NACDS’ get-out-the-vote YouTube videos that encourage engagement in the elections even while telling the story of pharmacies as the face of neighborhood healthcare.
Also, make plans now to participate in the 2017 NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill, which will be held March 14-15 in Washington, D.C. Last year, advocates met with 90 percent of Congressional offices during this event. There will be a new Administration and some measure of Congressional turnover, so it will be essential to visit the newly elected Senators and Representatives and to maintain visibility of those who are returning to Congress amid ever-changing political dynamics.
There are many other steps that you can take as well through NACDS RxIMPACT, such as engaging as a key contact with a specific member of Congress, hosting a grassroots training session at your company, inviting a member of Congress to tour a pharmacy, and much more.
For [ READ MORE ]
Forging New Partnerships: NACDS-NFID Collaboration
Feel free to share with all of your pharmacists the enduring education program – titled “Vaccines for Preteens and Teens: The Importance of Timely Vaccination for all Adolescents” – that NACDS and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) announced this week.
Beyond the knowledge and the continuing education credit, this program speaks volumes about the industry:
- Power of Partnership. NACDS welcomes the opportunity to partner with NFID – another organization with a fantastic reputation in the public-health community. Its recent report stated: “Retail pharmacies continue to expand their vaccination services and they are valuable partners for improving adolescent vaccination rates.” This is a powerful statement – one the industry graciously embraces.
- Vaccination as a Proof Point for the Industry. It is often discussed that pharmacy’s response to the H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009 demonstrated the value of pharmacy access – particularly as it relates to vaccinations. Out of need, and out of proven effectiveness, pharmacists in 2009 gained the ability to administer the flu vaccine to adults in all 50 states – when Maine took that step. Since that time, pharmacists’ vaccination authority has expanded along with increasing appreciation of the day-to-day access and value that these professionals provide. In 2015, Georgia became the 50th state in which pharmacists can provide at least three adult vaccines. This remains a position of strength from which the industry can continue to build. The industry welcomes the opportunity to make a substantial contribution toward the federal recommendations for adolescent vaccinations. In so doing, NACDS also is striving to expand access to pharmacist-administered adolescent vaccinations in order to make further progress in this area.
- One Example among Many. While vaccinations have become a convenient conversation point to explain pharmacy’s value, there are other examples – including recent examples in which NACDS is highly involved. In July, NACDS and the University of Pittsburgh announced plans for a national tour this fall to advance the Test2Learn™ Community-Based Pharmacogenomics Program – including a component that will provide the instruction necessary for pharmacists to administer the training to other pharmacists. In addition, NACDS this summer presented its second annual national tour to expand pharmacy-based point-of-care testing, [ READ MORE ]
Medicaid AMP: Vigilance Continues
Ever since the Federal Register published the final Covered Outpatient Drugs Final Rule (which directs pharmacy Medicaid reimbursement according to the average manufacturer price, or “AMP,” model) on January 21, 2016, NACDS has been evaluating the rule and determining appropriate actions.
The rule and its implementation must be viewed through the lens of its effects on patients’ access to vital medications and pharmacy services.
NACDS has done so according to two key principles that have guided the Association’s actions over nearly a decade related to this issue: that NACDS operates as a member-centric trade association, and that the rule and its implementation must be viewed through the lens of its effects on patients’ access to vital medications and pharmacy services. That was the spirit of NACDS’ initial statement on the final rule posted on January 21, the timeline of this issue’s decade-long history, the update that we provided on our consideration of the final rule, and various analytical and informational resources that we have provided along the way.
Having discussed the final rule extensively with the NACDS Policy Council, the NACDS Executive Committee and the NACDS Board of Directors – as well as with diverse NACDS members at the NACDS Regional Chain Conference and NACDS Annual Meeting – we wanted to provide an update on where we stand at this point on an issue that will continue to play out during the rule’s implementation.
First, it is clear that one of NACDS’ top priorities must be to actively monitor and analyze the implementation of the rule – including actions by state governments and by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As states make legislative and regulatory changes in light of the final rule – to implement AMP-based federal upper limits (FULs), cost-based reimbursement for brands, and professional dispensing fee reimbursement – and as CMS considers related state plan amendments, vigilance will be essential to ensure these changes are conducive to patient access. As a result of advocacy by NACDS and the National Community Pharmacists Association, the final rule includes important provisions related to drug reimbursement and professional dispensing fees and it will be [ READ MORE ]
Don’t Underestimate Iowa
Don’t Underestimate Iowa
Medicaid AMP Issue Reflects Founding Vision of NACDS
Medicaid AMP Issue Reflects Founding Vision of NACDS
