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June 4, 2021 |
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DIR Bill Introduced (from NCPA)Congress has now introduced two bills of interest to pharmacy. HR 3554 and S 1909 are designed to address fees that PBMs extract back from pharmacies. These fees are called Direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees and are received by Medicare Part sponsors or their PBMs. These dollars which are substantial are coming from dispensing pharmacies after the point of sale. In theory they are fees assessed to pharmacy providers who fail to meet certain quality measures. Seven Congressional co-sponsors are supporting this bill so far in the House with 3 sponsors signed on in the Senate. There are no co-sponsors from Florida signed up yet. Members are encouraged to reach out to your Florida Congressman and ask that they sign on and support HR 3554. Contact Senators Rubio and Scott and ask that they support S 1909.
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| Legislation Adopted that Creates Additional Disqualifying Penalties The Florida legislature passed SB1934 which added to the list of offenses that are grounds for disciplinary action by health care practitioners. If a practitioner (including pharmacists or technicians) enter a plea of guilty or has been convicted of, found guilty of or entered a plea of nolo contendere to certain offenses related to Medicare or Medicaid fraud, health care fraud, control substances or reproductive battery then they could be subject to an emergency suspension order by the State’s Surgeon General and not allowed to practice. It appears that SB1934 expanded the disqualifying offenses to include items such as kidnapping, false imprisonment, human trafficking, and computer pornography along with a host of other concerns. It is possible that licensees and registrants will see new questions on your renewal applications. When renewing your license make sure that you read and answer the questions carefully.
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New APhA CEO Scott Knoer to Keynote FPA Annual MeetingThe Florida Pharmacy Association is pleased to announce that APhA Chief Executive Officer Scott Knoer will be visiting with us at the Marriott Sawgrass resort in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Dr. Knoer is the 13th Executive Vice President of APhA. He received his BA in psychology from Creighton University and his PharmD from the University of Nebraska. Before assuming his duties at APhA he was the Chief Pharmacy Officer at the Cleveland Clinic.
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FDA Authorization of Longer Time for Refrigerator Storage of Thawed Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Prior to DilutionThe Food and Drug Administration is authorizing undiluted, thawed Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be stored in the refrigerator at a range of 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 1 month. This is longer than the previous guidance of 5 days and is due to data provided to the FDA.
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Vaccine Confidence among Health Care ProvidersAt least 297 million US citizens (51%) have at least received one vaccination dose for COVID-19. We have come a long way but there is more work to be done here. Our hats off to our many pharmacist providers who are working through the current health care crisis. We believe that our efforts will get us to the other side of the pandemic. No doubt you are encountering consumers who may have concerns over the COVID-19 vaccines since they are available under emergency use authorization. The CDC has information that you may want to use to help counsel these patients (see “MORE” below). Also APhA has some great resources on available on their website. Not all health care providers are vaccinated and this tool may help you as well. Also visit the APhA vaccine confidence resource web site.
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| DEA Issues Warning over Counterfeit Pills
The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued an alert over the presence of counterfeit pills containing a powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl circulating on the illicit drug market. According to the DEA just consuming one of these pills can be enough to kill someone. The DEA has made available a counterfeit pills fact sheet resource.
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Central Florida Pharmacist Recognized by the City of St. Cloud
FPA member and Speaker of the House Eric Larson receives proclamation from St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell recognizing May 27, 2021 as “Eric Larson Day”. The City in a meeting acknowledged Dr. Larson’s efforts to support first responders of the St. Cloud Fire and Police Department with protective equipment. He was also lauded for his vaccination efforts in his community including the most vulnerable.
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