Legal News

The National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores expressed their support and made recommendations for Congress's reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.

Several U.S. senators and representatives are speaking at the National Community Pharmacists Association's annual Legislative Conference, which will be held May 7-9 in Washington, D.C.

Compliance with environmental laws and regulations pertaining to pharmaceutical waste disposal is an essential part of pharmacy management. Here are some tips to make the process less daunting.

The recent passage of a Kentucky bill prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from recouping payments through pharmacy audits when there is no evidence of fraud bodes well for similar federal legislation, according to a recent statement from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

CMS's proposed regulation for long-term care consultant pharmacists is stirring up controversy.

Continuing legal battles between the Drug Enforcement Administration and Cardinal Health have raised questions about federal drug policy and the role of distributors.

Federal marshals seized more than 1,600 containers from a Missouri distributor last week, alleging that the drugs were unapproved by FDA and misbranded.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the $29.1 billion merger of Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions on Monday, but the retail pharmacy industry continues to fight the deal, vowing to push a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that it filed on Friday.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), the National Community Pharmacists Association, and 9 retail pharmacy companies filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop the proposed merger of pharmacy benefit manager giants Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions.

ASHP continues to make solving the drug shortages problem a top priority.

Implementation of the "biosimilars" law is going well, but the exclusivity period seems to be a problem.

Occasionally mergers receive the attention of Congress, especially when consumer welfare and jobs are at stake. A prime example: The proposed merger of Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions.

Requiring prior authorization may have a broader impact than expected.

The Ohio commercial activity tax law ("CAT") is an annual tax on the privilege of doing business in Ohio.

Prescriptions could take on a new look if the Office of the Inspector General gets its way.

The outcry from physicians, pharmacists, and patients over disruptions in supplies of vital medications continues to draw attention on Capitol Hill and throughout the healthcare system.

California pharmacists are claiming victory after the U.S. Supreme Court sent 3 cases back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Los Angeles. The cases involved injunctions halting Medicaid reimbursement cuts to pharmacies and other providers in California.

The NCPA will continue to work with the government in 2012 to make changes for you and your patients.

In most cases, a pharmacy is, by definition, a HIPAA-covered entity, so it is subject to a possible audit by the federal government. Here's what you can do to prepare–just in case.

Cardinal Health has requested a temporary restraining order to block a Drug Enforcement Administration suspension halting controlled-substance shipments from its Lakeland, Fla., distribution center. DEA suspended Cardinal’s distribution license for the Lakeland facility last Friday.

The Federal Trade Commission turned thumbs down on Omnicare?s attempted acquisition of competitor PharMerica. The agency filed suit in federal court to block the hostile takeover.

Pharmacy and medical groups are suing the California Department of Health Care Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ recent approval of a 10% reimbursement rate cut in California’s Medicaid program.

FDA has appealed the September 2011 ruling made by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in U.S. v. Franck’s Lab, Inc. The ruling had favored pharmacy compounding for veterinary patients.

^MTM services are additional to provision of a drug product and include a broad range of pharmacists' activities within the scope of pharmacy practice. ^An example of MTM includes creating a medication treatment plan. ^Another example is monitoring and evaluating a patient's response to therapy.

FDA recently announced that the District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered a consent decree that prohibits Hill Dermaceuticals Inc., Hill Labs Inc., and certain individuals from introducing adulterated drugs into interstate commerce.

Pharmacy owners, pharmacists, and technicians should spend some time understanding their insurance policies. It may be time well spent.

As healthcare moves swiftly toward a more comprehensive electronic platform, pharmacies will be required to upgrade their claim submission standard from NCPDP 5.1 to NCPDP D.0, an updated version of the HIPAA standard for pharmacy claims transactions.

It's complicated. Those words sum up the current status and apparent future of biosimilars.

Advocates are hoping for a new push in Congress to control rogue online pharmacies, according to Bryan A. Liang, professor at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and vice president of the Partnership for Safe Medicine.

While Medicare and Medicaid were exempted from budget cuts in the initial debt agreement reached by the U.S. House and Senate this week, they could be up for cuts later this year.