Community Practice

Local pharmacies have a special place in American society. Neighborhood pharmacists provide expert medical advice and often inexpensive prescription drugs, and they add to a greater sense of community in residential areas. But, in recent years, the neighborhood drugstore has come under increasing attack by national pharmacy chains, which have gobbled up market share in many areas across the country.

A letter from Walgreens' head of acquisitions asking whether Part D has them ready to sell out has outraged some independent pharmacy owners. They believe the chain's own pharmacy benefit manager is one reason they're being hurt financially by the Medicare drug benefit.

Compounding pharmacists who would like to put their practices to the test can now apply to earn the seal of approval offered by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB).

Tired of watching the profession react instead of act? A group ofNew Jersey pharmacists has created a think tank to generate ideasabout how to move toward payment for medication therapy management(MTM) services.

A new set of standardized electronic messages, endorsed after anintense six-week effort, may alleviate some of the problems withthe Part D Medicare benefit, according to pharmacy organizations.

Increased customer satisfaction and Rx drug sales ... New pharmacy and supermarket customers ... Another way to differentiate yourself from the competition. These are some of the potential benefits of opening an in-store clinic. You may want to be the first on the block to provide that point of difference. If you don't do it, you may be at a competitive loss.

The new TV show, "American Inventor," doesn't have a lock onoriginal inventions. Pharmacy has its share of inventors, too.

For the seventh consecutive year, pharmacists requested a recordnumber of licensure transfers last year, according to the NationalAssociation of Boards of Pharmacy.

Pharmacists who want to get involved at the grassroots level can contact the resources listed below.

Iowa pharmacists are being paid to manage the medications ofpatients at high risk of therapy problems in a one-yearcollaborative practice pilot funded by the Community PharmacyFoundation (CPF).

The pharmacist shortage could get worse in the next decade as moremen put down their spatulas in favor of retirement and more men andwomen opt for part-time work, according to a study commissioned bythe Pharmacy Manpower Project.

Asheville, N.C., the incubator for the first highly successfulcommunity pharmacist intervention project, will once again be atesting ground as the American Pharmacists Association Foundationapplies its proven concept to depression.

Some of the eligible products include Ensure, Glucerna, Depend, Poise, Huggies, Cottonelle Fresh Folded Wipes, Citrucel, Comfort Personal Cleansing, No-Rinse, and Os-Cal.

There may be relief in sight for pharmacists frustrated with confusing and even contradictory electronic messages beamed their way by Part D insurance plans, thanks to a work group created by associations representing drugstore chains, independent pharmacy, and health insurance plans.

Things are looking up in relation to Medicare Part D, according to Mark McClellan, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In early March, he addressed an audience of 700 pharmacists from New England on the status of the drug benefit, as the program passed its 60th day in operation. The presentation was the keynote address at the 66th Howard L. Reed Conference, sponsored by the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Some pharmacies will not survive the next 12 months. The longer pharmacy waits to break longstanding links between pharmacy product and pharmacy reimbursement, the bleaker the prospects.

With an ear out for pharmacy owners hollering that allowing logos on Part D Rx cards tilts the playing field toward their big chain rivals, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed tightening the rules for co-branding Medicare drug plans. And the agency also wants to hear whether co-branding should be outlawed altogether.

Pharmacists say Medicare Part D caused chaos in their pharmacies at start-up; they hope for better days ahead

Pharmacists who would like to give community practice another whirl but aren't sure they're up to the task can sign up for an on-line refresher course to boost their knowledge?and confidence?about heading back behind the counter.

Patients filling scripts at Bashas' United Drug pharmacies in Arizona will, like the canary in the coal mine, be the first to signal if there are problems with newly marketed drugs in the nation's first-of-its-kind active drug surveillance system.

One of the most effective tools pharmacists have to influence the political process is their own pharmacy, but only if they put out the welcome mat for movers and shakers to see firsthand how policies impact their business and their patients. To help owners get legislators and their staffers through the door, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores has developed a toolkit to facilitate such visits.

Given the technical difficulties that led to lack of accurate beneficiary information during implementation of the Medicare Part D benefit, drug plans should let pharmacies submit claims that are up to 90 days old, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

There have been times in pharmacy's history when things looked bleak. For example, back at the turn of the 20th century, pharmacists were afraid they were doomed because a fellow named Alexander Graham Bell had invented the telephone. Doomsday didn't come, of course, and some might accuse the profession of crying wolf on occasion.

Lou Spadafora, co-owner of Midland Pharmacy on Staten Island, N.Y., bounced a check for $51,000 last month. The pharmacy's bank account was $2,000 short of covering the check. It wasn't the first check he bounced, because he serves a lot of dual eligibles in group homes who were switched from Medicaid to Medicare Part D.

Independent pharmacies are catching the eye of investor groups