In Depth Perspectives: Importance of Patient Advocacy, PBM Scrutiny, and More

Use Your Voice: Pharmacists as Patient Advocates

In Depth Perspectives: Importance of Patient Advocacy, PBM Scrutiny, and More / Chinnapong - stock.dobe.com

The role of the pharmacist as an advocate isn't new. In a 2015 article published in Canadian Pharmacists Journal, Jason Perepelkin, PhD, and colleagues explained, “With the profession of pharmacy changing dramatically in recent years, it has become more and more apparent that pharmacists are being placed in the driver’s seat when it comes to promoting new skills and services to patients. Not only have these changes begun to emphasize a less technical role for pharmacists, but they have also opened up many diverse opportunities for pharmacists willing to step outside their comfort zone. But the question that is being asked by many pharmacists is, ‘How?’ The answer…can be summed up in one key word: advocacy…. Advocacy in its most basic form is simply promotion…of your skills and education as a health care provider.”

In July, PBMs Found Themselves in the Federal Government Hot Seat

Created with the mission of reining in costs, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) appear to have had the opposite effect for the American consumer—driving up drug costs, pushing independent pharmacies into oblivion, and creating incentives that crush low-cost options such as generics and biosimilars, according to a scathing report issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Get Into Politics or Get Out of Pharmacy

“I have sent this story to every one of my representatives and senators, in both Pennsylvania and Washington, DC,” said Peter A. Kreckel, RPh. “I invite you—beg you—to share your horror stories with your politicians. In meeting with several representatives over the past 3 months, the common thread is that they just don’t know what is going on with medication costs. Our representatives have PBM lobbyists breathing down their necks. Now they need to hear stories from us. Remember: Either get into politics or get out of pharmacy. The clock is ticking.”

The 2024-2025 Flu Season: What to Expect

According to the CDC, more than 44,900 people died from influenza complications during the 2023-2024 flu season. As it does every year, the CDC recommends everyone 6 months or older receive the updated flu vaccine, with rare exceptions.1 But this year, the influenza vaccine is different than it was last season: COVID-19 has become a major player alongside influenza, and patients may be asking about a new virus strain. Read on for the latest information.

Maximize Disease Awareness Months in the Pharmacy

Forget Labor Day barbecues and New Year’s Day champagne. In pharmacy, a different kind of holiday calendar is observed throughout the year—this one focused on health awareness. Disease awareness months—such as American Heart Month recognized in February or Mental Health Awareness Month observed in May—offer sustained opportunities for pharmacies to connect with the community, educate patients on important and sometimes underrecognized health issues, and attract new customers.

Pfizer Advances Oral GLP-1 Development as the Race for Second-Gen Obesity Therapies Continues

Pfizer will advance their development of danuglipron, a once-daily oral glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. The decision is based on results of an ongoing pharmacokinetic study (NCT06163758) which compared single-dose pharmacokinetics of immediate and modified release formulations in healthy adult participants. Four formulations—one 40 mg danuglipron immediate release tablet and three different 80 mg danuglipron moderate release—were evaluated by researchers across different experimental sequences.

Tianeptine Misuse Raises Concerns Across US, but is Stigmatizing the Drug Helpful?

Over the past several years, a harmful type of product has begun to proliferate on convenience store shelves: Synthetic drugs seeking to mimic the effects of controlled substances. Tianeptine, the most recent of these so-called “gas station drugs,” has caused both lawmakers and public health officials across the country to sound the alarm. And while many are justifiably concerned about consumers potentially being harmed from using unregulated tianeptine, there are others who fear the negative attention the drug is getting may hurt its future prospects of medicinal use in the US.

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