Lack Of Reimbursement Forces Colorado Pharmacy To Not Offer Antiviral COVID Pill – CBS Denver

LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) – A new antiviral pill for treating COVID-19 could play a key part in moving past the pandemic, but some pharmacists won’t carry it. That’s because some are getting paid as little as $1 to give it out.

“It’s not the best feeling, but sometimes as a business owner you have to make hard decisions,” said Jennifer Palazzolo, owner of the pharmacy.

Between vaccines and COVID-19 testing, Flatirons Family Pharmacy in Longmont has been there every step of the pandemic, but lately, there’s one thing they won’t do.

Read full article.
 

Advocacy Alert – Action Request; NCPA Part D Rule Pharmacist Comment

Please take time to send a letter to US Congress via the process outlined here. We all need to do our part to stop DIR fees. It will only take a few minutes!

(From the National Community Pharmacists Association)

We wanted to share a pharmacist comment template for comment on CMS’ proposed Part D rule, that includes language addressing pharmacy DIR fees. Template comments can be personalized and submitted through NCPA’s grassroots portal. Please share this link (https://p2a.co/Pb86xUt) with your stakeholders and strongly encourage them to personalize the template prior to submission to make their comment more impactful.

The template can be effectively personalized by:

  • Adding background on pharmacy including personal anecdotes about how long your pharmacy has been serving Part D patients and what percentage of reimbursement Part D represents
  • Discussing the harm that will come to their patients, pharmacy, and employees if pharmacy DIR fees are not addressed (examples: have reduced pharmacy hours, stopped providing free home delivery of medications to seniors, closed your pharmacy)
  • Providing examples of how pharmacy DIR fees have increased and how they have impacted their business (examples: reduce staff, reduce charitable/community donations)
 

COVID Cases & Labor Shortages Along The Front Range Affecting Walgreens Pharmacy Locations

DENVER (CBS4) – A combination of COVID-19 cases and staffing shortages is leading to growing frustration with Walgreens’ locations across the Front Range. In the last week, viewers have alerted CBS4 to issues with long lines, shortened hours, and sporadic closings at the chain’s pharmacies.

For more than three decades, Eric Braden has counted on Walgreens for every prescription, but lately he’s grown frustrated.

“It’s really too bad to see it going downhill this way,” Braden said.

According to Braden, long lines and a sudden closure kept him from getting an important prescription last Thursday. The next day, there was another issue.

“I went back, and they had posted a sign saying, ‘pharmacy closed today, no pharmacist available,'” Braden said.

Other viewers have shared stories of multiple day closures and staffing shortages at Walgreens locations near them. On Wednesday, the company acknowledged the challenges some of its locations are facing in a statement to CBS4.

See full article and video here.
 

9news.com | Demand at pharmacies ramps up as COVID-19 vaccine booster shots approved

From KUSA

AURORA, Colo. — As booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine gets approved for more groups of people, demand for the shot is climbing back up at pharmacies – and today, an FDA panel gave its initial green light Tuesday recommending Pfizer's vaccine to children ages 5 to 11. 

The expansion to groups eligible for booster shots and additional efforts to get people their first doses of the vaccine has increased demand from both locally-owned and retail chain pharmacies administering boosters. 

"We had seen a little bit of kind of that lull where people who had wanted the vaccine was starting to even off, or even decrease," said Emily Zadvorny, the executive director of the Colorado Pharmacists Society and clinical associate professor for the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy.

"But you know, now that we have the boosters for not only immunocompromised people, but pretty much for a lot of the population that we saw in our high-risk populations and older populations be able to get the boosters, that's bringing all that same rush back into the pharmacies," she said. 

See full article here.
 

2021 CPS Virtual Annual Meeting Session Recordings Now Available For CE

We realize that everyone could not make it to the Annual Meeting. The nice thing about virtual is it’s flexibility!  We are pleased to be able to offer you up to 2.8 hours of CE from our recent 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. You can select ala carte, as each CE is offered individually. We hope you will take advantage! The CEs can be done anytime, anywhere. The details of the speakers, topics and pricing is found below.

To access the CE information, recording, and slides, fill out the registration form for each session. You'll then receive a confirmation message AND email with the CE instructions and information to obtain your credits!  

Pricing Per Session: 

.3 CE Sessions: Members: $5.00 | Non-Members: $7.00 
1 CE Session: Members: $15.00 | Non-Members: $20.00 

Sessions include:

  • Heart Failure Therapeutic Updates (.3 CE)
  • Weighing In: DOAC Use in Obesity (.3 CE)
  • 2021 Colorado Legislative Overview (1 CE)
  • IGNITE! Session: Knowing When to Call it Quits: Swapping P2Y12 Inhibitors (.3 CE)
  • IGNITE! Session: MAID (Medical Aid in Dying) (.3 CE)
  • IGNITE! Session: What Preceptors Need to Know About Pharmacy Schools' Co-Curriculum (.3 CE)
  • IGNITE! Session: Digging into Diversity: Definitions, Desires, and Dangers (.3 CE)
Click here for more information and to purchase.

 

 
 
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