• Please take a moment to contact Wyoming’s U.S. Senators to urge their support and co-sponsorship of S. 511, which will allow pharmacists to continue to provide medical supplies to patients.

  Community pharmacists are the only licensed health care professionals supplying DMEPOS who must meet the new accreditation requirements of Medicare Part B as finalized by CMS last fall. As does its U.S. House companion bill, H.R. 616, S. 511 contains language exempting pharmacists from what would be a time-consuming, expensive, unnecessary and redundant rule, finalized by CMS last fall. Under this bill, pharmacists would join the 17 other health care professionals, such as physicians, nurses and opticians, who already must meet certain quality standards and are conditionally exempted by CMS. CMS provides no valid reason why state-licensed pharmacists should not also receive this exemption.

  The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), American Pharmacists Association (APhA), National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), Food Marketing Institute (FMI, Wyoming Pharmacy Association (WPhA), and all other state pharmacy associations are supporting and working toward passage of this important legislation. All of these organizations laud the introduction of this legislation and commend Senators Tester and Brownback for their leadership in helping find a legislative solution to what could become a patient access problem.

·         ASHP Urges Lawmakers to Make Pharmacists Part of Health-care Reform Plans  1/28/09

As the Obama administration and the 111^th Congress set their priorities for health-care reform, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) will push health policy makers to consider solutions that allow patients to benefit from the medication expertise of pharmacists. The Society has established principles that it believes should be included in any proposal for health-care reform. 

 

ASHP believes that safe and effective medication use should be a component of all proposed solutions to the central health-care reform issues of access, cost, and quality. The Society’s principles promote a variety of solutions, including:

·         Providing access to prescription medications and related pharmacist services for all persons in the United States,

·         Strengthening the postmarketing surveillance and safety system to ensure thorough monitoring of medications,

·         Offering incentives, such as loan forgiveness for pharmacy school graduates who practice in rural and underserved areas, and

·         Developing a reimbursement policy that recognizes the value of pharmacists as providers of medication-related patient care services. 

·         Continuing Education Credits Available - On October 6–7, 2008, CMS and 34 partner organizations hosted the National E-Prescribing Conference to promote and explain the potential of e-prescribing to improve health care in the United States. Sessions included the e-prescribing incentive payment program; strategies and tools for integrating e-prescribing with current health care delivery practices; and privacy, security, and risk management implications. The Massachusetts Medical Society and the American Pharmacists Association will provide continuing education for selected presentations from the conference through an online education portal. Available credits are a maximum of 22.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, and Continuing Education for pharmacists (up to 13.25 hours of continuing education credit (1.325 CEUs)).  Additional information is available on the National E-Prescribing Conference site at http://www.epsilonregistration.com/er/EventHomePage/CustomPage.jsp?ActivityID=378&ItemID=1117. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services looks forward to working with you on the adoption of e-prescribing and implementation of the incentive program.

 

• “Medicare’s Practical Guide to the E-Prescribing Incentive Program” is now available online! The guide explains the e-prescribing incentive program, how eligible professionals can participate, and how to choose a qualified e-prescribing system. By adopting e-prescribing through Medicare’s program, eligible professionals can save time, enhance office and pharmacy productivity, and improve patient safety and quality of care while earning incentives from Medicare. 

For additional information about e-prescribing, you can also visit:

• www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI. Select “E-prescribing Incentive Program”;
• www.cms.hhs.gov/eprescribing. (for information on Part D e-prescribing standards that will be effective April 1, 2009); and
• www.ehealthinitiative.org to download “A Clinician’s Guide to Electronic Prescribing.”
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