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Much more than a buying co-op!
American
Pharmacies is a for-profit, member-owned pharmacy buying group
operating
in Texas,
Oklahoma & Louisiana, with a strong advocacy arm in
Texas & Washington, D.C.
Contact us to learn how you, too, can share in our savings
and have your voice heard.
Member, National Community Pharmacists
Association |
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| Message
from Mike
New management
services for APRx
members |
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Are you certain you're getting all
you're due in reimbursements? Do you reconcile your
invoices? Takes a lot of time, doesn't it? And that's
just part of the details involved in running your
pharmacy business.
APRx is pleased to announce a service agreement
with Data Rx
Management of Denison, TX, to create American
Pharmacies Management Services, a new member benefit to
simplify critical pharmacy business services.
"When utilizing a switch, pre-post edit,
reconciliation, or other services offered in this
agreement, APRx board and staff strongly encourage
members to take advantage of this service agreement,"
said Mike Gohlke, APRx president.
"We realize that some pharmacy systems create
barriers for these services. We will exert our influence
wherever that exists to break down those barriers,"
Gohlke added. "APRx members who switch on a common
platform offer some exciting possibilities in the future
and we plan to fully explore those possibilities."
Data Rx President Dan Chapman and Board
Chairman Joe Mengoni, RPh, presented the program and
answered board questions as part of our quarterly board
meeting held in San Antonio Feb. 21.
Reflecting on the deep roots that Data Rx has
in Texas, Chapman said he is delighted to be
participating in a business agreement with a Texas-based
and membership-owned cooperative like APRx.
"This is a one-of-a-kind relationship that can
build tremendous value and synergies for APRx members
and other independent pharmacies in our market," Chapman
said. "I am confident that both APRx and Data Rx will be
rewarded by this new service agreement. We are very
optimistic about our future and what we can accomplish
together."
The new agreement is a win for all involved,
Gohlke and Chapman said. APRx will receive an admin fee,
members will receive negotiated discounts on some
services, and APRx will receive a Data Rx board
position. "This agreement can have a meaningful impact
on our operational efficiencies, which means more
dollars back to the members in the form of year-ending
dividends," Gohlke said.
APRx Management Services is the result of
approximately six months of discussions, and Data Rx
will be added to the APRx list of preferred
vendors. Data Rx has a host of existing valued-added
services and some exciting new opportunities on the
horizon. APRx's board and membership will play a
critical role in development of those new opportunities.
We urge APRx members to review these new
opportunities today. Support APRx Management Services
and you are supporting your member-owned cooperative.
Mike Gohlke will be meeting with the Data Rx
sales team, Larry Wofford and James Donothan, as well as
APRx Business Development Manager Kaye Stroud to
fine-tune this offering to APRx members. If you would
like immediate information, call our offices at
877-634-5445 or Data Rx direct at 888-714-4422 or sales@data-rx.com.
Please be sure to mention that you are an
American Pharmacies
member!
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They just don't
know! |
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PBM. We all know what that stands for. But most of
our patients don't. And it's up to each of us to educate
them about the middle man who is siphoning off their
prescription dollars while limiting their access to
medicine prescribed by their doctors and pharmacy
choice.
I was reminded of this by Bruce Roberts, CEO and
EVP of the National Community Pharmacists Association in
his weekly communication. He writes about how a friend
of his, a corporate CEO, had to fight to get pharmacy
choice for his employees. At the time they selected
their health plan, they weren't aware of the pharmacy
benefit manager issue.
American Pharmacies discovered that basically NO
ONE really knows what a PBM is and how it controls their
healthcare. We conducted focus groups two years ago to
determine the knowledge level of three groups: seniors,
HR managers, and small business owners.
We expected some might not know about PBMs, but
were stunned to find out how uninformed even an HR
manager at a large hospital was!
From this information, we created a Website, www.medicineandmoney.com, to help inform
individuals, employers, and elected officials. We also
created flyers you can download from our Website, print, and staple to the outside
of each prescription sack, as well as post where
patients will see them. That includes waiting areas,
beside the cash register, the counseling area, and the
prescription drop-off area. If you have a drive-through,
post it in the window.
When you visit the Medicine and Money Website, take
the time to post a comment on the blog. The more people
who do, the higher the likelihood the site will be
"seen" by Internet search engines such as Google.
It's obvious that until our patients understand the
downside of PBMs, not enough pressure will be put on
elected officials. It's pretty darn easy to print out
the posters/flyers. Please do, and let us know about the
feedback you get from patients.
Stay tuned! |
| AMP cut
delayed even longer |
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The Bush Administration has decided not to appeal the
December federal court decision granting an injunction
that blocked Medicaid generic drug reimbursement cuts
scheduled to take effect Jan. 31, 2008. The
government had until Feb. 19 to appeal.
The original case to overturn the rule issued by
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) that uses
Average Manufacturers Price (AMP) as the new basis for
reimbursement, brought by NCPA and the National
Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) last year, now
proceeds on its merits. Even according to CMS, community
pharmacies would lose $5.5 million a day under the rule
as written.
NCPA and NACDS now are waiting for CMS to produce
the administrative record of how it fashioned the rule
it issued July 17, 2007. That record is due March 31,
although requests for an extension are possible.
As a practical matter it seems that any AMP rule, new or
old, is months away-if not into next year.
At the same time, there are only so many changes
that CMS can make to the rule if ordered by the court to
rewrite it. NCPA will continue to use the delay to
convince Congress of the need for structural
improvements in the Medicaid reimbursement system that
will not handicap community pharmacies by paying them
substantially below their acquisition costs for generic
drugs.
That means enactment of legislation like H.R.3140,
H.R.3700, and S.1951 remains a top NCPA priority this
year. | |
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| New newsletter
schedule |
| Watch for
the American Pharmacies newsletter twice a month on
the first and third Tuesday. If you receive the
newsletter via fax, we encourage you to receive it
electronically via email if at all possible. Go
to our Website at www.aprx.org and click on Contact Us.
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Business and law
advice from APRx general counsel
- Hiring and firing tips
- The Pharmacist's Guide to On-Site
Audits
- Contracting Tips for Independent
Pharmacists
To access APRx
MEMBERS ONLY Section,go
to Contact Us, fill in the form and type your preferred
password in the comments
section. |
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Lynn
Everett, RPh
Chairman
Vance Oglesbee,
RPh
Vice Chairman
Bruce Rogers,
RPh
Secretary/Treasurer
Buddy
de la Rosa, RPh
Immediate
Past Chairman
DIRECTORS
Ray Carvajal, RPh
Robert Kinsey, RPh
Michael Muecke, RPh
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Mike Gohlke
President
mgohlke@aprx.org
Richard Beck,
RPh
Vice President
rbeck@aprx.org
Kaye Stroud
Business Development Mgr.
Associate
of Administrative Affairs
pgray@aprx.org
11322 Sir Winston, Ste B
San
Antonio, TX 78216
Toll
Free:
877-634-5445
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