NOV. 2010

Florida Pharmacy Technician Registrations

Expiring Dec. 31, 2010

The Official PublicationOf The Florida Pharmacy Association

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Contributions to the Florida Pharmacy Foundation are tax deductible as a charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes. Consult your CPA for complete details. Fed Emp. I.D. #59-2190074

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

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❑ YES, I want to order _______ concrete brick/s at $250.00 each. (Please copy form for additional inscriptions).

Have you been searching for just the right gift or thought of placing your name in perpetuity? If so, then consider purchasing an engraved brick for you or someone else.

The main sidewalk at the Florida Pharmacy Association needs replacing. The Florida Pharmacy Foundation has undertaken the project to repair and beautify the sidewalk with engraved personal bricks purchased by pharmacists or friends of pharmacy.

Engraved 4x8 bricks can be purchased for $250.00 each with the donor’s name engraved (3 lines available) or you could also purchase an engraved brick for someone you feel should be honored or remembered.

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 3

VOL. 73 | NO. 11NOVEMBER 2010 thE OfficiaL puBLicatiON Of thEfLORida phaRMacy assOciatiONP H A R M A C Y T O D A Y

florida

Departments 4 calendar

4 advertisers

5 president’s Viewpoint

7 Executive insight

23 Buyer’s Guide

FeaturesMaking a 340B-Line to Lower drug prices: More Entities Eligible under aca

fpa Official Ballot Election 2011

Open Letter to florida’s Registered pharmacy technicians and pharmacists

10

13

18

4 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

E-mail yOur suggEstiONs/idEas tO

dave@fiorecommunications.com

Mission Statements:of the florida pharmacy today JournalThe Florida Pharmacy Today Journal is a peer reviewed journal which serves as a medium through which the Florida Phar-macy Association can communicate with the profession on advances in the sciences of pharmacy, socio-economic issues bearing on pharmacy and newsworthy items of interest to the profession. As a self-supported journal, it solicits and accepts advertising congruent with its expressed mission.

of the florida pharmacy today Boardof directors The mission of the Florida Pharmacy Today Board of Directors is to serve in an advisory capacity to the managing editor and execu-tive editor of the Florida Pharmacy Today Journal in the establishment and interpreta-tion of the Journal’s policies and the manage-ment of the Journal’s fiscal responsibilities. The Board of Directors also serves to motivate the Florida Pharmacy Association members to secure appropriate advertising to assist the Journal in its goal of self-support.

AdvertisersHealtHcare consultants ....................... 3KaHan ◆ sHIr, P.l. .......................................... 9PPsc ................................................................... 11rx relIef ........................................................... 9

2010-2011

FPA Calendar NOVEmbEr

25 – 26 Thanksgiving Day Holiday FPA Office Closed

dEcEmbEr

4 – 5 FPA Law and Regulatory ConferenceHyatt Regency SarasotaSarasota, Florida

5 – 9 ASHP Midyear Clinical MeetingAnaheim, California

14-15 Board of Pharmacy MeetingGainesville, Florida

24 - 27 Christmas HolidayFPA Office Closed

31 FPA Office Closed for New Year

JaNuary 2011

17 Martin Luther King Birthday - FPA Office closed

29 - 30 FPA Consultant ConferenceSandestin, FL

31 Election Ballots Due

FEbruary

8 - 9 Board of Pharmacy Meeting Location TBA

28 Awards Nomination Due

marcH

8 Legislative Session Begins

9 - 10 NACDS RxIMPACTWashington, DC

15 Last day to submit resolutions

15 - 16 Pharmacist Days at the Legislature

16 Pharmacists Health Fair at Florida's Capitol

19 - 20 FPA Council and Committee Meetings

25 - 28 APhA Annual MeetingSeattle, Washington

cE crEdits (ce cycle)the florida Board of Pharmacy requires 10 hours lIVe continuing education as part of the

required 30 hours general education needed every license renewal period.Pharmacists should have satisfied all continuing education requirements for this biennial

period by september 30, 2011 or prior to licensure renewal.*for Pharmacy technician certification Board application, exam Information and study

materials, please contact ranada simmons in the fPa office.for More Information on ce Programs or events:contact the florida Pharmacy association at (850) 222-2400 or visit our Web site at www.

pharmview.com

cONtactsfPa — Michael Jackson (850) 222-2400fsHP — Michael McQuone (850) 906-9333u/f — Dan robinson (352) 273-6240faMu — leola cleveland (850) 599-3301nsu — carsten evans (954) 262-1300

disclaimEr articles in this publication are designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with re-spect to the subject matter covered. this information is provided with the understanding that neither florida Pharmacy today nor the florida Pharmacy association are engaged in rendering legal or other professional services through this publication. If expert assistance or legal advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. the use of all medications or other pharmaceutical products should be used according to the recommendations of the manufacturers. Information provided by the maker of the product should always be consulted before use.

For a complete calendar of events go to www.pharmview.com

change in Journal Printing schedule

Due to the importance and timeli-ness of the immunization study released last month, the Journal board decided to print the August issue in addition to post-ing it online as scheduled. This schedule change will result in the October, Novem-ber and December issues of the Florida Pharmacy Journal being posted online and not printed. The next printed journal will be January 2011.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 5

Good day members. I hope your holidays will be happy ones. President Martinez has asked

me to give you an update of our activi-ties. For that, I’m both grateful and hon-ored.

As we look forward to the New Year we also begin a new set of challenges. I will discuss these issues toward the end of this report. More presently, it is important to recognize your team at the Professional Affairs Council, their dedication and communications with each other and me has made my job as Chair very easy indeed. The composi-tion of our Council is as follows: phar-macists, educators, administrators, stu-dents and pharmacy technicians.

Our first and only meeting (it was decided not to hold any meetings that were not face-to-face), was August 28, 2010. At the time, there seemed to be confusion on what was really expect-ed of our team, therefore, the following clarifications were made.

■ We, as well as all the other Coun-cils, exist as “think-tanks” of the FPA. It was not our purpose to agree or disagree with House of Delegates or presidential direc-tives. Our job was to find the most economic, professional, ethical and simplest way to carry those direc-tives out.

■ A definition of MTM needed to be clarified; it sounded “too much” like the old terms Cognitive Services and Pharmaceutical Care initiatives that were placed into motion some years ago. Although very benefi-cial to the profession, it did not form part of our “Practice Standards.”

■ It was decided that continuity of charges is important, therefore a

complete study and reassessment of this Council’s activities in 2009 and pending issues were addressed and acted upon.

■ Tasks were defined and assigned to members of the team to report back to our next face-to-face meeting scheduled for March of 2011. Open communications between members and myself were kept open and re-main an on-going event in a very successful manner.

A completed set of minutes is in-cluded with this report. I hope that with the above explanation of direc-tion, you, the membership, will ap-preciate how these minutes were con-ceived.

accOmPlisHmENts:As of today, the team has gone and

represented the FPA in Tallahassee in front of the Board of Pharmacy and successfully advocated for a reduc-tion in the number of hours a prescrip-tion department must be open from 40 hours to 20 hours. The Florida Board of Pharmacy has opened rule devel-opment based upon our recommenda-tions. We plan to continue to work with Broward County Pharmacy Associa-tion and the Board of Pharmacy to fur-ther reduce or completely repeal this Rule.

One of our presidential directives was “To make Pharmacists INDIS-PENSABLE.” Our Council, wisely enough, understood and approved a monumental project, which will most surely bring this dream into a reality. Our Council proposes a set of “Phar-macist only” duties linked to the NPI of the individual pharmacist. We col-

Professional Affairs Council End of Year Report

The President’s ViewpointguEst cOlumNist: Eric alVarEz, PrOFEssiONal aFFairs cOuNcil cHair

As of today, the team has gone and represented

the FPA in Tallahassee in front of the Board

of Pharmacy and successfully advocated for a reduction in the

number of hours a prescription department must be open from 40

hours to 20 hours.

Eric alvarez, Professional affairs council chair

6 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

The Florida Pharmacy Association gratefully acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the following members of the FPA leadership who work deligently all year long on behalf of our members.

Karen Whalen ......................................................................... Chairman of the BoardHumberto Martinez .................................................................................FPA PresidentRobert Parrado ....................................................................................... President ElectDon Bergemann ....................................................................................................TreasurerWilliam Riffee ............................................Speaker of the House of DelegatesSuzanne Wise ...........Vice Speaker of the House of DelegatesPreston Preston McDonald, Director ...........................................................................Region 1Marcus Dodd-o, Director .................................................................................Region 2Al Tower, Director .................................................................................................Region 3 Raul N. Correa, Director ...................................................................................Region 4 John Noriega, Director ......................................................................................Region 5 Chris Lent, Director ..............................................................................................Region 6Kim Murray, Director ........................................................................................... Region 7Raul Gallo, Director ................................................................................................Region 8Zachary Eisenman, Interim Director .......................................................Region 9Alissa Fuller ............................................................................................... President FSHPMichael Jackson .......................................Executive Vice President and CEO

Florida Pharmacy today Journal board

Chair................................................................. Betty Harris, beejpharm@gmail.comVice Chair ..........................................Jennifer Pytlarz, jlc_rxdoc@hotmail.comTreasurer ...................Stephen Grabowski, sgrabowski@seniormmc.comSecretary ..................................................................Stuart Ulrich, Stuarx@aol.comMember ............................................................ Don Bergemann, don@bceinfo.comMember ................................................Joseph Koptowsky, docjik1215@aol.comExecutive Editor ...............Michael Jackson, mjackson@pharmview.comManaging Editor ..................Dave Fiore, dave@fiorecommunications.com

2009/2010 FPa board of directors lectively believe that if your NPI num-ber (not the pharmacy’s) is included in certain key activities, then you will not only assume responsibility, you will also be indispensable. Duties such as billing, MTM, (too late for immuniza-tions, it has already become a “prod-uct”, not a professional activity), lab in-terpretation, CLIA related activities such as finger stick blood testing for hyperlipoedemia, diabetes, urinalysis, protein through hair samples, etc.

We feel a “New World” of Cogni-tive Services, oops!, Pharmaceutical Care, oops!, I mean, Medication Ther-apy Management, should surface as a new frontier for Pharmacists to explore. In our vision, Pharmacists, payors and employers would “partner” in bringing these new and not-so-innovative ser-vices to our patients. We are anxious to see that these services do, not form part of an elaborate product-oriented marketing service. Pharmacists, payors and employers must learn when and how to divide the professional vs. the product.

As Chair, I have been asked and se-lected by the APhA to do a series of ra-dio messages in our area that will con-tinue to enhance and bring Pharmacy into the spotlight in a positive way in our region of the state. Carmen Aceves from our Council was gracious enough to allow me.

cHallENgEs: ■ Draft language from the Depart-

ment of Health (DOH), which opens the door to increased regulation, ad-ditional training for Prescription Dept. Manager, removing health care decisions from pharmacists in what to dispense, increased proba-bilities of fines and disciplines.

■ Government employees been man-dated where to acquire their medi-cations disregarding the “any will-ing provider” proviso in the Rules.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 7

It is difficult to recreate the magic from the Pharmacists 2010 Legisla-tive Days and Health Fair for mem-

bers who were not able to attend this year; even more of a challenge to do so for student pharmacists who have never attended a grassroots legisla-tive event before. The plan is to attend and impact those who make decisions on our profession; but the reality is we walk away with an impression of how our profession is perceived by others. Nova Southeastern University (NSU) students joined their student colleagues from other Colleges of Pharmacy in Florida (Florida A&M, UF, Palm Beach Atlantic, and LECOM) again this year and from what they shared after re-turning home, walked away with much more than they anticipated.

“What you do not realize as a pharmacy stu-dent is the impact that legislators may have on the way you practice as a licensed phar-macist. By attending this event in Tallahas-see last March, we finally realized the im-portance of being an active member of the Florida Pharmacy Association. As students, we were proud to stand in our white coats that day, not representing a specific college but instead a thriving profession.”

– Gi na Pet t i n eO

The student grapevine (a most curi-ous means of highly effective commu-nication from upper classman to low-er classman) prepared the students for some of the tasks that lied ahead: or-ganizing themselves from missing lec-ture, participation in training sessions for screening equipment and traveling from South Florida by car to participate

in a health fair for legislators and mem-bers of the community. Although all the NSU students had prior experience in patient-care projects providing screen-ings in the community, none of them had actively participated in the legisla-tive process, or clearly understood what their roles would entail once “on the hill.” Many students prepared them-selves by learning key terminology, the structure of legislation and legis-lative process, and discussed these is-sues during the 11-hour drive to Tal-lahassee. Still, many of these concepts were abstract and had no direct person-al meaning or application until the mo-ment they walked into the offices of the legislators.

“After attending FPA Legislative Days and Health Fair, I was inspired and over-whelmed with appreciation and pride in the profession of pharmacy. I saw how essential it is for every pharmacy practitioner and student to stand up for the rights and privi-leges we work so hard to sustain.”

— V erOn ic a ZOlOt ush k i na

“This was my first time being exposed to politics. I was extremely overwhelmed and was very nervous. It was an eye-open-ing experience for me. It made me real-ize that changes are made daily, and if we are not aware of these changes, our career that we’ve worked so hard for may be tak-en away.”

– Y VOn n e Ph a n

Indeed, the students have their own “small government” in the form of Stu-dent Government Associations and var-

ious student organizations, and have an idea of making decisions, establish-ing rules and coming to a sense of col-lective representation. However, trying to understand the basics of legislation at the state level, and in terms of the profession of pharmacy, were almost too abstract for the students to initial-ly grasp.

I would be willing to bet a good amount of money that none of them were prepared to walk away with the

“gift of awareness.” Self-awareness, pro-fessional competence awareness, aware-ness created during the education of legislators of what clinical services and patient care means to the new era of pharmacists, and unfortunately, the lack of awareness of what seems “every-day practice” for pharmacists and stu-dent pharmacists by just about every-one else around them.

Executive Insightby micHaEl JacksON, rPH

Legislative Events: Impacting Student Pharmacists

by aNgEla s. garcia, PHarmdFPa mEmbEr aNd assistaNt PrOFEssOr, NOVa sOutHEastErN uNiVErsity

angela s. garcia, Pharmd

8 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

executive Vice President/ceOMichael Jackson

(850) 222-2400, ext. 200Director of continuing education

Tian Merren-Owens, ext. 120controller

Wanda Hall , ext. 211Membership coordinatorRanada Simmons , ext. 110

educational services Office assistantStacey Brooks , ext. 210

FlOrida PHarmacy tOday bOardChair..................................Betty Harris, Lighthouse Point Vice Chair ................................. Jennifer Pytlarz, BrandonTreasurer ..............................Stephen Grabowski, TampaSecretary ........................Stuart Ulrich, Boynton BeachMember ................Don Bergemann, don@bceinfo.comMember .................................... Joseph Koptowsky, MiamiExecutive Editor ........Michael Jackson, TallahasseeManaging Editor ........................Dave Fiore, Tallahassee

This is a peer reviewed publication. ©2010, FLORIDA PHARMACY JOURNAL, INC.ARTICLE ACCEPTANCE: The Florida Phar-macy Today is a publication that welcomes articles that have a direct pertinence to the current practice of pharmacy. All articles are subject to review by the Publication Review Committee, editors and other outside referees. Submitted articles are received with the understanding that they are not being considered by another publication. All articles become the property of the Florida Pharmacy Today and may not be published without written permission from both the author and the Florida Pharmacy Today. The Florida Pharmacy Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions made by the authors to the Florida Pharmacy Today.

The Journal of the Florida Pharmacy Association does not accept for publication articles or letters concerning religion, politics or any other subject the editors/publishers deem unsuitable for the readership of this journal. In addition, The Journal does not accept advertising material from persons who are running for office in the association. The editors reserve the right to edit all materials submitted for publication. Letters and materials submitted for consideration for publication may be subject to review by the Editorial Review Board.

FLORIDA PHARMACY TODAY, Annual sub-scription - United States and foreign, Indi-vidual $36; Institution $70/year; $5.00 single copies. Florida residents add 7% sales tax.

Florida Pharmacy association

610 N. Adams St. • Tallahassee, FL 32301850/222-2400 • FAX 850/561-6758

Web Address: http://www.pharmview.com

FPA STAFF “I discovered the impact that knowledge shared with our legislative leaders can have. I also learned that similar to most people, legislators only know what they are being told. If we don’t express to them the impor-tance of our position then there is a good chance they will not be aware of it.”

– k en n et h h uGh es

“Even though we got a chance to speak to the representatives, I wish we had more in-dividualized conversations. This will allow the student the opportunity to begin to for-mulate a compelling argument about why the issue is important and will feel more comfortable when communicating these ideas to their representative.”

– k i r k l at i be au Di er e*

“I hope seeing the training and services we provided, above the common assumption of the pharmacy job description, will help the representatives and senators appreciate and consider utilizing pharmacy more ef-fectively when considering a cost effective and safe alternative of providing healthcare to the community. It was disappointing to see how little was known about the phar-macy profession and how underutilized our services are.”

– OlGa r eDk i na W Y Dn er

The students were challenged by their limited knowledge of the legis-lative process, and of the meaning be-hind the “talking points.” As a member of the FPA and a faculty advisor, I try to lead students to the place I want them to go, but I allow them to take in the ex-perience for themselves. I would much rather say, “Believe this; think this; do this” and leave out growing pains, frus-tration and valuable lessons to learn along the way. However, if it doesn’t be-long to them, it dies the day we leave the hill instead of becoming a part of them, and they themselves becoming a true part of their profession.

“I went to Tallassee not knowing what to ex-pect; I found my niche in pharmacy school. For the past three years, I have been won-

dering what I would do when I graduate, and after being in a legislative environment for the first time, I found what I love to do. It was intriguing to see how laws that im-pact our profession are made, and who is making them.”

– t ejal Pat el

“I was nervous and stuttering, but I tried to get my point across the best I could. I hon-estly believe I would not be as aware of the issues that revolve around pharmacy if I did not attend this event.”

– a n n t r a n

For the students to believe, think and do, they must experience it on their own terms. They must be pure of heart, naïve to influence and humble in their existence. Although they re-ceived mentorship, not only from the faculty advisors who attended the trip with them, but some key FPA members who reached out, perhaps the most pro-found impact was from direct conver-sation with members of the Senate and House.

“[FPA] mentors were very influential to us by enhancing our experience and inspiring us to get involved. The most empowering experience is when lawmakers asked some of us how we felt about the legislation. That is when you finally realize the impact you have on your profession.”

– Gi na Pet t i n eO

“Having the opportunity to talk to differ-ent representatives in the state of Florida and being able to express concerns about the new laws that may affect me as a fu-ture pharmacist and within the community I will practice, was a wonderful experience that has opened my eyes. I learned more about the laws affecting pharmacy and was able to show my concern as a student.”

– bi nal Pat el

All of the NSU students were giv-en the opportunity for reflection upon their return from the FPA legislative event. They were able to specifical-

*EDITOR'S NOTE: The Florida Pharmacy Association was pleased to have Kirk with us for a 4 week intern ro-tation in September and October.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 9

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ly identify the moments they felt most connected to their profession. Many students became acutely aware of how they serve the profession now and how they can continue to influence how the profession is practiced in the state of Florida for years to come. Still for others, it was finding a voice and becoming an advocate for the first time.

“One highlight for me was the ability to see firsthand the action in the House and Sen-ate and how effective our contributions can be (i.e. speaking with congressmen and women. We made an impact and opened eyes in the capital”

– j u li a n na c r a i n

“Pharmacists have a legislative role, and we are still very under-represented as a profes-sion. As students representing NSU, I saw that we were very knowledgeable in all ar-

eas, although we were the smallest group.” – DaV en saW h

“If we take our profession for granted and do not fight to move it forward, we will be reversing all the progressive strides made by pharmacy leaders in the past, as well as opening the door for others to decide how we practice. That is why we must share our experiences with others and become men-tors that will lead the way for future leaders and loud voices for our profession.”

– V erOn ic a ZOlOt ush k i na

“At NSU, we came back and spoke to our classmates. We shared our experiences and the impact that the FPA made on us. Our hope is that every graduating student could experience this event in order to under-stand the significance of lobbying for your profession.”

– Gi na Pet t i n eO

JOIN TODAY!

Florida Pharmacy Association

EDITOR'S NOTE: The leadership of the Florida Pharmacy Association encourages members to partic-ipate in the 2011 Pharmacist Day at the Legislature on March 15 - 16, 2010. There will be 1.5 hours of continuing education offered and a chance to visit the Capitol where health care lawmaking takes place.

10 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

Before Lisa Scholz, PharmD, MBA, was Vice President of the Health Re-sources and Services Administration (HRSA) Pharmacy Services Support Center (PSSC) at APhA, she was Ad-ministrative Director of Pharmacy Op-erations for the Harris County Hospital District in Houston. She’s seen firsthand the human impact of the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

“People had medicines that normal-ly they wouldn’t be able to get,” Scholz told Pharmacy Today. “People were ex-cited that there was a place they could go to get medications. This program gave them hope.”

The 340B program, established by federal law in 1992, reduces the cost of drugs for covered entities through dis-counts from manufacturers who also participate in Medicaid. Recent reform of the program, under both the health care reform law and separate but relat-ed regulations, increases patient access to the discounted drugs.

In the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sections 7101, 7102, and 7103 expand 340B participation to four new types of covered entities, improve 340B integrity, and require a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to recom-mend improvements to 340B, respec-tively. Elsewhere in ACA, 340B prices are affected. In addition, not long be-fore the law was passed, HRSA issued a regulation permitting covered entities to have multiple contract pharmacies—

in other words, more than one contract pharmacy—effective April 5.

Entities qualified for 340B pricing save an average of 25% to 50% on out-patient drugs, according to HRSA’s Of-fice of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA). Savings from the program are used to reduce drug prices for patients or to pay for clinical pharmacy services by show-ing the health-system administration, “Here’s the savings, and we’d like to add a clinical pharmacist [to the inter-disciplinary team] because there are even more savings that can be realized when a patient has comprehensive care provided,” Scholz said.

Expanding participation Under ACA, four new types of en-

tities are now eligible to enroll in 340B: freestanding cancer centers, critical ac-cess hospitals, sole community hospi-tals, and rural referral centers (see page 64 of the September 2010 Today). On September 1, 2009, children’s hospitals became eligible, although they are list-ed as new covered entities in the health care reform law.

According to a controversial provi-sion in ACA, the new covered entities will not be able to receive discounts on approximately 350 orphan drugs—drugs used to treat rare, or orphan, dis-eases. The following previously eligible entities will still receive discounts on orphan drugs: consolidated health cen-ters; federally qualified health centers (FQHC) or FQHC look-alikes; family

planning projects (Title X); Ryan White Care Act Parts A, B, C, and D programs; black lung clinics; comprehensive he-mophilia diagnostic treatment centers; native Hawaiian health centers; urban Indian organizations; certified tuber-culosis clinics; certain disproportionate share hospitals (DSH); and certified sex-ually transmitted disease clinics.

Because the new covered entities won’t receive discounts on orphan drugs, they have “a more complex deci-sion on how or whether to participate,” Christopher Hatwig, MS, BPharm, FASHP, Vice President of Apexus, the Prime Vendor Program (PVP) contrac-tor for HRSA, told Today. PVP works with manufacturers to provide what can be another 15% reduction in price below the 340B price on critical drugs that are widely used.

“You need to be careful in review-ing what savings opportunities are there before making the decision to go through the process of joining” 340B, Hatwig said. “If you can’t buy orphan drugs at 340B pricing, you need a sep-arate account to buy products through a GPO [group purchasing organiza-tion]—an alternative arrangement for orphan drugs at some kind of discount if you can.”

In Congress, there’s bipartisan sup-port to restore orphan drug 340B dis-counts for children’s hospitals, Ted Slaf-sky, MPP, Executive Director of Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Ac-cess (SNHPA), told Today. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) introduced such a bill with other Republican senators. Mean-while, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and a number of Democrats wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) “saying please let’s get this thing fixed,” Slafsky said. The argu-ment is that children’s hospitals became eligible before ACA and so did not tech-nically become a newly covered enti-

Making a 340B-Line to Lower Drug Prices: More Entities Eligible Under ACA

“People had medicines that normally they wouldn’t be able to get,” Scholz told Pharmacy Today. “People were excited that there was a place they could go to get medications. This program gave them hope.”

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 11

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ty in the law. The House of Represen-tatives has twice passed legislation that would amend the law, according to an August 5 article in the Hill.

As for rural hospitals, Slafsky said, SNHPA and the National Rural Health Association sent a letter October 12 to Department of Health and Human Ser-vices (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebel-ius urging HHS to play an active role in helping to remove the orphan drug ban for these facilities, too.

Medicare DSH adjustment percent-age criteria are another aspect of eli-gibility for the newly covered entities. According to SNHPA’s website, sole community hospitals and rural referral centers now require a percentage of 8% to qualify for outpatient 340B discounts, while the minimum percentage for oth-er hospitals currently eligible for the discount, including freestanding cancer hospitals and children’s hospitals, will remain at 11.75%. Critical access hospi-tals don’t need a DSH percentage, and therefore most are eligible for 340B.

More than 14,000 covered entities participated in 340B before ACA; ap-

proximately 11,000 of those participated in PVP, Hatwig said. “Several hundred new covered entities will be eligible for outpatient discounts” after ACA, ac-cording to SNHPA’s website. Current-ly, more than 2,500 contract pharmacies participate in 340B, Scholz said.

But not everyone is pleased by the increased access. The expansion of the program is “seen as positive by the new stakeholder covered entities and or-ganizations that advocate for them,” Scholz said. “Likewise, since the pro-gram expanded, it requires the manu-facturers to pass along savings to hospi-tals that did not participate in the past.”

340b PricesThe 340B price, also known as the

ceiling price, is the most that a covered entity can pay for a covered drug pur-chased through the 340B program, ac-cording to PVP’s website. Drug compa-nies calculate 340B discounts quarterly. Discounts are determined by a statuto-ry formula in which the Medicaid unit rebate amount is subtracted from the average manufacturer price (AMP), ac-

cording to OPA. ACA changes both the Medicaid unit rebate amount and AMP, which affects 340B prices—“the main concern for DSH hospitals,” Scholz said.

PVP will know what the net impact on 340B prices will be after the 340B pricing is analyzed once manufacturers have fully implemented their changes to the AMP calculation later this year, Hatwig said. The changes to the man-datory rebates lowered pricing by 9.4%, and the increase to AMPs is expected to have an opposing effect on the ceil-ing pricing. Drug manufacturers must report their unit rebates and AMPs to CMS, and are asked to voluntarily sup-ply this data to OPA.

In the 340B integrity provisions, ACA requires that the government pub-lish 340B prices on the OPA website, ac-cording to SNHPA’s website.

Integrity in the 340B program will ensure that both manufacturers and covered entities are protected, Scholz said. “The manufacturer sometimes miscalculates the price charged to 340B covered entities, and when it is retro-spectively discovered, a refund is nec-

12 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

essary. This is not uncommon. We have also seen a case where the covered en-tity wrongfully utilized the 340B med-ications. Integrity provisions will en-sure” that if a covered entity is owed a refund it is paid, and that if a 340B enti-ty should not use 340B, the manufactur-er is refunded.

Under ACA, HHS must develop a system to ensure accurate pricing by manufacturers in the program. HHS must issue regulations to establish a for-mal dispute resolution process for over-charges by manufacturers to covered entities and must establish a refund process when there is an overcharge.

In addition, under ACA, covered en-tities can be held accountable for in-appropriate use of 340B medications, including reimbursement to manufac-turers, or even disenrollment from the program, if they knowingly don’t fol-low the law.

Other issuesThe GAO study required by ACA

will address the role of the 340B pro-gram after health reform, among other questions, according to Slafsky; SNHPA believes 340B should be expanded. As for pharmacy’s perspective, Scholz said, “there is limited information on what pharmacy hopes GAO will suggest, but pharmacy organizations across the spectrum have been supportive of the program.”

Meanwhile, the impact of the April 5 guideline allowing multiple contract pharmacies is huge. “I think there will be many hospitals that ran their own internal pharmacies that will elect to outsource to a chain or even an inde-pendent,” Hatwig said. “It’s going to improve access for all the entities for 340B drugs,” especially for patients who don’t live near the hospital’s pharmacy. Slafsky added that health care providers will be able to capture more revenue be-cause contracting with an outside phar-macy or pharmacies will enable them to benefit financially from patients who previously would have left the hospital with the prescription. “It’s also an op-portunity for [community] pharmacies because they will get paid by the health care provider to provide pharmaceuti-cal services to these patients,” he said.

In conclusion, 340B reform affects pharmacists, Scholz said. Pharmacists who work in a health system may be in one of the newly covered entities. Phar-macy leaders must determine if 340B will lead to savings, and then how to ensure compliance with the regulations. Other pharmacists may work with ven-dors affected by ACA. For pharmacists who run their own pharmacy or work in a community setting, patients also use 340B in those environments. “It’s a way for pharmacists to give back to their community by providing compre-hensive services and improving health outcomes to our nation’s underserved,” she said.

—Diana Yap

Hcr/regulatory scorecard: What is happening NOW!Proposed regulations receiving public com-ments:

■ HHS: Comments due by November 12 on an interim final rule to remove two electronic health records imple-mentation specifications that it erro-neously adopted

■ FDA/CMS: Comments due by De-cember 16 on establishing a process for parallel review of medical prod-ucts

■ FDA: Comments related to a No-vember 2–3 public hearing on the implementation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, which establishes an abbreviated approval pathway for therapeutically equivalent generic versions of biologic drug products, due by December 31

Regulation for which comment period has closed:

■ HHS: Development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan

■ FDA: Development and distribu-tion of a single document for patient medication information

■ HHS: Proposed rules to help fight fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program

Etc: ■ Secure and Responsible Drug Dis-

posal Act of 2010: President Barack Obama signed S. 3397 into law on October 12, allowing patients who lawfully obtain controlled substanc-es to transfer them to a government or private entity for disposal

■ Survey of seniors: 84% of 1,243 Medicare beneficiaries were satisfied with their Part D prescription drug coverage, according to a survey con-ducted by KRC Research and com-missioned by the Medicare Today coalition.

Reprinted with permission from the Hub on Health Care Reform column in the [November 2010] issue of Pharmacy Today (www.pharmacytoday.org). For more information about the Affordable Care Act and pharmacy’s role in shaping the outcomes of this law, access the Government Affairs section of APhA’s website, www.pharmacist.com. Copyright © 2010, American Pharmacists Association. All rights reserved.

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2 0 1 1 F P a c a N d i d a t E s

caNdidatE FOr PrEsidENt-ElEct

goar alvarez ■ Currently Director of Pharma-

cy Services, Assistant Professor – So-ciobehavioral and Administrative Sci-ences, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

■ Director of Pharmacy South Flor-ida State Hospital, Pembroke Pines, Florida

■ Consultant Pharmacist PharmaK-onsults, Miami, Florida

FPa MeMber since: 1976

state assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Florida Pharmacy Association ■ House of Delegates – Director of HOD (2008-2009) ■ House of Delegates – Speaker (2007-2008) ■ House of Delegates – Vice Speaker (2006-2007) ■ Educational Affairs Council – Chair (2006-2007) ■ Budget & Finance Committee (2006,2007,2008) ■ Convention Planning Committee (2006,2007,2008) ■ President’s Committee (2006,2007,2008) ■ Legislative Committee (2006,2007,2008) ■ Professional Affairs Council – Chair (2005-2006) ■ Professional Affairs Council – Chair (2004-2005) ■ James H. Beal Award Committee – Chair (2005) ■ Nominations Committee (2003-2004, 2004-2005) ■ James H. Beal Award Committee (2003, 2004) ■ Executive Committee - member (1997-1999, 2002-2008) ■ House of Delegates – Dade County delegate (1996-2006) ■ House of Delegates – NSU College of Pharmacy delegate

(2007-present) ■ Educational Affairs Council – (2003-2004) ■ Educational Affairs Council – Chair (2002-2003) ■ Public Affairs Council – member (2000-2003) ■ Public Affairs Council – Chair (1999-2000)

lOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Talks to high school students “career day”; Participation

in community based health fairs and events ■ Osteoporosis Awareness Day (Eckerd Corp) – Ft. Lauder-

dale, Fl (2000) ■ Diabetes Awareness Day (community service) – Ft. Lau-

derdale, Fl (2000) ■ Diabetes Awareness Day (community service) – Miami, Fl

(2000)

■ *Broward County Health Fair – Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (2000); NSU Women’s Health Center – Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (2001); *Health fair @ Parkway Regional Medical Center – Mi-ami, Fl (2001); *Health fair @ Aventura Mall – Ft. Lauder-dale, Fl (2001); NSU Health & Fitness fair – Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (2001); *Health Fair – New Birth Baptist Church – North Miami, Fl (2001); *Health Fair – NACDS conference, Mi-ami Beach, Fl (2001); *Senior Citizens Health & Education Fair – North Miami Beach, Fl (2001)

■ *San Lazaro Catholic Church “brown bag”– Hialeah, Fl (2001)

■ *Town of Davie Police Dept.- Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (2001) ■ *Dade County Pharmacy Assoc. (Publix Phcy) – diabetes

screenings, pharmacotherapy information (2001) ■ *Florida Pharmacy Association –Legislative Health Fair

(2002) ■ Florida Dept. of Health – Miami-Dade County Health

Dept. –volunteer (2002); *Dade County Pharmacy Assoc. – Diabetes Awareness Month Event (2002)

■ Inter-American Pharmacists Association• Historian (2008-present)• Secretary (1982-1984) Member 1982-present• Dade County Pharmacists Association• Executive Committee – member (1992-present)• Executive Committee – Chair (1998-1999)• Continuing Education Committee – Chair (1993-1996)• President Elect (1996-1997)• President (1997-1998)• Membership Committee – Chair (1999-2001)• Legislative Committee (2002-2003, 2003-2004)• Broward County Health Department• Pharmacy Network Committee – member (1999-2010)

PharMacY relateD actiVities: ■ University Special Projects ■ Assessment of patients at risk for falls project (2003-2004) ■ ICUBA – Independent Colleges and Universities Board:

Reviewed the pharmacy component of the health insur-ance plan and provided opinions and suggestions to the ICUBA Board (2003-2004)

■ Identified/recommended changes to our pharmacy ben-efits plan resulting in a $450k/yr savings (rebates) plus an approx. $1M savings (therapeutic strategies) over the course of the 04-05 FY

■ ICUBA - Independent Colleges and Universities Board: Providing consultative services for the formation of pro-vision of Pharmacy Services as a component of health benefits for the employees of 13 member institutions. Ser-

FPa Official ballot Election 2011

14 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

2 0 1 1 F P a c a N d i d a t E s

vices to include Medication Therapy Management Servic-es as well as Diabetes Disease State Management (2006-2008)

■ Implementation of changes to pharmacy benefits for ICU-BA members

■ 90 day medication supply at outpatient/retail (similar to mail). Implemented in 2009.

■ Medication Therapy Management Services by pharma-cists (pilot program). Implemented in May 2010.

■ Department of Children and Families: Developed cur-riculum to train unlicensed caregivers in medication ad-ministration skills as well as providing them with ba-sic knowledge of pharmaceuticals used in mental health (2004-2006)

■ Hospital Pharmacy & Therapeutics committee, Infection Control committee, Medication Error committee, Senior Management committee

■ Medical Staff committee

caNdidatEs FOr trEasurEr

betty Harris, Pharm.d. FascP, FaPha A Nova Southeastern University, Col-lege of Pharmacy Assistant Dean, Ex-periential Education and Student Ser-vices Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice

FPa MeMber since: 1978

state assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ 2009-2010 Chair, Editorial Council Florida Pharmacy,

2009-2010, Member, FPA Organizational Affairs Council, 2007-2008 Treasurer, American Council on Pharmacy Ed-ucation

■ 2002-2008 Council Member, American Council on Phar-macy Education, 1999-2002 Trustee, APhA Board of Trustees, 1998-1999 Speaker, APhA House of Delegates, 1998-1999 President, Florida Pharmacy Association Foun-dation, 1997-1998 Trustee, Florida Pharmacy Association Foundation, 1997-1998 Speaker-elect, APhA House of Del-egates, 1996-1997 President, Florida Pharmacy Association Foundation, 1995-1996 Member, FPA Legislative Com-mittee, 1995-1996 Trustee, Florida Pharmacy Association Foundation, 1994-1995 Member, FPA Legislative Commit-tee, 1994-1995 Member, FPA Budget and Finance Com-mittee, 1994-1996 Trustee, Florida Pharmacy Association Foundation

lOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Broward County Pharmacists Association, Adjunct Pro-

fessor, Nova SEU – Doctor of Pharmacy APPE, ■ Lambda Kappa Sigma Professional Pharmacy Fraternity

PharMacY relateD actiVities: ■ Lecturer, 2009, Consulting Practice in Skilled Nursing

Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, Coordinator, Initial Consulting Certification Program 10/09, Lecturer, 2009, Consulting Practice in Skilled Nursing Homes and Assist-ed Living Facilities, Coordinator, Initial Consulting Certi-fication Program 2/09, Lecturer, 2008, Consulting Practice in Skilled Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, Coordinator, Initial Consulting Certification Program 10/08, Lecturer, 2008, Consulting Practice in Skilled Nurs-ing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, Coordinator, Initial Consulting Certification Program 2/08, Lecturer, 2007, Consulting Practice in the Assisted Living Facility, NSU, Coordinator, Initial Consulting Certification Pro-gram, 10/07, Lecturer, 2002 FSHP Spring Meeting, Treat-ment of COPD: Focus on the Elderly, 3/24/02, Faculty, 1996-2003Nova Southeastern University College of Phar-macy, Clinical Geriatric Rotation, Faculty, University of Arkansas College of Pharmacy, Clinical Geriatric Rota-tion, 2001, Speaker, Nova Southeastern College of Phar-macy, P2, Practice Ethics 10/98, Speaker, Phi Lambda Sig-ma, Nova SE, Pharmacy Organization Involvement 10/98

■ Speaker, District VII Florida Health Care Association, New Changes in OBRA and Psycho-active Drugs, 5/96, West Palm Beach, FL. Speaker, South Palm Beach Coun-ty Dental Association, Drug Interactions and Dentistry, 3/96, Delray Beach, FL. Speaker, ASCP Midyear Meet-ing, Providing Pharmacy Services in Assisted Living Fa-cilities, 5/95, San Diego, CA., Speaker, ASCP Midyear Meeting, Consulting in SubAcute Care Units, 5/95, San Diego, CA., Faculty, FPA Consultant Update, 9/94, St. Pe-tersburg, Florida Medication Awareness Test, 8/94, Ho-rizon Club, Boca Raton, Florida, Faculty, FPA Consul-tant Update, 5/93, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Interpersonal Skills for Pharmacists, 5/93, Pinellas CPA, Tampa, Flori-da, Medication Awareness Test, 5/93, Margate Women’s Club, Margate, Florida, Faculty, FPA Consultant Update, 10/93, Orlando, Florida, Faculty, FPA Consultant Update, 4/93, Boca Raton, Florida, Faculty, FPA Consultant Up-dates, 1/93, Destin, Florida, Speaker, Knoll Pharmaceuti-cals, 3/31/93 Decubitus Symposium, Boca Raton, FL, Fac-ulty, Nova-Southeastern University, Geriatric Clerkships, 1990-1994, Boynton Beach, Faculty, University of Florida, Geriatric Clerkship, 1991-1994, Boynton Beach, FL, Marion Merrell Dow Inc, Leadership Training Conference 1991, St. Louis, MO, Speaker, WTVX Prescription Drug Use, 1991, WPB, FL

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 15

2 0 1 1 F P a c a N d i d a t E s

alex Pytlarz, Pharmd

Currently working as Director of Phar-macy, Hoye’s Pharmacy. Formerly I worked at Vanguard Advanced Phar-macy Systems as the Director of Phar-macy. I have also worked as an Execu-tive Resident for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists in Alexan-dria, VA.

FPa MeMber since: 2002

state assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Florida Pharmacy Association, member, House of Del-

egates, Board Chair 2010 – 2011, House of Delegates, Speaker 2009 – 2010, President’s Committee, member 2008 – 2010, Board of Directors, member 2008 – 2010, House of Delegates, Speaker-elect, 2008 – 2009, Budget & Finance Committee, member 2008 – 2010, Legislative Committee, chair, 2006 – 2009, PACCE Board of Directors, member 2006 – 2010, Organization Affairs, chair, 2007 – 2008, Or-ganizational Affairs Committee, member, 2005 – 2007, Ad Hoc Committee on FPA Constitution & By-Laws, mem-ber 2005 – 2006, House of Delegates Board of Directors House, Director, 2005 – 2008, Budget & Finance Commit-tee, member, 2004 – 2006, Legislative Committee, mem-ber, 2004 – 2006, Ad Hoc Committee on APP Structure, member, 2004, Academy of Pharmacy Practice, Clinical Committee Chair, 2003 – 2004, Ad Hoc Committee on Or-ganizational Structure, member 2003

lOcal assOciatiOn actiVities:

PharMacY relateD actiVities: ■ 2005 – 2008 Hickory Woods Homeowners Association

Board of Directors Treasurer ACC Chair, ■ 2004 – 2008 Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, Inc.,

Bradenton, FL Big Brother Volunteer ■ 1998 – 2000 University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy

Alumni Weekend ■ Seven Springs, PA Assisted staff ■ 2000 Frick School Pittsburgh, PA Educated elementary

students about drug awareness ■ 1999 Operation Immunization Pittsburgh, PA Promoted

and supported APhA-ASP Operation Immunization pro-gram

■ 1998 University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Web Page Pittsburgh, PA

■ Assisted in the creation and update of the school of phar-macy virtual museum

■ 1998 University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association Pitts-burgh, PA Retrieved extensive history of Jonas Salk for Salk

caNdidatEs FOr rEgiONal dirEctOr

caNdidatEs FOr rEgiON 1

Preston mcdonald, bPharm Pharmacist Manager – Winn-Dixie #0498, Pensacola, FL

FPa MeMber since: 2001

state assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Member – APhA, Delegate

(Escambia County Pharmacy Associa-tion) - House of Delegates and Student

Mentor - Adopt-A-Student Program = FPA Annual Con-vention 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, Budget & Finance Committee - member at large – 2008 – present

■ Board of Directors – Region 1 representative – 2008 – present, Participate – 2010 FPA Annual Legislative Days – State Capital - Tallahassee

lOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Member – Escambia County Pharmacy Association,

Newsletter Editor/Communications - Escambia Coun-ty Pharmacy Association - 2007-present; Vice-President – 2010: organized/directed ECPA booth - Gulf Coast Health Expo – Pensacola

PresiDent GOals anD ObjectiVes: ■ My name is Preston McDonald and I am running for re-

election as Director of Region 1 of the Florida Pharmacy Association (FPA). Having served on the inaugural Board of Directors of FPA, I have faithfully served such, and have not missed a meeting in the last 2 years. I have been a licensed Florida pharmacist since 1998, and have been a member of APhA, FPA, and our local pharmacist organi-zation in Pensacola, Fl – Escambia County Pharmacy As-sociation (ECPA) – for the past several years. As most of you have observed and know that the practice of com-munity pharmacy has changed tremendously over the past 10 years, and I believe it is up to our professional as-sociations to help pharmacist in this transition. We have been warned in the past that changes were coming to our profession; and we all are now finding out that changes are here. And unfortunately, things will not get any bet-ter for community pharmacists, as we are constantly be-ing asked to do more - with less. The professional asso-ciations should be advocates for our profession, not just for preservation, but for the advancement of our profes-sion as we transform to recognized health care provid-ers – not just only “drug dispensers”. That is where and

16 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

2 0 1 1 F P a c a N d i d a t E s

now is the time we need leadership and volunteers with-in our profession, and the best place I know of to maxi-mize benefit to our profession is in service with our pro-fessional associations. If re-elected, I will continue to be faithful as a Director of FPA. And I will continue to be available for communication with all pharmacists within Region 1 for concerns, advice, and opinions. Please vote for me as I endeavor to serve you. Thank you for being a part of FPA!

PharMacY relateD actiVities: n/a

Wayne cheatum ms, rPh Currently Pharmacy Consultant, Public Health Preparedness, Bureau of Statewide Pharmacy Services, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL

FPa MeMber since: 2009state assOciatiOn actiVities: n/alOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: n/a

PharMacY relateD actiVities: ■ Retired Air Force Colonel (O6) Pharmacist, Past Com-

mander of Pharmacy Squadron and Chairman of the De-partment of Pharmacy at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX. Supervised 143 person-nel in 12 Pharmacies (8 outpatients, 3 inpatient and a ro-botic refill center) in a 250+ bed facility. Broad experience in pharmacy automation, Deployed Commander, 332d Medical Operations Squadron, Balad Air Base, Iraq. Led 135-member team: Surgery, Emergency Room, ICU, and Wards, Former Pharmacy Consultant for two Air Force Command Surgeons and over 20 pharmacy facilities, For-mer Chairman of San Antonio Multi-Market Pharmacy Board of Directors.

■ Let two military medical treatments teams to provide public health and medical care to indigent citizens in Central and South America, Director of Pharmacy in 7 hospital and clinic pharmacies over 28 years, Excellent to Outstanding Joint Commission and IG results every in-spection, Extensive experience in a wide variety of lead-ership and management positions within and outside of pharmacy including TRICARE, budget office, logis-tics, information systems, ancillary services (laboratory, radiology), policy making, and readiness, Oversaw ac-quisition/installation of pharmacy outpatient automa-tion devices, Inspector on Staff Assistance Visits: assessed compliance with inspection standards, narcotics control, process improvement and implementation, workflow and staffing efficiencies,

■ Planned, organized, guided three major pharmacy reno-vations including a $150,000 pharmacy wall-to-wall ren-ovation. Executed lock, stock and barrel move to bare-

bones site without a safety incident or disturbance to customers. Unit liaison for $12M military construction project. Primary planner and coordinator for the reloca-tion of 6 departments and laboratories to the new facil-ity in minimal time with no safety mishaps. Oversaw and evaluated unit safety programs and operational risk management. Expert evaluator of medical functions and emergency medical responses to man-made and natural disasters.

■ Extensive experience in managing antibiotic and vaccine issues (Anthrax, Malaria, Plague, Tick-borne Encephali-tis, Venezuela Equine Encephalitis, etc.) as well as numer-ous preventive medicine and therapeutic issues. Trained and experienced in Chemical and Biological Warfare re-sponse.

caNdidatEs FOr rEgiON 3

Eva sunell, Pharmt.d. r.Ph, a Staff Pharmacist Nights Walgreens Pharmacy 2007 – Present, St. Petersburg, FL Pharmacy Manager 2006 - 2007Staff Pharmacist 2000 - 2006

FPa MeMber since: 2010

state assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Member of Florida Pharmacy Association

lOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Pinellas Pharmacy Association, 2001 – Present, President,

2009 – Present, President-Elect, 2008-2009, Volunteer Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, 2008 - Present, All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL

PharMacY relateD actiVities: ■ Pharmacist License - PS35422 (2000) Florida State Board

of Pharmacy ■ Pharmacist License - 0202205127 (2001) Virginia State

Board of Pharmacy ■ Pharmacist License - 18711 (2008) Maryland State Board of

Pharmacy ■ Certified Pharmacy-Based Immunizer (2009) American

Pharmacists Association ■ Red Cross Blood borne Pathogens Training (2009) Ameri-

can Red Cross ■ Adult and Child CPR (2009) American Red Cross ■ Diabetes Training Program (2008) Walgreens

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 17

2 0 1 1 F P a c a N d i d a t E s

caNdidatEs FOr rEgiON 5

Jeff Parrado:

canDiDate inFOrMatiOn nOt receiVeD at the tiMe OF PublicatiOn

caNdidatEs FOr rEgiON 7

Paul rohrbaugh, PharmdI have been a registered pharmacist and FPA member since 1981. I have practiced for half my career as an inde-pendent operator, and in the corporate environment for the other half.

FPa MeMber since: 1981state assOciatiOn actiVities: n/alOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: n/a

PharMacY relateD actiVities: I am committed to being involved in the FPA as the District 7 representative, as I have learned in those 29 years that “no pharmacist is an island”. As the profession moves further into the 21st century it is imperative that all parameters of pharmacy practice are controlled by PHARMACISTS. Al-lowing the insurance giants and corporate magnates to pred-icate the terms of our avocation is simply askew from the true meaning of practicing pharmacy. Pharmacists are the drug experts. Period.

caNdidatEs FOr rEgiON 9

Paul Eliaspharmacist at the Prescription Pad Pharmacy in Plantation, FL. A Univer-sity of Florida graduate and a active pharmacist for 38 years.

FPa MeMber since: 2004

state assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Member of the Florida Pharmacy

Association

lOcal assOciatiOn actiVities: ■ Past President of the Broward County Association, Mem-

ber of Broward County Association

PharMacY relateD actiVities: ■ Served as a Delegate of the FPA Annual Convention, I am

now the historian and serves on many committees as well as a board member of the Association.

zachary Eisenman:

canDiDate inFOrMatiOn nOt receiVeD at the tiMe OF PublicatiOn

18 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

greetings Fellow registered Pharmacy technicians!

At the beginning of October 2010, we completed our first year of Florida pharmacy technician registration! Congratula-tions on taking the first step in advancing your career! Hope-fully, you appreciate the action Governor Charlie Crist took on June 23, 2008, to establish standards for our profession. This historic move helps Floridians and the nation recognize the value of technician efforts as a major component of the healthcare team, assisting in the improvement of patient med-ication outcomes, which increases our patient’s health, safety and welfare.

We, as Registered Pharmacy Technicians, are faced with the immediate and urgent need to take the second and very critical step of ensuring our registration process is completed before December 31, 2010. Please check your proof of phar-macy technician registration, which is required to be on dis-play in your pharmacy (FL Rule 64B16-27.100).

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy/index.html

According to the Board of Pharmacy, as of Friday, Novem-ber 12, 2010, there were 34,766 Florida Registered Pharmacy Technicians. Approximately 23,000 of those have full registra-tions that expire 12/31/12. Kudos to you all! There are, how-ever, approximately 11,000 of these registrants who will have their registrations expire on 12/31/10! What this may mean to you and your technician colleagues is that it will be unlawful for you to perform the duties of a registered pharmacy tech-nician effective 1/1/11! You will not be allowed to work as a registered pharmacy technician until you have completed a training program that is approved by the FL Board of Phar-macy, after which you must reapply for registration – fee and all! This is part of Florida Statute 465.014 which explains the registration requirements for pharmacy technicians in Flori-da.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?app_mode=Display_statute&search_string=&url=ch0465/

sec014.htM&title=->2009->ch0465->section%20014#0465.014

If you applied for registration with the Florida Depart-ment of Health and the Board of Pharmacy based on your experience (you worked under the direct supervision of a li-censed pharmacist for at least 1500 hours, roughly 9 months of full-time pharmacy technician experience) or if you reg-istered based on being nationally certified by PTCB or ICPT you must submit proof that this is true before 12/31/10. It will be unlawful for you to work as a registered pharmacy tech-nician after this time. If you enjoy the career you have cho-sen act now!

Go to the following link and scroll to the bottom of the page for Board of Pharmacy information on what you/ you and your pharmacist must do to ensure your employability. It is your responsibility to protect your chosen career!

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy/index.html

It is urgent that you contact the Board of Pharmacy now (do not wait)! There is no wiggle room, no further “grandfa-ther” clause! After 12/31/10 it will no longer matter that you are certified, or that you had worked at least 1500 hours in the field already. Do not through away all that you have worked for!

Pharmacists, what this means to you is that if these 11,000 or so pharmacy technicians’ registrations lapse you are look-ing at entering the busiest time of the year with less help and less experienced help! Snowbirds will flock to the state in droves as usual; more Baby Boomers are now of retirement and Medicare eligibility age (which will only increase over the next 10-20 years); many are on Medicare Part D which may have significant changes and confusion; new (higher?) deductibles will have to be met for the new year (much agita-tion at your pharmacy counters) as patients do not remember it is a new year; your experienced “grandfathered” registered pharmacy technicians will not be available to assist you; and you will have new graduates of training programs attempt-ing to handle the needs of the masses. There will be fewer pharmacy staff and increased workloads at the busiest time of year, until your “new” registered pharmacy technician staff has sufficient time on the job to adequately replace your more senior/lead technicians currently employed.

Error rates increase when trained staff shortages occur,

To: Florida’s regisTered Pharmacy Technicians and PharmacisTs

From: gail Brown, Bs, rPhT, cPhT – FshP Technician division council chair ’09-’11, FPa’s inaugural Technician oF The year award reciPienT – ’07-‘08

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 19

causing workload to increase. Year-end until after tax sea-son in April, more patients, sadly, turn into more frustrated patients than at other times of year. Florida’s winter popula-tion will require more time, patience and training to serve. Far more CQI documentation is likely to be needed to record Quality Related Events. As a pharmacist you will work hard-er to accomplish what you more easily did with well trained, experienced staff. How good will all this be for your clien-tele and public relations? Please be aware, you will have new-ly educated graduates who are trying hard. Overall, howev-er they will not initially know how to handle the workflow of your business as efficiently and professionally as you have been accustomed to for this time of year.

Please urge all registered pharmacy technicians with reg-istrations which expire the end of next month that before 12/31/10 they must submit proof of one of the following. Please allow at least 30 days for processing.

Proper form to verify completion of 1500 hours of work as

a pharmacy technician under a licensed pharmacist (multi-ple signatures may be needed to vouch for several jobs). See DOH MQA website for the appropriate form.

■ A copy of their valid, in-date certification from either PTCB or ICPT (no other certifying agency is acceptable in FL) or

■ A valid certificate of completion from a Florida Board of Pharmacy approved pharmacy technician training pro-gram.Again, if this is not provided to the Board of Pharmacy be-

fore year end your registered pharmacy technicians will be working unlawfully on and after January 1, 2011 if they are performing the duties of a registered pharmacy technician and/or representing themselves as such.

We would like to think all 11,000 or so registered pharma-cy technicians with expiring registrations will submit their proof to the Board before the end of the year. Will they? What if they do not? What do you think? Why should you care?

take this VerY seriOuslY!YOu WOulD be Wise tO check VerY careFullY all MeDicatiOns FilleD aFter 1/1/11.

the WOrk lOaD Will increase in januarY - the errOr rate Will rise!

I am not a “naysayer”, just speaking from 30 years of active field duty. If you foresee a better outcome, please share it!

20 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

bowl of Hygeia

Awarded to a pharmacist for out-standing community service above and beyond professional duties. The use of the following selection criteria is re-quired:

■ The recipient must be a Florida li-censed pharmacist and a member of FPA.

■ The recipient must be living. Awards are not presented posthumously.

■ The recipient has not previously re-ceived the award.

■ The recipient is not currently serving nor has he/she served within the immediate past 2 years on its award committee or an officer of the asso-ciation in other than an ex officio ca-pacity.

■ The recipient has compiled an out-standing record of community ser-vice, which, apart from his/her spe-cific identification as a pharmacist, reflects well on the profession.

James H. beal award

Awarded to the "Pharmacist of the Year." The criteria established for this award is that the recipient be a Flori-da registered pharmacist and a mem-ber of FPA, who has rendered outstand-ing service to pharmacy within the past five years.Criteria:

■ The recipient must be a Florida reg-istered pharmacist and a member of the FPA.

■ The recipient has rendered outstand-ing service to pharmacy within the past five years.

technician of the year awardAwarded annually to a Florida

pharmacy technician who is recog-nized for his/her outstanding perfor-mance and achievement during his/her career.

Criteria:

■ Candidate must be a member of the Florida Pharmacy Association for at least 2 years.

■ Candidate must have demonstrat-ed contributions and dedication to the advancement of pharmacy technician practice.

■ Candidate must have demonstrat-ed contributions to the Florida Pharmacy Association and/or oth-er pharmacy organizations.

■ Candidate must have demonstrat-ed commitment to community ser-vice.

■ Candidate is not a past recipient of this award.

r.Q. richards award

This award is based on outstanding achievement in the field of pharmaceu-tical public relations in Florida.Criteria:

■ The recipient must be a Florida reg-istered pharmacist and a member of the FPA.

■ The recipient has displayed out-standing achievement in the field of pharmaceutical public relations in Florida.

Frank toback/azO consultant

Pharmacist award

Criteria: ■ Candidate must be an FPA member,

registered with the Florida Board of Pharmacy as a consultant pharma-cist in good standing.

■ Candidate should be selected based on their outstanding achievements in the field of consultant pharmacy.

dcPa sidney simkowitz

Pharmacy involvement award

Presented annually to a Florida pharmacist who has been active at the local and state pharmacy associa-tion level in advancement of the pro-fession of pharmacy in Florida.

Criteria: ■ A minimum of five years of active

involvement in and contributions to the local association and FPA.

■ Candidate must have held office at local level pharmacy association.

■ Member in good standing for a pe-riod of at least five years in the FPA and must have served as a member or chairman of a committee of the association.

■ Candidate must have been active-ly involved in a project that has or could potentially be of benefit to members of the profession.

Pharmacists mutual companies

distinguished young Pharmacist

award

Awarded to a young pharmacist for their involvement and dedication to the practice of pharmacy.Criteria:

■ Licensed to practice for nine (9) years or less.

■ Licensed to practice in the state in which selected.

■ Participation in national pharmacy association, professional programs, and/or community service.

iPa roman maximo corrons

inspiration & motivation award

Interamerican Pharmacists Associa-tion created this award to honor the memory of Roman M. Corrons who in-spired and motivated countless phar-macists to participate actively and as-pire to take on leadership roles in their profession. Roman was always there with guidance and support that moti-vated pharmacists and encouraged vi-sionary leadership, approachable active membership and succession planning. This award recognizes the motivators among us who inspire others to contin-ue to advance the profession.Criteria:

c a L L f O R N O M i N a t i O N s F P a a W a r d s 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 21

dEadliNE FOr NOmiNatiONs: FEbruary 28, 2011

■ The recipient must be a Florida Li-censed Pharmacist and a member of the FPA.

■ Candidate should motivate others to excel within the profession by encouraging them to be leaders.

■ Candidate is not necessarily an as-sociation officer, but guides, sup-ports and/or inspires others.

A brief description on the candidate’s motivational/inspirational skills must accompany the nomination.

the Jean lamberti

mentorship award

The Jean Lamberti Mentorship Award was established in 1998 to hon-or those pharmacists who have taken time to share their knowledge and ex-

perience with pharmacist candidates. The award is named in honor of long time FPA member Jean Lamberti for her effort in working with pharmacy students.Criteria

■ The recipient must be an FPA mem-ber.

■ The recipient must serve as a role model for the profession of pharmacy.

innovative Pharmacy Practice

award

Awarded to honor practicing phar-macists who have demonstrated inno-vation in pharmacy practice that has resulted in improved patient care.Criteria:

■ The recipient has demonstrated inno-

vative pharmacy practice resulting in improved patient care.

■ The recipient should be a practic-ing pharmacist within the geograph-ic area represented by the presenting Association.

Qualified Nominee: A pharmacist prac-ticing within the geographic area repre-sented by the presenting Association.

I AM PLEASED TO SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING NOMINATION:

Name:

Address:

FOR THE FOLLOWING AWARD:

(Nomination Deadline February 28, 2011)

Bowl of Hygeia Award

James H. Beal Award

R.Q. Richards Award

Frank Toback/AZO Consultant Pharmacist Award

DCPA Sydney Simkowitz Award

Pharmacists Mutual Co. Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award

Academy of Pharmacy Practice Practitioner Merit Award

The Jean Lamberti Mentorship Award

IPA Roman Maximo Corrons Inspiration & Motivation Award

Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award

Technician of the Year Award

NOMINATED BY:

Name:

Date Submitted:

Signature:

Please describe briefly below the nominee's accomplishments, indicating why you feel he or she should receive this award. (Attach additional sheets if necessary.)

c a L L f O R N O M i N a t i O N s F P a a W a r d s 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1

F P a a W a r d s N O m i N a t i O N F O r m

mail nominatons to: annual awards, Florida Pharmacy association, 610 n. adams st., tallahassee, Fl 32301(850) 222-2400 FaX (850) 561-6758 dEadlinE For nominations is FEBrUary 28, 2011

22 | f L O R i d a p h a R M a c y t O d a y

CALL FOR RESOLUTIONS TO THE 2011 HOUSE OF DELEGATES

The House of Delegates Board of Directors will meet in March 2011 to review and approve resolu-tions for the Annual Meeting. The deadline for submitting resolutions is March 15, 2011! PLEASE NOTE THIS DEADLINE.

The following information will be needed when submitting resolutions:

1. Name of organization: The name of the organization submitting the resolutions(s);2. Name and telephone number of individuals: A contact in the event clarification Or further in-

formation is needed; 3. Problem: A statement of the problem addressed by the resolution;4. Intent: A statement of what passage of the resolution will accomplish;5. Resolution Format: (please type and use double spacing)

tItle of resolutIon

naMe of organIzatIon

WHereas , anD

WHereas :

tHerefore Be It

resolVeD (tHat tHe fPa or suBDIVIsIon of fPa)

contact naMe anD PHone #:

ProBleM:

Intent:

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | 23

PHarmacy rEsOurcEs

PPscRetail Pharmacy Purchasing Program(888) 778-9909

PHarmacy cONsultaNts

hcc Pharmacy business solutionsDean Pedalino(800) 642-1652Mobile: (727) 460-1855

iNsuraNcE

MeadowbrookWorkers Comp Insurance Endorsed by FPA(800) 825-9489

lEgal assistaNcE

kahan ◆ shir, P.l.Brian A. Kahan, R.Ph., and Attorney at Law(561) 999-5999

PHarmacEutical WHOlEsalEr

Mckesson Drug companyJim Springer(800) 804-4590 FAX: (863) 616-2953

tEmPOrary PHarmacists –

staFFiNg

healthcare consultants Pharmacy staffingBob Miller(800) 642-1652

Medical staffing network(800) 359-1234

rx relief(800) RXRELIEF

BuyER’s GuidEADVERTISERS: This is a special section designed to give your company more exposure and to act as an easy reference for the pharmacist.

P H A R M A C Y T O D A Yflorida

advertising in Florida Pharmacy todaydisplay advertising: please call (850) 264-5111 for a media kit and rate sheet. buyers’ guide: A signed insertion of at least 3X per year, 1/3 page or larger display ad, earns a placement in the Buyers’ Guide. A screened ad is furnished at additional cost to the advertiser. Professional referral ads: FPA Members: $50 per 50 words; Non-members: $100 per 50 words; No discounts for advertising agencies. All Professional Referral ads must be paid in advance, at the time of ad receipt.

ahca MeDicaiD PharMacY serVices2727 Mahan Drive

Tallahassee, FL 32308(850) 487-4441www.fdhc.state.fl.us/medicaid/pharmacy

aMerican PharMacistsassOciatiOn (aPha)Washington, D.C. (800) 237-2742www.pharmacist.com

aMerican sOcietY OF health sYsteM PharMacistsBethesda, MD (301) 657-3000www.ashp.com/main.htm

DruG inFOrMatiOn centerPalm Beach Atlantic University(561) 803-2728druginfocenter@pba.edu

FlOriDa bOarD OF PharMacY4052 Bald Cypress WayBin #C04

Tallahassee, FL 32399-3254(850) 245-4292www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa

FlOriDa POisOn inFOrMatiOn center netWOrk1-800-282-3171http://ora.umc.ufl.edu/pcc/fpicjax.htm

natiOnal cOMMunitY PharMacists assOciatiOn 100 Daingerfield Road Alexandria, VA 22314703.683.8200703.683.3619 faxinfo@ncpanet.org

recOVerinG PharMacists netWOrk OF FlOriDa(407) 257-6606 “Pharmacists Helping Pharmacists”

FrEQuENtly callEd NumbErs

WANTEDRegistered Pharmacist for independent retail prescription store. 30 years at same location. Hours: Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; No nights or weekends. Location: St. Petersburg, FL.Ideal working conditions, friendly environment. All replies strictly confidential. Cell: 727-418-7431; Evening: 727-595-2567

PrOFEssiONal rEFErral