Article | NACDS

The Prescription Drug Abuse/Access Bill is Almost Law

admin2016-04-14T09:46:50-04:00Categories: Article|Tags: DEA, Drug_Abuse|

In a significant step forward on an issue NACDS has long supported, the House of Representatives passed the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 on April 12.

The legislation takes into account the complexities inherent in the issue, and promotes collaboration among government agencies and healthcare stakeholders…

The legislation takes into account the complexities inherent in the issue, and promotes collaboration among government agencies and healthcare stakeholders to ensure patients have access to legitimately needed drugs, while also preventing diversion and abuse of prescription drugs

The Senate passed S. 483 on March 17, and the House previously passed a similar version in April 2015. The legislation will now head to President Obama’s desk for his consideration in the next step before enactment.

Here’s a quick summary of some of NACDS’ efforts on this important issue:

Immediately following passage of the legislation, NACDS issued a press release with a timeline that reflects key steps in the legislation’s journey to becoming enacted.
As part of a concerted effort last year to heighten media awareness about the issue in Florida, The Tampa Tribune published a joint NACDS and U.S. Pain Foundation op-ed that stated, “…the complex and intertwined issues of prescription drug abuse and access are not receiving the comprehensive approach that they deserve and require.”
Showing the often untold story of patients who have difficulty accessing their medications, NACDS collaborated with Drug Store News on creating a microsite comprised of personal stories of people living with pain. In an article on NACDS.org, U.S. Pain Foundation’s president said, “…working together is a huge part of anybody’s pain journey, and the pharmacist is part of our team.”
For a more comprehensive look—and additional perspective—on NACDS’ multifaceted engagement on this issue, access the Drug_Abuse tag on NACDS.org.

NACDS will continue advocacy on this challenging issue and discuss this latest promising development with the NACDS Board of Directors at the NACDS Annual Meeting this weekend.

Take Healthcare Delivery to the Next Level with Motivational Interviewing

admin2016-04-07T16:02:58-04:00Categories: Article|Tags: NACDS_Foundation|

In keeping with its ongoing efforts to benefit patients and help advance public health, the NACDS Foundation is making publicly available an eight-hour online motivational interviewing (MI) program, the Comprehensive Motivational Interviewing Training for Health Care Professionals (comMIt). comMIt offers continuing education credits and can be accessed via the education portal of the NACDS website.

We’re getting past the point at which it’s just OK to prescribe or dispense a drug and hope the patient does something correctly.

MI is a patient-centered, evidence-based form of counseling that helps improve adherence with medication regimen, other health behaviors, and patient outcomes by promoting health behavior change and advancing patient satisfaction with care.

Initially developed by psychologists William Miller and Stephen Rollnick more than 30 years ago, MI was refined for healthcare professionals by Bruce Berger and William Villaume, who bring best practices and expertise based on 25 years of teaching and research on MI with healthcare professionals and students in health professional programs. In addition, this e-learning is based on Berger and Villaume’s top-rated book, Motivational Interviewing for Health Care Professionals: A Sensible Approach, which was developed specifically to address the time challenges that healthcare professionals face in their daily practices. Their approach has been found by numerous organizations to be easier to understand and use than traditional approaches to MI that use many acronyms.

MI is directed toward assisting patients who are either ambivalent or resistant to changing health behaviors. One of the most notable aspects of this program for healthcare professionals is that it is designed so that MI can be done in very short intervals—two to five minutes at a time—in order to explore with patients why they’re reluctant to adhere to prescribed medication regimens, or following other health-related guidelines.

Berger says, “MI is so effective because we’re not telling patients what to do or scolding them. Instead, we’re exploring what would make them decide to take their medications, lose weight, etc. We explore what they see as the benefits and barriers, and offer new information for them to consider.” Berger explained that when people are ambivalent or resistant to change, and someone tries to tell them what to do, “they dig in even further; [ READ MORE ]

NACDS, NCPA Urge Congress Not to Increase TRICARE Copays

admin2016-03-31T13:36:01-04:00Categories: Article|Tags: TRICARE|

In their ongoing commitment to protect TRICARE beneficiary access to prescription medications, NACDS and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) sent a letter this week urging the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) to refuse to further increase retail community pharmacist copayments.

…copay increases place financial burdens on TRICARE beneficiaries, restrict patient access and can also have the unintended consequence of reducing medication adherence.

As Congress considers the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), NACDS and NCPA referenced last year’s Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission’s report, which highlighted the importance of beneficiary choice and access, and strongly recommended that Congress support policies that maintain those vital aspects of the military healthcare system.

The letter points out that copay increases place financial burdens on TRICARE beneficiaries, restrict patient access and can also have the unintended consequence of reducing medication adherence. Noting the Department of Defense’s policies to control spending, the letter asks the HASC and the SASC to enact changes that reduce TRICARE costs without negatively impacting patient health outcomes and access to services.

NACDS Urges House to Pass Version of Drug Abuse, Access Legislation Approved by Senate

admin2016-03-25T12:34:28-04:00Categories: Article|Tags: DEA, Drug_Abuse|

In the wake of the March 17 passage of S. 483, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016, NACDS is proactively advocating for House passage of legislation that would promote collaboration among government agencies and healthcare stakeholders to ensure patients have access to legitimately needed drugs, while also preventing diversion and abuse of prescription drugs.

The House of Representatives passed its similar version of the legislation, H.R. 471, in April 2015. In order to be signed into law, the House and Senate will need to pass identical language either as a stand-alone bill or as a larger piece of legislation. NACDS is hopeful the House will act soon to approve the legislation.

You’ve Got to Vote to Be Heard

admin2016-03-24T11:04:36-04:00Categories: Article|Tags: RxIMPACT|

Got a gathering of pharmacists coming up? Why not take the opportunity to get everyone on board and motivated to show up at the polls and vote. Discount Drug Mart Inc. recently had their twice yearly pharmacists meeting, and with funding from NACDS RxIMPACT, they added a get-out-the vote component to their meeting, which is a mix of continuing education, best practices and vendor sessions.

It’s of real value to have that many folks up on Capitol Hill advocating on behalf of pharmacy…

Steve Ferris, Discount Drug Mart, Inc.’s government and public affairs director, arranged the event and tapped a speaker from the Greater Cleveland League of Women Voters, who stressed the importance of all Americans’ responsibility to participate in the process. She talked about the 2016 election cycle and also encouraged participants to think beyond presidential election years and to pay close attention to candidates and elections in the off years as well.

Ferris was in Washington, D.C., last week for NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill. He said, “It’s of real value to have that many folks up on Capitol Hill advocating on behalf of pharmacy and sharing our interests and concerns over issues that are so important to the profession.”

On advice for others who want to add a get-out-the-vote event to their programs, Ferris said, “Find similar events or other ways to potentially reach out to your pharmacists, pharmacy techs and others and bring someone in to share the importance of our right and our responsibility to vote.”

NACDS RxIMPACT Votes is actively engaged in motivating and educating the pharmacy community on the importance of getting out the vote. Also visit PharmacyVoter.org for more information, stay in the loop on the latest pharmacy advocacy news by joining the NACDS RxIMPACT Pharmacy Advocates group on LinkedIn, and be sure to view photos from the NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill event on Flickr.