There is one petition on www.charge.org seeking for Pharmacists to be recognized as provider/practitioner
There is another one on www.whitehouse.gov
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet…acies/jFrm3QNH
To the best of my knowledge there is only one state’s Medicaid dept (Minn) that actually does recognize Pharmacists as a practitioner
It is my understanding that Indiana Pharmacist Alliance is going to make this a top legislative issue for the 2013 legislative session
This all sounds well and good… unless having status without the complementary procedures codes and allowables to be used in billing a third party, could be a hollow victory… being recognized as a practitioner … without the guidance of what we can do and what we can charge… leaving us to keep doing – or more – what we have been doing for decades/centuries…. FOR FREE !
Yesterday, while working at a LTCP.. I received a call from one of the nursing staff… they had a pt that had been seen by a ARNP , infection determined, sensitivity labs ran.
At this point, the ARNP literally “passed the buck”.. the ARNP wrote the order… “have pharmacy determine appropriate drug/dose”
The sensitivity test determined three drugs that were equally sensitive.. Keflex, Cleocin, Vancomycin
The pt had confirmed allergy to Ceclor… the pt did not have C-diff … so oral Vanc was not an option, although IV Vanc could have worked. Nurse was not really open to the idea of dealing with a IV… with a few simple questions.. the WINNER IS CLEOCIN..
I would suspect that the ARNP charged the pt’s insurance for his/her services… I did the bulk of the “mental exercise” and was not able to “legally prescribe” nor able to bill for my services..
However, I was able to possibly prevent a stat run or two for my employer by making the suggestion of ordering a probiotic and prn Imodium… since Cleocin is notorious for causing diarrhea.
The question has to be asked.. how many times does one healthcare professional does a “consult” with a “specialist” and there is not a charge/bill generated… and when does a practitioner delegate the consult to a underlying ?
Filed under: General Problems
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