Boards of Medicine Accountability

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

Boards of Medicine Accountability

https://doctorsofcourage.org/boards-of-medicine/

One of the arms of attack on doctors treating pain and the patients they treat is the state board of medicine. They need to be held accountable for their inexcusable actions over the last 20 years.

The state boards of medicine are attacking doctors treating pain more than any other reason. And most of their attacks are unwarranted. So what is their purpose?  I contend that their purpose is purely monopolistic—to cull out the independent/minority physicians in competition with the hospital/large medical group practices. I also contend that the medical boards are in collusion with the government to eliminate those doctors treating the populations of citizens that the government would rather see dead—the elderly, uninsured, government insured, disabled, minority, or poor.

So how are they getting away with this, and what can we do about it?  First, we have to understand the purpose of the medical board. As stated by the AMA in their Journal of Ethics,

“State medical boards are the agencies that license medical doctors, investigate complaints, discipline physicians who violate the medical practice act, and refer physicians for evaluation and rehabilitation when appropriate. The overriding mission of medical boards is to serve the public by protecting it from incompetent, unprofessional, and improperly trained physicians, ensuring that only qualified physicians are licensed to practice medicine and that those physicians provide their patients with a high standard of care.”

The medical board evaluates a physician’s professional conduct or ability to practice medicine by reviewing complaints from patients, malpractice data, information from hospitals, and reports from government agencies. The state statute commonly known as the medical practice act defines unprofessional conduct in each state. Although laws vary by jurisdiction some examples of unprofessional conduct include:

  • physical abuse of a patient,
  • inadequate record keeping,
  • not recognizing or acting on common symptoms,
  • prescribing drugs in excessive amounts without legitimate reason,
  • impaired ability to practice due to addiction,
  • failing to meet continuing medical education requirements,
  • performing duties beyond the scope of a license,
  • dishonesty,
  • conviction of a felony,
  • inappropriately delegating the practice of medicine to an unlicensed individual.

Medical boards are supposed to focus on protecting the public, not on punishing physicians. Most problems can be resolved with additional education or training in appropriate areas. In other instances, it may be more appropriate to place physicians on probation or place restrictions on a physician’s license. This compromise allows the public to be protected while maintaining a valuable community resource in the physician. Probation and restrictions of a medical license can also be in place while a physician receives further training or rehabilitation.

I have researched the actions of the Virginia Board of Medicine over the last 20 years. And what I’ve found out is that, for the most part, doctors investigated for prescribing opioids have their abilities to do so taken away from them and eventually lose their license. The information is available HERE.

Comparing the actions of the Virginia Medical Board with the above stated purpose, I have identified the following:

Although there are ten reasons for investigation or censure, two (prescribing controlled drugs and impaired ability to practice due to addiction) involve over half of the board actions. And about half of those (the doctors addicted), don’t get their licenses suspended until they fail the PHMP, which all of them eventually do because conventional treatment doesn’t cure addiction.  So the group of doctors affected most are those prescribing controlled drugs, especially opioids. And the reasons behind the censure isn’t because the prescribing has harmed the patient in any way, but simply because the government propaganda against opioids gives the Boards of Medicine a door through which they can eliminate doctors of their choice.

Doctors and patients need to understand this problem and help rectify it. You can do so by doing what I have done for the state of Virginia—create a data sheet similar to the Complete list on Virginia Board of Medicine Attacks and send it to us.

As doctors from each state see how their medical board is constructed to eliminate them from the profession, we should have good justification for taking legal action.  So be a part of the solution and help, not a part of the problem.

 

 

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Walmart has a new policy denying some telehealth prescriptions for controlled drugs. It’s implicating patients in recovery

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

Walmart has a new policy denying some telehealth prescriptions for controlled drugs. It’s implicating patients in recovery

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/digital-health/new-policy-walmart-denies-telehealth-prescriptions-without-person-visit

As the country enters a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, some states have begun to make permanent changes to expand telehealth policies implemented under the public health emergency. Others have passed laws restricting them. 

Prescribing controlled substances, including medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), via telemedicine has been possible during the pandemic due to an exemption to the Ryan Haight Act. The law generally does not allow such a prescription without a prior in-person exam of the patient. Recent data has found that the use of telehealth to prescribe MOUD has increased access to opioid recovery treatment.

But unclear regulatory requirements have complicated operations for providers and pharmacies alike. According to 2018 guidance issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Ryan Haight Act provides an exception to in-person exams for MOUD prescribed via telemedicine. Yet earlier this year, the DEA publicly indicated such an exception has only been provided temporarily under the public health emergency. 

The DEA could not clarify this discrepancy when Fierce Healthcare reached out for comment.

The public health emergency is not due to expire until mid-October. Yet Walmart is no longer accepting prescriptions for controlled substances issued via telehealth without an in-person visit in the prior 24 months, Fierce Healthcare has learned. This policy, introduced in July, has implicated virtual providers of opioid use disorder treatment—whose prescribers practice remotely—and their patients. 

The company was one of two major pharmacies to begin curbing certain telehealth prescriptions in May.

Walmart did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but one Walmart pharmacy employee confirmed the existence of the policy applicable to all Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies that began in July.

The DEA would not comment on the policy. In a March press release, the agency’s administrator said “we want medication-assisted treatment to be readily and safely available to anyone in the country who needs it.”

“This is an ongoing theme we’ve been experiencing with pharmacies since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Stephanie Strong, founder and CEO of Boulder Care, a telehealth addiction treatment provider.

In 2020, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Walmart for allegedly unlawfully dispensing controlled substances during the height of the opioid crisis and failing to report suspicious orders placed by its pharmacies. Its latest policy, Strong believes, is the pendulum swinging the other way. 

“We’ve always had challenges with pharmacies,” echoed Ankit Gupta, founder and CEO of Bicycle Health, a virtual addiction medicine clinic. “There are regulations that make it challenging for pharmacies to dispense controlled medications.” 

When prescribers are questioned by pharmacies, they typically call them to explain who they are and why they believe the prescription is legitimate. Independent pharmacies are more amenable to that conversation, virtual addiction treatment providers say.

“They often have a lot of questions, they often have a lot of skepticism, but they also have a lot more leverage to make their own decisions,” said Emily Behar, vice president of clinical operations at virtual opioid use disorder provider Ophelia. Lately, with Walmart, that approach “has been a brick wall.” Boulder, Bicycle and Ophelia patients have been transferred away from Walmart pharmacies to prevent disruptions in treatment. 

Other retailers that have recently rejected telehealth scripts from the providers include Walgreens, Costco and CVS locations.

CVS Health told Fierce Healthcare it has no policy requiring telehealth prescriptions of controlled substances to have an in-person exam. “Our policies require pharmacists to exercise their professional judgment in determining whether or not to fill a controlled substance prescription, regardless of whether the prescription was written during an in-person visit or a telehealth visit,” a spokesperson said. 

Though Walgreens would not confirm or deny the existence of a formal policy, it responded that it “follows all applicable federal and state laws and regulations related to the dispensing of controlled substances.” That “includes verifying that there is a valid relationship between the patient and the prescriber. If a prescription presents red flags that cannot be resolved, our pharmacists will refuse to fill it.” 

Finding an alternative pharmacy presents many challenges, providers say. They must make sure a pharmacy won’t stigmatize their patients but also carries the right formulation of a given medication that’s also covered by the patient’s insurance.

Often, there is no other pharmacy in a patient’s vicinity that carries buprenorphine, meaning they have to travel many miles to get the medication. Large chains “are some of the most critical resources for these patients,” Strong said.

Not only is distance an access barrier for patients, but it can also be considered a red flag “that doesn’t actually have to do with diversion or increased concern for the patient clinically,” Behar noted. “It is just a terrible hindrance for them and potentially could lead to a lot of destabilization,” she said about patients. Withdrawal could lead to relapse. 

All of these considerations keep providers from scaling, which could help boost access to treatment. “We can’t necessarily grow as quickly as we would otherwise,” Strong said. This approach could also damage patients’ trust in telehealth as a model.

“It’s also sort of about our patients feeling like addicts, feeling like they’ve done something wrong by being a part of a telemedicine model of care. Which, in fact, is not the case,” Gupta said. 

Providers worry that once a major retailer like Walmart implements a policy, others might follow suit. “It really can be a chilling effect across an entire set of care that keeps people alive,” said Rose Bromka, chief operating officer of Boulder Care. Being denied a prescription “can make the difference between someone staying in care and someone not staying in care.”

Walmart and other chains’ recent stance is the product of years’ worth of fear and confusing federal and state laws, experts say.

Despite buprenorphine’s proven reduction of the risk of overdose, it is an opioid itself, leading the DEA to take an especially aggressive stance on the medication. As a result, wholesalers and pharmacists worry about exceeding volume caps on orders, so as not to get flagged by the DEA. One CVS pharmacy told Fierce Healthcare it has exceeded its vendor’s limit and can no longer order controlled substances like buprenorphine.

Corporate policies that limit telehealth prescriptions “are a threat to patient safety and recovery,” said Anna Legreid Dopp, senior director of clinical guidelines and quality improvement at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. “It is a step backward in leveraging virtual care to increase patient access to medications for opioid use disorder and to address the opioid crisis.”

Between regional DEA offices, state pharmacy associations and boards of pharmacy, many players are involved in regulating and informing pharmacists. The only way to clarify discrepancies in rules is to work together. “It’s just a loop of as much transparent communication as possible,” said Ronna Hauser, SVP of policy and pharmacy affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Association. “You never want the day to be where our members have a fear factor from the DEA.”

More multidisciplinary education with prescribers and providers on buprenorphine would also help, she added. 

“We hope Walmart and these other large chains will recognize that we empathize so much with what they’re trying to do,” Strong said. “But we hope that they’ll look to us, multi-state clinicians who are focused on access and patient care, to find that path forward.” 

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said medications for opioid use disorder are “vital” and said Health and Human Services “is working within its public-sector authority to increase access and availability for such medications as part of a concerted campaign across federal agencies to decrease overdose deaths.” 

In a letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy from mid-July, Ophelia suggested creating guidance for a mail-order pharmacy that can ship controlled substance medications nationwide. It also urged ONDCP to encourage the DEA to remove buprenorphine from its Suspicious Orders Monitoring System and create an incentive program for large chain pharmacies to partner with high-quality providers, both telehealth and in-person. 

 

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Inflation Reduction Act – promised future $$ savings with new TAXES starting next year

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

This information was sent to me by the National Community Pharmacists Assoc – which represents independent pharmacists and I have been a member for FORTY YEARS.

There is a lot of FUTURE DATES when some of these “savings” will start… Whoever is sworn in as our President in Jan, 2025 will get to deal with the good or bad as these new rules “kick in”.  Likewise, a lot of small businesses – like your local independent pharmacy will get new taxes so that a TAX BREAK to private equity investors – you know those “fat cats” that have 100’s of billions of dollars to trade in the stock market.

Medicare/Medicaid folks could have their medications no longer covered because the pharma no longer wishes to have one or more of their medications covered by Medicare/Medicaid.  Everyone should notice that there is no mention of the insurance/PBM industry agreeing to any price negotiations  The top 4-5 PBM’s are owned by insurance companies and I have seen stated numerous times that the PBM demand up to a 75% discount/rebate/kickback for the pharma to have one or more of their meds on the PBM’s pre-approved formulary, otherwise the pharma’s meds would ALWAYS REQUIRE a prior authorization to get the PBM to approve coverage for the medication that the pt’s prescriber considered was in the pt’s best interest. These same small number of  PBM’s control the price and coverage of 80%-90% of the FOUR BILLION PRESCRIPTIONS we fill every year… including those Rxs handled by those “cash Rx discount cards”  Since mid-term election is abt 3 months away… I wonder how much money the Insurance/PBM industry contributed to the re-election campaigns of those who voted for the INFLATION REDUCTION ACT ?

everyone should read the CBO’s opinion of the fiscal outcome of this act  https://nypost.com/2022/08/15/inflation-reduction-act-will-cost-middle-class-20b-cbo/

NCPA Member Summary of the Inflation Reduction Act
On Aug. 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes provisions that should impact
community pharmacy. For a thorough analysis, see Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KFF) slides and presentation.
Medicare Drug Price Negotiation. For pharmacies, reimbursement could be impacted under the new Medicare price
negotiation framework, as any difference between the negotiated price and discounted price for a drug would be “trued–
up” within prompt pay requirements. NCPA has secured language for the record in the House of Representatives that the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not implement the act in a way that would cause any reduction in
pharmacy reimbursement or require or permit price concessions or other remuneration from the pharmacy because of
Medicare drug price negotiation. Additionally, the language stated that implementation should operate in the same
manner as the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap Discount Program.
Starting in 2026, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services will negotiate pricing for the 10 top–
spend drugs in Medicare Part D, many of which are dispensed in community pharmacy, and would increase the number
of drugs negotiated yearly and include Part B drugs by 2028:
• 2026: 10 drugs based on Part D spending
• 2027: 15 drugs based on Part D spending
• 2028: 15 drugs based on combined Part D and Part B spending
• 2029 and beyond: 20 drugs based on combined Part D and Part B spending
The above is a cumulative list and should result in 60 negotiated drugs by the end of the decade. According to Juliette
Cubanski, deputy director of the program on Medicare policy at KFF, CMS should know in 2023 the list of drugs for 2026.
Manufacturers who do not negotiate will face an excise tax, starting at 65 percent of a drug’s prior year sales, increasing
by 10 percent every quarter up to 95 percent. The tax would be suspended if manufacturers choose to have their drugs
no longer covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Additionally, manufacturers face a civil monetary penalty for not offering
the negotiated price of up to 10 times the difference between the price charged and the negotiated price.
Annual out–of–pocket cap. The 5 percent coinsurance for catastrophic coverage in Medicare Part D is eliminated in
2024. Out–of–pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries would be capped at $2,000 per year in plan year 2025. In
subsequent years, the $2,000 threshold will be increased at the rate of growth for the Part D program.
Optional “smoothing” of patient cost–sharing. Starting in 2025, Part D patients can elect to have cost–sharing smoothed
out over the course of the benefit year. The growth in Part D premiums is capped at 6 percent per year from 2024 to
2030.
Vaccines. Cost–sharing for adult vaccines covered under Medicare Part D is eliminated beginning January 2023 and
access to adult vaccines under Medicaid and CHIP is improved.
Drug rebate rule. The drug rebate rule is delayed to 2032, which Democrats are using once again as a budget gimmick to
offset the cost of the legislation.


Drug rebates. For each calendar quarter beginning on or after January 1, 2023, drug manufacturers must pay a rebate if
drug prices increase faster than the rate of inflation for:
• Single–source drugs and biologicals covered under Medicare Part B, except those whose average annual cost is
less than $100; and
• All covered drugs under Medicare Part D, except those where average annual cost is less than $100.
Insulin. Monthly copayment spend on insulin is capped at $35 for plan years 2023, 2024, and 2025 for those drugs
covered in Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage. For plan year 2026 and subsequent years, the cap will be the
lesser of $35 or an amount equal to 25 percent of the maximum fair price established for the covered insulin product or
an amount equal to 25 percent of the negotiated price of the covered insulin product. A copayment cap for insulin in
private insurance plans was stripped. Insulin furnished through durable medical equipment under Medicare Part B will
also have a monthly copayment cap at $35, with no deductible, beginning in 2023. Currently, Medicare Part D’s Senior
Savings Model has a $35 maximum copayment for insulin. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at
least 21 states have enacted state legislation capping insulin copayments.
Tax provisions. NCPA joined in a sign–on letter to leadership expressing concerns about the law’s tax provisions. The law
gives the Internal Revenue Service an additional $80 billion in funding to grow the IRS from 80,000 to over 160,000
employees. Additionally, an amendment added last minute by the Senate extends for two years the Section 461(l) cap
on losses business owners can claim. This $52 billion tax hike on pass–through businesses was used to offset the cost of
exempting private equity investors from the 15–percent corporate minimum tax.

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The MONSTERS at Pfizer Re-categorized Miscarriages as ‘Resolved’ or ‘Recovered’ Adverse Events

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

https://rumble.com/embed/v1djkrp/

https://rumble.com/v1g5qod-the-monsters-at-pfizer-recategorized-miscarriages-as-resolved-or-recovered-.html

 

Dr. Naomi Wolf: “Pfizer notes the miscarriages as serious adverse events with moderate or severe toxicity ratings. However, all of them were re-categorized, by Pfizer, in the internal documents under the category of adverse events that were ‘recovered’ or ‘resolved.’

Like you had a problem when you had a baby. When you lost the baby, you recovered from that problem. It resolved the adverse event; the negative thing. The miscarriage is in the same category as a headache that went away. If you lost your baby, Pfizer said, ‘Your adverse event was recovered or resolved.'”

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A good example: what medical science knows is dwarfed by what it doesn’t know or can cure

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

https://www.facebook.com/nolanscully/photos/a.1650631771858020/1866071863647342/?type=3

Two months. Two months since I’ve held you in my arms, heard how much you loved me, kissed those sweetie “pie” lips. Two months since we’ve snuggled. Two months of pure absolute Hell.

I’ve wanted for a long time to write a little about Nolan’s last days. His last few days shined with how amazing my son is. How beautiful he is. How he was made of nothing but pure love. This may be long, but bear with me, it’s agony unlike any other.

When I brought Nolan to the hospital for the last time, I knew there was something else wrong other than just a lingering case of C-DIFF. I just knew, and strange enough, I think he did too. He hadn’t eaten or drank anything in days and was continually vomiting.

On February 1st we were sat down with his ENTIRE team. When his Oncologist spoke, I saw the pure pain in her eyes. She had always been honest with us and fought along side of us the whole time, but his updated CT scan showed large tumors that grew compressing his bronchial tubes and heart within four weeks of his open chest surgery. The Mestatic Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma was spreading like wild fire. She explained at this time she didn’t feel his Cancer was treatable as it had become resistant to all treatment options we had tried and the plan would be to keep him comfortable as he was deteriorating rapidly.

After a while, I composed myself and went into Nolan’s room. He was sitting in “Mommy’s Red Chair” watching YouTube on his Tablet. I sat down with him and put my head up against his and had the following conversation:

Me: Poot, it hurts to breathe doesn’t it?
Nolan: Weeeelll…. yeah.
Me: You’re in a lot of pain aren’t you baby?
Nolan: (looking down) Yeah.
Me: Poot, this Cancer stuff sucks. You don’t have to fight anymore.
Nolan: (Pure Happiness) I DONT??!! But I will for you Mommy!!
Me: No Poot!! Is that what you have been doing?? Fighting for Mommy??
Nolan: Well DUH!!
Me: Nolan Ray, what is Mommy’s job?
Nolan: To keep me SAFE! (With a big grin)
Me: Honey … I can’t do that anymore here. The only way I can keep you safe is in Heaven. (My heart shattering)
Nolan: Sooooo I’ll just go to Heaven and play until you get there! You’ll come right?
Me: Absolutely!! You can’t get rid of Mommy that easy!!
Nolan: Thank you Mommy!!! I’ll go play with Hunter and Brylee and Henry!!

The next day he was resting, as he slept most of the days after. We had Hospice on board, all his IV medications, even his DNR signed. (I cannot explain to you what signing an Emergency Responder “Do Not Resuscitate” order for your angelic son feels like. ) When he woke up we had the van packed and I had his shoes in my hand to take him home for the evening. We just wanted ONE more night together. But as he woke, he gently put his hand on mine and said “Mommy, it’s ok. Let’s just stay here ok?” My 4 year old Hero was trying to make sure things were easy for me….

So in between sleeping for the next 36 hours, we played, watched YouTube, shot Nerf Gun after Nerf Gun and smiled as many times as we could. An hour or so before he passed he even filled out a “Will”! We laid in bed together and he sketched out how he wanted his funeral, picked his pall bearers, what he wanted people to wear, wrote down what he was leaving each of us, and even wrote down what he wanted to be remembered as… which of course was a Policeman 👮🏻

About 9:00pm we were watching YouTube in bed (Peppa Pig actually) and I asked Nolan if I could get in the shower, as I was not allowed to leave him and Mommy had to be touching him at all times. He said “Ummmm ok Mommy. Have Uncle Chris come sit with me and I’ll turn this way so I can see you”. I stood at the bathroom door, turned to him and said “Keep looking right here Poot, I’ll be out in two seconds”. He smiled at me. I shut the bathroom door. They said the moment the bathroom door clicked he shut his eyes and went into a deep sleep, beginning the end of life passing.

When I opened the bathroom door, his Team was surrounding his bed and every head turned and looked at me with tears in their eyes. They said “Ruth, he’s in a deep sleep. He can’t feel anything”. His respirations were extremely labored, his right lung had collapsed and his oxygen dropped.

I ran and jumped into bed with him and put my hand on the right side of his face. Then a miracle that I will never forget happened….

My angel took a breath, opened his eyes, smiled at me and said “I Love You Mommy”, turned his head towards me and at 11:54 pm Sgt. Rollin Nolan Scully passed away as I was singing “You are My Sunshine” in his ear.

He woke up out of a coma to say he loved me with a smile on his face! My son died a Hero. He brought Communities together, different occupations, made a difference in people’s lives all around the world. He was a warrior who died with dignity and love to the last second.

All Nolan ever wanted to do was to serve and protect others, he did just that all the way up to his last breath and continues to do so every day. He loved his family fiercely and everyone of his “friends”!

I look at everything he accomplished in 4 short years and can only think of what he could’ve accomplished with a longer life. But sadly because of Childhood Cancer (Rhabdomyosarcoma to be specific), the world and our family will miss out on someone so full of love, who just wanted to protect and serve. We HAVE to do better with funding, research, treatment options. Below is a picture that seemed to grab everyone’s attention because my son was terrified to leave my side, even as I showered.

Now I’m the one terrified to shower. With nothing but an empty shower rug now where once a beautiful perfect little boy laid waiting for his Mommy. See less
— feeling heartbroken with Jeanette Atkins and 2 others
.

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Flu shots now available at Walgreens and you can get a cash reward for getting one

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

any healthcare professional – worth their salt – would not  recommend getting  a flu shot in this time of year,  But the vast majority of these employee chain Pharmacists are just doing as they are told – in fact – most chain pharmacists have QUOTAS of getting/giving SO MANY VACCINATIONS EVERY DAY… I guess things have changed, it use to be any vendor that gives a “rebate/discount” for anyone covered by Medicare/Medicaid or any federal health program to cause those health programs to incur an expense is/was considered a illegal kickback.

I have heard of some chains – in the past  – who have pushed flu shots this early in the year, were “pushing” for a second or “booster” flu shots in Nov, Dec & Jan because the pt’s antibodies by the end of the year after getting a flu shot this early in the year are waning and may not be high enough to protect a pt from catching the flu after the first of the year when the flu starts to ramp up. I guess is a good way for the chain pharmacies to “double dip” by encouraging early flu shots and then recommending a second/booster flu shot when the real flu season gets here because the pt’s antibody blood level is “too low’ to be effective, when it is needed the most.  Besides, most insurances pay 100% for flu shots – so the pts may not object to getting a second flu shot, since they don’t have any out of pocket costs.

In this article ..it is stated …  A recent spike in flu cases in the Southern Hemisphere is being regarded as a warning sign that flu activity in the U.S. The southern hemisphere is – seasonally – 6 months ahead of us… it is like early Feb in “down under” right now.

Personally, we don’t get our annual flu shot until the last week in Sept and/or the first two weeks of Oct. It takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to “ramp up” to effective blood levels and typically peak flu season is at the end of the year or the first of the next year.

 

Flu shots now available at Walgreens and you can get a cash reward for getting one

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2022/08/flu-shots-now-available-at-walgreens-and-you-can-get-a-cash-reward-for-getting-one.html

Walgreens said it is now offering flu shots for anyone 3 and older and it is offering cash rewards for getting any vaccination.

According to Walgreens, reports indicate, “A recent spike in flu cases in the Southern Hemisphere is being regarded as a warning sign that flu activity in the U.S. could reach pre-pandemic levels during the 2022-2023 flu season. Australia is nearing the end of its worst flu season in five years, according to a report from the country’s Department of Health and Aged Care.”

Walgreen is offering a $5 Walgreens Cash reward August through December and a $10 Walgreens Cash reward in September to myWalgreens members that receive any vaccination at Walgreens. Customers must be a myWalgreens member to get the rewards.

“Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect ourselves and those around us from flu and other vaccine preventable illnesses,” said Dr. Anita Patel, PharmD, vice president, pharmacy services development, Walgreens. “To help save families a trip, Walgreens pharmacists are co-administering flu shots and other recommended vaccines during a single visit.”

Appointments are encouraged. Customers can make an appointment online or by using the Walgreens app.

Vaccinations available in addition to flu include COVID-19, shingles, pneumonia, whooping cough, meningitis, measles, tetanus, typhoid and polio.

Flu shots also are available at Rite Aid and CVS.

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Kenny Marshall, 66, had a recent scare after he was injured in a hit-and-run in English, Indiana: he is in constant pain

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

ENGLISH, Ind. — Kenny Marshall and his family are very lucky he is alive after a recent hit-and-run.

https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/indiana/kenny-marshall-hit-and-run-victim-english-indiana-crawford-county/417-b697d104-7ed8-4372-b89e-4c20c92971ee

Once an active grandfather to his one and seven-year-old grandchildren, the 66-year-old is now left stuck after a driver struck him while riding his bike near State Route 237 and Church Road.

While Marshall said he does not remember much of it at all, police told him the suspect was driving at high speeds, dragging his bike several yards with it following the impact.

“When my mom first called me, she said, ‘it’s your dad.’ And that’s all it took. Just a lot of unnecessary panic,” his daughter said.

Marshall’s wife, Robin, who is a 911 dispatch operator, was also the one who took the call the morning her husband was hit.

“Uh, I mean we’ve been together 50 years and I thought – I thought, I can’t do it without him,” she said.
Credit: The Marshall Family
Some of the injuries Kenny Marshall suffered following a hit-and-run in English, Indiana.

Marshall said he has lacerations on the back of his head, held together with 13 staples. His arm was also hit and bruised along with an area of his chest and his back.

The injuries may be healing, but the side effects that came in the wake of the crash – constant migraines, loss of balance and memory loss have not subsided. Marshall said he is in constant pain.

His family knows that he will recover but, in the meantime, they are hoping whomever is responsible will turn themselves in to police.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

If you have any information, you are asked to call the, at (812) 338-2802.

►Contact reporter Connor Steffen at csteffen@whas11.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

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Optum: dropped a pt with a rare life threatening disease.. because they didn’t get enough business

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve
Posting for a mom on another page as she’s having issues with Optum. Please provide her with suggestions in the comments.
“Easton gets home infusions EVERY week. Every week for over 2 years now, we’ve had the same nurse come in and provide care for my baby and infuse his life saving enzyme replacement medication. Life saving. Without this medication he would not be here!!!

Monday of last week we got a call from his nurse that Optum (the pharmacy that provides the meds, supplies, and nurse) has decided that basically since they don’t get enough “business” from enzyme replacements (well duh, because Pompe is a freaking RARE DISEASE), they will no longer be doing Enzyme Replacement Therapy.

What does that mean? We’ve got to find a new pharmacy with a new nurse and pray to God that they know what they’re doing when it comes to a drug like Lumizyme, which has a black box warning. But whatever. That’s fine. I don’t want a company taking care of my kid that’s only looking for dollar signs anyway. However, we will wholeheartedly miss his nurse. Easton has built a bond with her like no other and I’m so sad for him and us.
Now what really, really makes me angry is that these people are obviously so greedy that they have not had the decency to let us know any of this. Had Easton’s nurse not been kind enough to tell us, we still would not know and this is all taking place September 6th! I have not gotten a phone call, email, nothing. Nothing but crickets from Optum. And again, this is something he needs every week, at the very least, every other week to be able to function. I don’t even want to think about the detrimentals that would follow him going a long time without this medication.
Please say some prayers for us as we navigate through all of this along with many others that are in the same boat as us. I have seen posts from parents that are finding out about this in different ways. Optum has not told any of us anything, like none of it is important and our children’s well being isn’t at stake.”

just so that everyone is clear, OPTUM is a PBM and a mail order pharmacy and is owned by United Health – the same UNITED HEALTH that is endorsed by AARP.  The above text from the web is a pretty bad example, but it is appears to be clear where Optum’s agenda is…. THEY DON’T GET ENOUGH BUSINESS… not that they are NOT MAKING A PROFIT and/or LOSING MONEY…

Another example that HEALTH CARE IS NOTHING MORE …NOTHING LESS THAN A FOR PROFIT BUSINESS

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If you don’t think that your generic meds doesn’t work well anymore – this might explain it

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

From an award-winning journalist, an explosive narrative investigation of the generic drug boom that reveals fraud and life-threatening dangers on a global scale—The Jungle for pharmaceuticals

Many have hailed the widespread use of generic drugs as one of the most important public-health developments of the twenty-first century. Today, almost 90 percent of our pharmaceutical market is comprised of generics, the majority of which are manufactured overseas. We have been reassured by our doctors, our pharmacists and our regulators that generic drugs are identical to their brand-name counterparts, just less expensive. But is this really true?

Katherine Eban’s Bottle of Lies exposes the deceit behind generic-drug manufacturing—and the attendant risks for global health. Drawing on exclusive accounts from whistleblowers and regulators, as well as thousands of pages of confidential FDA documents, Eban reveals an industry where fraud is rampant, companies routinely falsify data, and executives circumvent almost every principle of safe manufacturing to minimize cost and maximize profit, confident in their ability to fool inspectors. Meanwhile, patients unwittingly consume medicine with unpredictable and dangerous effects.

The story of generic drugs is truly global. It connects middle America to China, India, sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil, and represents the ultimate litmus test of globalization: what are the risks of moving drug manufacturing offshore, and are they worth the savings?

A decade-long investigation with international sweep, high-stakes brinkmanship and big money at its core, Bottle of Lies reveals how the world’s greatest public-health innovation has become one of its most astonishing swindles.

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CVS HEALTH: JUST IMAGINE – owning your insurance, doctor, PBM, specialty/community pharmacy, nursing home pharmacy

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

CVS could look to regional buys as it plans primary care acquisitions

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/cvs-primary-care-acquisition-q2-regional/628805/

Executives of the health giant teased a potential acquisition during a Q2 earnings call as buys in primary care heat up. Who could it nab?

As it aims to compete with peers and strengthen its primary care network, CVS Health signaled it would use acquisitions to expand its primary care network and could use smaller, regional buys over larger ones to make its healthcare footprint more vertical.

The healthcare giant, while building up its virtual care network, MinuteClinics and retail presence, has lagged behind its competitors in the primary care arena as companies like Walgreens, Amazon and Walmart have made significant inroads into primary care with multibillion-dollar partnerships and deals.

That could change this year. Executives teased a potential acquisition during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, with CVS CEO Karen Lynch saying that the company would take its next steps into primary care by the end of the year.

“We can’t be in … primary care without M&A. We’ve been very clear about that,” Lynch said.

Primary care has exploded with regional players as private equity has focused on the primary care space, transforming the least-paying medical specialty into a market flush with cash. From 2010 to 2020 alone, researchers at NEJM, in an analysis of PitchBook data, found that total capital raised in the primary care space increased from $15 million to $3.83 billion, and that deals involving private investor backing shot up from two to 46. And, in the first half of 2021, primary care deals totaled $8.4 billion.

“There’s a huge footprint of players that we’re not even aware of at the national scale,” said Matthew Bates, managing director and physician enterprise service line lead at Kaufman Hall. “If I was going to place a bet, I would place a bet on a series of roll-ups.”

Multiple regional acquisitions or partnerships would solve a scaling problem with primary care network companies. Bates pointed toward One Medical, which Amazon announced it would acquire for $3.9 billion. One Medical has a presence in fewer than half the states in the country. The acquisition has a big price tag, and Amazon will have to pay even more to scale the company given its modest footprint. For example, Walgreens invested $5.2 billion into VillageMD to scale its primary care practices, Bates noted. 

Regional buys would also capitalize on existing care relationships in established markets without the company having to funnel additional cash to penetrate new markets. And, if it wanted, CVS could use its large healthcare tech stack — like its virtual primary care service — to quickly scale regional models.

CVS senior vice president of business development and investor relations, Larry McGrath, opened the possibility of multiple acquisitions during the company’s earnings call, adding that there was “no one and done asset” in the space to grow their primary care network.

“We’ve been very active in evaluating a wide range of assets in and around the care delivery space,” McGrath said. “And what I would reiterate is that our priority areas remain primary care.”

A regional acquisition, or multiple, would open up new acquisition targets to CVS given that few national primary care targets remain that have not publicly exited or been acquired. Companies that have exited with a public debut include Oak Street Health, which went public in 2020 and P3 Health Partners, which went public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

“There is no national player that’s in all 50 states and is a natural target,” Bates said.

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