Total Pharmacy

It was revealed this month that in addition to the National Community Pharmacists Association’s own submission of complaints about unethical PBM practices, thousands of independent pharmacies have submitted their own complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

During the 2021 Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit, held virtually on September 25 in partnership with Drug Topics®, Sneha Baxi Srivastava, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, DipACLM, associate professor/associate director of skills education, clinical pharmacist, Rosalind Franklin University Medicine and Science, provided attendees with advantageous strategies and tips for pharmacists to prioritize and successfully implement patient-centered communication strategies.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) announced the launch of the Coalition for PBM Reform and its goal of bringing transparency to prescription drug prices, on Thursday.1 The Coalition for PBM Reform aims to achieve transparency in pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) negotiations and practices. PBMs serve as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, health insurance plans, and pharmacies, who typically negotiate below the valued list prices of prescription drugs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the unique role pharmacies can play in promoting public health in their communities. With health care trends constantly evolving, there is no better time for community pharmacies to build a point-of-care (POC) testing practice. Although most independent pharmacies are offering COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, so much more can be done to bring in new customers and increase revenue.