Pharmacy News: Pharmacy bill gets do-not pass recommendation
N.D. LEGISLATURE: Pharmacy bill gets do-not pass recommendation
BISMARCK — Chain retailers may not want to think about opening pharmacies in North Dakota just yet.
The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee gave a 10-3 do-not pass recommendation to the idea on Wednesday.
House Bill 1434 deletes wording in North Dakota law that requires pharmacies to be majority-owned by pharmacists licensed in the state. This would have allowed retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart to open pharmacies in the state.
Committee Chairman Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck, said he voted against the bill based on testimony that current law serves the state’s residents well.
Rep. Thomas Beadle, R-Fargo, said he sponsored the bill on behalf of more than 40 constituents who want to see the law changed.
The issue came up during the 2009 Legislature and failed to make it on the 2010 ballot due to a flaw in the way petitions were circulated. North Dakota is the only state in the nation with the law.
The bill now goes to the House floor for a full vote.
Social host
The state Senate killed the “social host” bill on Wednesday that would have punished those providing a location for underage drinking.
Senate Bill 2257 states someone who possesses or controls private property may not knowingly allow minors to drink on that property. They must also make a reasonable effort to stop the underage drinking, including calling the police.
Those who violated the proposed law would face a $500 fine.
Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, called the bill a “well-intentioned effort to find a solution to underage drinking.” But she said the Judiciary Committee had concerns and many questions about putting the responsibility on property owners.
“What we’re doing is shifting the responsibility from the guilty underage drinker to the property owner,” she said.
Bill sponsor Sen. Jim Dotzenrod, D-Wyndmere, said the bill resulted from a series of meetings that involved residents, law enforcement and legislators in southeastern North Dakota.
He said North Dakota has a problem with underage drinking, and other states and cities have similar social host regulations.
“I do think eventually we’ll go this way,” he said.
The bill failed on an 11-34 vote.
Internet hunting
The North Dakota Senate voted Wednesday to ban Internet hunting.
Senate Bill 2352 bans hunting wildlife in real time using Internet services to remotely control firearms and discharge live ammunition, thus allowing someone not physically present to kill wildlife.
This includes using any remotely controlled device to hunt.
The bill also bans hosting an Internet hunt, enabling someone else to hunt through the Internet and importing, exporting or possessing wildlife that’s been killed by an Internet hunt.
A violation of the proposed law would be a Class C felony.
The Senate passed the bill on a 43-2 vote. It now moves to the House.
Divorce study
North Dakota senators think it’s worthwhile to study divorce.
On a 41-4 vote, the Senate approved a 2011-12 interim state study looking into the physical, emotional and financial effects associated with divorces involving dependent children.
The study asks for legislative policy solutions, including divorce reform legislation and marriage education.
Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, said there’s data showing divorce costs the government money due to increased use of food stamps and public housing, and increased juvenile delinquency. She said it’s in the state’s interest to study the matter.
However, Sen. Carolyn Nelson, D-Fargo, said there have already been a number of family law studies.
“We’ve discussed this topic. I don’t think we need to discuss it again,” she said.
The bill now moves to the House.
Autism program
A proposed program to help those with autism spectrum disorder and their families unanimously passed the state Senate on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 2268 seeks to establish an autism spectrum disorder Centers of Achievement pilot program.
The bill requires the Department of Human Services to establish the pilot program in the next two years. Like Centers of Excellence in higher education, these centers would involve public-private partnerships.
Those interested in working with the state would submit an application with a plan to fund, develop and deliver skilled services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
The proposed regional centers would be in cities with populations of more than 10,000.
The bill provides $600,000 to implement the pilot program and study.
The bill also recommends legislators conduct a comprehensive study of the system for the diagnosis, treatment, care and education of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
Senate Bill 2268 now moves to the House for consideration.
Zetes to present solutions for pharmaceutical supply chain at industry events
Today, the European Parliament is voting on a proposal to prevent the entry and dissemination of falsified medicines through the pharmaceutical supply chain. The objective of the directive is to improve the traceability of medicines throughout the whole value chain and increase consumer safety.
Whatever the outcome of today’s vote, Zetes is ready to help the pharmaceutical industry comply with existing and upcoming regulations on the traceability of their products with a range of specialised goods identification and mobility solutions.
Ensuring compliance, improving traceability, increasing security
Zetes ensures that medicines and medical goods are traced alongside the pharmaceutical supply chain and across multiple stakeholders. The company can make this possible by combining several advanced identification technologies:
Secure Datamatrix identification and serialisation
Zetes offers high-speed marking systems for secure identification and serialisation of the secondary packaging of medicines and medical goods at the production line. Identifying these goods with a Datamatrix code (which includes information, such as expiration date, lot number, and product number) and a serialisation number helps combat counterfeiting, facilitates problem resolution of claims and recalls, and helps prevent theft. In addition to this, Zetes’ extended experience and solutions for labelling ensure perfect data aggregation from item to pallet.
Optimise order preparation
To supply pharmacies with the right order in a timely manner, often multiple times daily and at short notice, pharmaceutical wholesalers and logistics companies can optimise their order preparation processes with Zetes’ 3i Voice solutions. This solution helps optimise efficiency, reduces mistakes, and allows for flexible resource management at peak times.
100% accuracy of shipped pallets
Visidot, Zetes’ automatic shipment verification solution which uses Image-based technology, ensures the right medicines are sent to the right pharmacy or hospital, achieving 100% accuracy of the shipped pallets. This solution can also be used to inspect items when preparing boxes/crates on the production line, or to manage returns from pharmacies.
Cold chain management
Some medicines must be stored at a constant temperature along the supply chain. Making use of special RFID tags, Zetes’ solution enables pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the temperature level remains optimal from the moment medicines are produced until they are delivered to the end customer.
Alain Wirtz, CEO of Zetes says: “As it is the case in other market segments, the end consumes – and, more particularly, an ever increasing concern for their health and safety – has become central to the pharmaceutical supply chain. Therefore, there is pressure from legislators on the producers from this sector to invest in better product identification and traceability. Zetes has years of experience in supply chain optimisation and an extended portfolio of automatic identification solutions. Based on this strong know-how, we can help pharmaceutical companies comply with the latest regulations but also enable them to transform inherent traceability challenges into a competitive advantage.”
Zetes’ existing customer references within the pharmaceutical industry include leading European pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, GSK, Pfizer, UCB, CERP, Merck, and Pharmamar, among others.
Zetes will present its solutions for the pharmaceutical supply chain at several pharmaceutical industry events across Europe, including Pharmapack in Paris, (February 23-24, 2011) and Logipharma in Geneva (March 29-31, 2011).
Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute Recognizes Innovation in Drug Benefit Industry
SCOTTSDALE, AZ–(Marketwire – February 17, 2011) – The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) has awarded four 2011 Rx Benefit Innovation Awards to the Center for Health Value Innovation, Cigna Pharmacy Management, CVS Caremark / Arcelor Mittal, and InformedRx, an SXC company. The awards were announced today at PBMI’s 16th Annual Drug Benefit Conference in Phoenix.
The recipients of this year’s awards were selected based on the project’s overall originality, strength of reported results, and potential to improve patient outcomes. “Our 2011 award recipients have demonstrated creative thinking by designing solutions to address numerous challenges in prescription drug programs,” says Tim Watson, PharmD, MBA, Executive Director of PBMI. “Their example will inspire other plan sponsors to implement one or more of these approaches in their own populations.”
The Center for Health Value Innovation is being recognized for their pioneering work in the design, implementation and measurement of Value Based Insurance Designs. The center’s co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Jack Mahoney led the charge behind Value Based Design with a firm resolve to prove that lowering access barriers to health care services could ultimately engage the most at risk populations, thereby improving care and lowering costs. The center’s work to measure and disseminate outcomes associated with these design strategies continues to provide guidance to others who wish to implement these programs in their population.
Cigna Pharmacy Management
Cigna Pharmacy Management is being recognized for their creative approach to contracting for pharmaceuticals that is based on achievement of specific therapeutic outcomes. In 2009, Cigna Pharmacy Management and Merck & Co., Inc. entered into the pharmacy benefit management industry’s first national outcomes based contract between a PBM and a pharmaceutical firm. A year after the contract was implemented, results showed that there was improved blood sugar control and blood sugar testing during the study. The company stated that “estimated savings for individuals and employers could be almost $8,000 per person who has diabetes per year when that individual increases adherence to over 80%.”
CVS Caremark / ArcelorMittal
CVS Caremark / ArcelorMittal are being recognized for their efforts to improve the treatment of diabetes in the steel company’s population. More than half of people diagnosed with a chronic disease, including diabetes, are either non-adherent to the prescribed medication or have a gap in care. The program designed and implemented by the companies sought to improve medication adherence in diabetics by engaging pharmacists who are expertly trained in medication therapy management principals. The program included both telephonic counseling, and face-to-face interventions, according to the patient’s preference. After six months, the program demonstrated significant improvements in closing gaps in care and increasing medication adherence compared to a control group. In addition, the program results demonstrated health care savings of nearly $1,700 annually for patients with diabetes.
InformedRx, an SXC company
InformedRx is being recognized for their efforts to minimize inappropriate prescribing of controlled substances. Use of multiple narcotics can have adverse effects on both members and plan sponsors, including: compromised patient safety, risk of addiction and diminished quality of life, risk of on the job injuries and wasting scarce health plan resources. InformedRx designed a program of pharmacist review and intervention in which targeted interventions were sent to physicians with the goal of improving prescribing patterns for this important class of medications. The program demonstrated strong results, including: 58% fewer narcotic prescriptions written, 57% fewer prescribers writing narcotic prescriptions, and an average savings per case of $105.16.