Tag: national community pharmacists association

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association welcomed the news that community pharmacies will be included in the network of health care providers approved to give COVID-19 vaccines. “Community pharmacies outnumber any of the largest chains, and they very often serve populations for whom there are no other accessible health care providers,” said NCPA CEO Douglas Hoey. “Defeating COVID-19 means relying on community pharmacies. Based on what we are hearing from...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association says that a partnership between two pharmacy benefit managers will harm local pharmacies.In a letter to The National Association of Attorneys General, the NCPA asks for scrutiny of the partnership between Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics.Express Scripts is owned by Cigna and controls prescriptions for 75 million people; Prime Therapeutics is owned by a consortium of Blue Cross Blue Shield companies and covers more than 30 million...

The National Community Pharmacists Association has named Amina Abubakar, owner of Rx Clinic Pharmacy in Charlotte, N.C., the 2020 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year. The award, sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, is given to a pharmacist who exhibits exemplary professional leadership, service to community and commitment to independent pharmacy. Abubakar, who grew up in Kenya, opened Rx Clinic Pharmacy in 2009, specializing in treating HIV patients. She is a passionate advocate...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Oct. 20, 2020) — The National Community Pharmacists Association has launched a new campaign, “The Truth,” aimed at countering what it says is a big-money propaganda effort by the pharmacy benefit manager lobby to obscure their role in the high cost of drugs and the disappearance of neighborhood pharmacies. “PBMs are the middlemen responsible for managing prescription drug benefits for the majority of Americans, with the top three of them controlling 76% of...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - TriCare/Express Scripts will no longer seek to recoup prescriptions from compounding pharmacies from 2015 that it says were fraudulent because there was no physician/patient relationship indicated. The amounts to be recouped ranged from less than $100 to more than $200,000. “ESI was basically saying that the only way the pharmacies could exonerate themselves was by producing documentation that the prescribing physician actually had seen the patient,” said Scott Brunner,...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the House Ways and Means Committee to broaden its investigation into potential delivery delays for mail-order medications due to changes at the U.S. Postal Service to include long-term problems with mail-order prescription plans. The NCPA has long said mail order has led to damaged or missing medications in some cases, expensive medication waste in others, conflicts of interest, and decreased patient choice and access to reliable...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Registration is now open for the National Community Pharmacists Association 2020 Annual Convention, held virtually Oct. 18-19. The event features education for pharmacy teams inspired by pharmacy owners, a one-stop exhibition for products and services, speakers and networking opportunities. “This will be the most convenient, most affordable NCPA Convention we've ever had,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA. “If you were unable to attend in previous...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The 2020 National Community Pharmacists Association Annual Convention is shifting to a virtual meeting, Oct. 18-19, 2020, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The business-focused programs that attendees have come to expect from NCPA will be available exclusively online in a live and virtual format. NCPA will employ a state-of-the-art virtual exhibitor platform to help conference attendees find new business tools and opportunities for their pharmacy. Registration for the online...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association has launched an “Essential” campaign to rally pharmacists and other small business owners to pressure Congress to include several key provisions in the next COVID relief package, including liability protections of essential businesses operating in good faith; expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program; and recognition of pharmacists as health care providers. “Essential businesses are taking great precautions, sometimes...

YARMOUTH, Maine - In many parts of the country, community pharmacists are often the most accessible health care providers, says the National Community Pharmacists Association. That's a big reason why the association was recently awarded a contract by the Centers for Disease Control to help independent pharmacies prevent Type 2 diabetes, says John Beckner, NCPA's senior director of strategic initiatives.“We really felt like our members were in a great position to offer this, particularly those...