Tag: National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA)

SEBASTIAN, Fla. – From shrinking reimbursement to workforce challenges, pharmacies today face a lot of challenges, says Theresa Tolle, winner of the 2023 NCPA Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year award from The National Community Pharmacists Association and Upsher-Smith Laboratories.  “There’s just been a lot of pressure within the profession,” said Tolle, BSPharm, FAPhA, owner of Bay Street Pharmacy in Sebastian, Fla. “We’re all more pressured...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Lea Wolsoncroft, RPh, of Birmingham, Ala., was installed as 2023-24 president of the National Community Pharmacists Association by its House of Delegates at the organization’s 2023 Annual Convention in Orlando. Wolsoncroft has been an NCPA member since 1991. She and her husband, Tom, opened their first pharmacy, KidsMeds, in 2002. She has always pursued nontraditional tracks and focused on educating physicians and the community about pharmacy practice and the unique role...

ORLANDO, Fla. – The National Community Pharmacists Association and Upsher-Smith Laboratories have announced that Theresa Tolle, BSPharm, FAPhA, owner of Bay Street Pharmacy in Sebastian, Fla., is the winner of the 2023 NCPA Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year award.   Tolle, a second-generation owner and pharmacist, has led Bay Street Pharmacy alongside her husband, Joe, since 1999, offering a wide range of patient services, including immunizations and testing, diabetes...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Clint Hopkins, a pharmacy owner in Sacramento, Calif., has received this year’s NARD Ownership Award from the National Community Pharmacists Association as part of the association’s recent annual convention. The award recognizes an independent community pharmacist who embraces entrepreneurial spirit through promotion and demonstrated excellence in the field of community pharmacy ownership. Hopkins and his husband Joel Hockman relocated to Sacramento in 2016 to purchase...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Independent community pharmacies represented a $94 billion marketplace in 2022, but their gross margin fell to 21%, the lowest point in the 10-year lookback window of the National Community Pharmacists Association’s annual digest.  This reflects factors like low or below-cost third-party reimbursements, inflation (which showed up in drug prices) and a higher cost of dispensing, according to the 2023 NCPA Digest, sponsored by Cardinal Health.  “Patients...

ORLANDO, Fla. – The National Community Pharmacists Association is creating a limited liability company called TRUST LLC to investigate and, when appropriate, litigate or arbitrate on behalf of community pharmacies to recover pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration fees.  The NCPA believes DIR fees were assessed by the PBMs and insurance plans in violation of federal antitrust law and state contract laws.  “PBMs shouldn't be able to make assessing junk DIR fees against...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A new class action lawsuit filed against Caremark is the latest move in the fight to rein in the “revenue grab” of pharmacy benefit managers, says the National Community Pharmacists Association.  The NCPA is not a named party in the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 27, but has helped educate the law firms behind it, says Anne Cassity, senior vice president of government affairs at association.  “These (pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration...

LONDON and PLANO, Texas – Belluscura has announced a possible acquisition and has made a change to its executive leadership.  Belluscura has reached an agreement with TMT Acquisitions, a London-based acquisition vehicle in the technology, media and telecommunications sector, on the key terms of a possible share-for-share offer for the company, in a deal that would be valued at EUR 6 million. Belluscura will use the deal, which includes a $100,000 break-up fee, to help grow its portable...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Nearby independent community pharmacies largely anticipate being able to help patients of major chain pharmacies who are left scrambling by closed stores or reduced hours, according to a new survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association. Forty-three percent of survey respondents say they are located near a major pharmacy chain store that’s implementing cost-cutting measures. Of those, nearly 90% say they are able to absorb and provide care for patients who...

AMSTERDAM – Philips disagrees with “characterizations” in recent articles that the company knew for several years about problems with certain ventilators and sleep apnea devices.  ProPublica and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sept. 27 published an article saying that Philips knew about a dangerous breakdown inside its widely used ventilators and sleep apnea machines but waited years before recalling the devices in 2021.  In a statement, Philips said it had previously...