Getting my seasonal flu immunization from Ukrops pharmacist Jessie Evans

APhA Trustee Kelly Goode and I last month had the opportunity to visit Ukrop’s Pharmacies in the greater Richmond, VA, area. John Beckner, Pharmacist and Director of Pharmacy and Wellness, hosted us for the three-store visit on October 16.

While each location had a generally similar feel, the pharmacists and technicians were proud of their unique services, their teamwork, and perhaps most importantly, their connection with their patients. One store offered an extensive travel immunization service that was being tested for ways to extend it to other stores via a “hub and spoke” process. Other stores conducted extensive MTM. All were heavily involved in influenza vaccinations.

I received my seasonal flu shot from pharmacist Jessie Evans and gladly paid my fee!

At APhA, we get questions about the scalability of MTM all the time. We also get questions about whether most pharmacists even know what the services include. Ukrops is just one example of many—as evidenced on the pharmacist.com MTM map —where MTM is a major part of practice.

To everyone who is doing the work—keep it up. You are making a difference!

In today’s Federal Register, FDA reopened the comment period for its Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies, or REMS, for certain opioid drug products. The new deadline for comments–a year from today, 10/19/2010–indicates that no action will be taken for a long while.

The move shows that the agency recognizes the problems identified in the comments filed about the development of an opioid REMS, which has important implications for the daily practice of pharmacists, is rethinking its approach, and reflects the impact of the nearly 2000 comments that FDA received on this topic. APhA was a key voice in calling for modifications to the REMS plan.

In the notice, FDA wrote that it recognizes the challenges and need for an opioid REMS to be “carefully designed” (due to the number of prescribers, pharmacists, and patients involved with these medications) and the need to ensure a REMS does not unduly burden the health care system or limit patient access.

We will monitor this development and keep you posted as needed.

We all hate to run into heavy traffic on the roads, but when looking at Web and readership of journals and magazines, increased “traffic” is a good thing. At APhA, we’ve been gratified at the rapid growth and visits to www.pharmacist.com, Facebook, Twitter, and this blog. Since July, our unique visits and time spent on our pharmacist.com “pages” has been increasing as well.

I get reports that readership and citations of our APhA periodicals are increasing. While not directly related, I think it’s relevant that our Political Action Committee contributions have doubled over last year as well. Attendance in our certificate programs like MTM and immunization are “through the roof” this fall.

All of these are positive signs, but we are just getting started. Your membership is incredibly valuable to our long-term ability to serve the profession. And our PAC is becoming increasingly important in our efforts to stay connected on the Hill. With pharmaceutical company sponsorship down, our ability to attract readers to our publications is more important than ever to sustain the provision of excellent content for pharmacists. Thanks for your continued support. We couldn’t be this successful without you.

When I was in practice, I often thought that if only every consumer knew what we pharmacists had to offer, we would all be better off and our advocacy would not be so challenging. What you may not know is how we are getting the word out. Soon, I’ll provide you with a report that details the “hits” pharmacists have been getting in the national media. One of our staff members recently began a series of interviews with WebMD. I thought I would share the clip with you. Millions of consumers are seeing this every day!

Sooner or later, the Senate will consider the controversial issue of prescription drug importation. Today, Senator McCain (R–AZ) called up an amendment to prohibit the use of any Department of Justice funds to investigate or enforce Federal laws related to the importation of prescription drugs. He later withdrew the amendment.

We also understand that Sen. Dorgan (D–ND) will present language during the health care reform debate (which could begin as soon as next week) to establish new authority (and a new bureaucracy) favoring importation.

APhA has long opposed importation and is making our concerns known about how importation can negatively impact the safety of the U.S. supply chain and the ability of pharmacists to care for their patients. We encourage you to do the same. Members can log in to pharmacist.com to use APhA’s Legislative Action Center to contact their Senators.