On September 11, 2001, we witnessed an event of immense tragedy—one that instantly transformed many lives, some through personal loss, and many others through an unfamiliar sense of individual and national vulnerability. I recall being the APhA President on that day and calling John Gans, who was then the APhA Executive Vice President and CEO, from my office in Rockville, MD, to see how everyone was doing.

In the recent aftermath of Hurricane Irene, we are reminded again of the historic bonding of Americans that arose from the collective shock and unified the country in a sustained outpouring of national spirit, generosity, and courage. September 11 falls on a Sunday this year and APhA does not have a formal event scheduled for observance. Instead, we support and encourage pharmacists to consider observing the anniversary with appropriate and personal expressions of service, charity, and compassion toward others.

At the websites detailed below, you will find listings of events and other ways in which you can honor the 10th anniversary of September 11. I’m sharing them now so that you have time to consider them as you make your plans for this weekend.

• September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance and related news release
• 9-11 Healing and Remembrance Program
• Washington Post 9/11 Virtual Memory Wall

We lost a friend on June 8 when Larry Border passed away. Larry was a pharmacist who graduated from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy and served in the West Virginia Legislature for more than 2 decades. He was instrumental in that state’s Pharmacy Practice Act rewrite a few years ago and was the voice of reason in the midst of often challenging debate on health care issues. I truly enjoyed knowing and working with him over my years in practice in the state, as well as our many conversations on broader pharmacy issues.

I’m sure Larry would encourage pharmacists to get involved in politics. He set an important example and left a remarkable legacy. He will be missed.

You may have already heard that Doug Hoey has been named the new CEO at the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). Many will recall he served as acting Executive Vice President and CEO while the search was conducted for Bruce Roberts’s replacement, so it’s nice to see he’s been promoted to the top position. I have enjoyed an open and communicative relationship with Doug, and I’ve admired his steady hand. APhA as an organization has a good working relationship with Doug, so I look forward to what we might accomplish together as Doug leads NCPA. Congratulations, Doug!

As many of you know, pharmacists and the pharmaceutical industry have a lot of issues in common.  Sometimes we agree and sometimes we do not.  Frequently these days we’ve been on the same page about a lot of things, like biosimilars, REMS, access, drug information and education and others.  My goal in any direct encounter with a pharmaceutical company is to promote pharmacists’ roles in safe and effective use of their products in ways that benefit our patients.

About 2 weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Amgen. Thanks in part to the work our staff has done with them the last few years, they are quite interested and engaged about the changing role of the pharmacist in specialty and community practice.

We had a great story to tell about new, unfilled roles pharmacists are serving and some good suggestions, I think, about how increased access to their products by various sectors of pharmacy could help remove barriers to access for some of their products.  The fact was not lost on them that pharmacists stepped up during the H1N1 emergence, in which over 115,000 pharmacists were trained nationwide to immunize.  We are starting to change the perception of community pharmacy practice. I can assure you, folks are starting to take notice.  To those of you who are evolving your practices for new opportunities, stay tuned…

On the eve of the Final Four, please allow me a personal moment to say to all of the West Virginia Mountaineers out there…

LET’S GO!

On a gram-for-gram basis, many drugs are now more expensive than gold. That fact is not lost on the criminals among us, as reflected in a pharmacist.com news story detailing several recent heists of medications and nutritional products. But remember one thing: These thieves wouldn’t have risked doing this if there weren’t a brisk black market in the United States for the sale of diverted or stolen pharmaceuticals.

I believe pharmacists in this country take supply-chain integrity for granted. I say this with the perspective of someone who spent almost 8 years doing supply-chain audits and chasing diverted drugs all over the world. My opinion doesn’t come just from my own experiences (which focused largely on the mainstream distribution system in the United States, where major improvements in security have occurred) but also from conversations and meetings with many industry security professionals who are faced with protecting their companies’ products. These folks are challenged every day in this country and around the world. 

These recent high-profile thefts should serve as a reminder to all pharmacists to pay attention to where you purchase your pharmaceuticals. Know your distributor and ask questions about their practices. Do not respond to faxes offering deals you know are too good to be true. These thieves will find someone to buy their take—make sure it isn’t one of your patients who ends up with these diverted drugs! If you are not careful, this could happen to you.

In addition, be sure to warn your patients about the dangers of buying drugs from the Internet. Most diverted drugs will find their way to consumers through this channel. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy tries to warn Internet consumers they should use only known sites that are verified through NABP’s VIPPS program. But with all the noise consumers hear, it is a difficult message to convey. Be sure your patients hear it!