Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

34 DRUG TOPICS AUGUST 11, 2008 Cover Story Notwithstanding the surprising little faith that pharmacists have in e-prescribing to solve this problem, the 19% who said they believe it could help are strong in their opinion: “E-prescribing could check this problem before the prescription is transmitted to the pharmacy,” one respondent said. “Physicians using e-prescribing, utilizing patient formulary checks prior to submission to a pharmacy, would go a long way,” another said. Solutions Regardless whether it resolves the problems posed by prior authorization, e-prescribing would provide more formulary data to pharmacists, and that would be a help. Now nearly two-thirds of pharmacists (63%) say they do not stay current on which drugs require prior authorization and instead must query the drug plan in each case. “You’ve got to be kidding!” one respondent said when asked how he or she knows which drugs require prior authorization. “It’s impossible to stay current on medications needing prior authorizations,” another R.Ph. lamented. “Formularies change all the time without warning.” In spite of their frustrations—or because of them—many respondents offered possible solutions. A ray of hope does exist in a recent development in Medicare that affects nursing homes. Recently, five Part D prescription drug plans agreed to process prior authorization forms for nursing home residents when they are signed by a long-term care pharmacist on behalf of the physician. Most respondents are not affected by this because they do not serve any nursing home residents. But among those who actually have filed prior authorization forms for nursing home residents on behalf of the physician, more than a fifth (22%) saved a lot of time because of this policy, and 39% saved some time. A majority of respondents (56%) said they could see no reason this couldn’t happen in community pharmacies. Do you think the practice of pharmacists filing prior authorization forms on behalf of physicians can be applied to the community pharmacy setting as well? Yes No Don’t know 56% 28 16 Regardless whether pharmacists are allowed to file prior authorization forms, they say the process is unnecessarily cumbersome. “Allowing the pharmacist and the technician to obtain prior authorizations, especially

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

Drug Topics- August 11, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters DEA Proposes Rule To Allow Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances Merger, Medicare Reform Could Mean Broader E-Prescribing Adoption New Combination Pill Approved for Type 2 Diabetes New Eczema Guildlines Promote Use of Emollients, Then Topical Corticosteroids Agencies Flush Original Strategies in Favor of Promoting Drug Take-Back Programs JP at Large: You Laughing at Me? Pharmacists Find Themselves at Mercy of Prior Authorization State Law Requiring PBM Transparency See Some Gains, Some Losses Global Counterfeiting Still Growing, Says U.S. Commerce Official FDA Saftey Page: Prophylthiouracil Still Confused with Purinethol (mercaptopurine) New Products Bring Lice Treatment to a Head NACDS Marketplace Showcases New Product that Fill Unmet Needs Update on Respiratory Tract Infections Execs Share War Stories About Adopting Technology in their Stores New Products Advertisters Index Classified Viewpoint: Medicare Part D Revisions sorely needed

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.