Drug Topics - October 8, 2007 - (Page 8)

8 DRUG TOPICS OCTOBER 8, 2007 www.drugtopics.com Letters We are our own worst enemies am outraged that a grocery store and bakery that makes wedding cakes (Publix) can cause so much damage to the pharmacy profession by giving away antibiotics. I am even more outraged that we as a profession can do nothing about it. The enemy we are facing is not “them.” It is “us.” I am deeply sad to say I think the feds are right. The feds and the insurance companies understand the current situation precisely: Why should the feds pay a higher price when so many thoughtless people all over the country want to give something precious away for free or almost free? Insurance companies must look at NACDS and the big chains and think, “Boy, are they nuts.” Those speaking for pharmacy and making the decisions that affect us are not pharmacists but mass-merchandising How can NACDS argue with executives. They think of pharmacy as a retail department, like the feds about higher a shoe department, and not a compensation while at the life-saving profession. There are too many same time its own members groups (associations) splinter trying are giving away life-saving (unsuccessfully) to talk for “pharmacy.” The national pharmedications? macy associations are weak in this respect and have little impact. No one group is strong enough to be taken seriously. The feds and the insurance companies know that to win, they can divide and conquer the weak and the meek. How can NACDS argue with the feds about higher compensation while at the same time its own members are giving away life-saving medications? How can the feds demand that patients have access to pharmacy services and then not pay pharmacists adequately? The whole situation is a quagmire for us, created by us. The worst wounds to the ego are those that are self-inflicted. It is time for one organization to represent all of pharmacy at the negotiating tables. Large corporations merge or buy each other out. Why can’t our associations do the same? Why cannot the splinter groups all decide who is going to do the negotiations for the profession and support this strategy by falling in line? How can a $34 million football player, who can barely draw his name on a piece of paper, have an I agent represent him in contract negotiations worth millions, when we as a profession walk away from or give away billions of dollars? It is time for a complete change in strategy. Whatever we are doing now is clearly not working. B.J. Khalifah, R.Ph. Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. photobjk@comcast.net After reading the late-breaking news in Drug Topics, Aug. 20, concerning the news that Publix Super Markets pharmacy is now offering free antibiotics to its patients, I just had to put my two cents' worth in. What in the world is Publix thinking? I feel it is sending out the message that its pharmacists are worthless. How can any pharmacist work for a company that does not value our profession? First WalMart is selling Rxs for $4 (some below cost), then the feds are basically forcing the pharmacy to pay for their Medicare plan, and now this! Enough is enough! We need to take back our profession before it disappears completely. The time to turn the other cheek is gone; we need to stand together and fight back now before it is too late. If you work for a company that is selling products below cost or giving drugs away, you need to let it know that what it is doing is wrong and that you cannot tolerate it any longer. Vonda Volesky, R.Ph. Litchfield Park, Ariz. vondav@cox.net Hold-harmless policy needed Regarding your September Instant Poll about terminally ill patients, yes, I think they should have access to investigational drugs, but only if they are willing to sign a binding legal document that releases the developer, manufacturer, doctor, administrator, etc. (that is, anyone or entity involved in the development or administration of the drug) from any form of litigation over whatever ill consequences might occur. In short, only if recipients of the drug assume full risk for their participation should they get access to experimental treatments. Barbara S. Guillory Consultant pharmacist bsguillory@suddenlink.net Letters (including e-mail) should be as brief as possible and sent with the writer’s name, address, daytime phone number, and date of the issue you are referencing to: Editor, Drug Topics, 123 Tice Boulevard, Woodcliff Lake, N.J. 07677-7664. E-mail address: drugtopics@advanstar.com. Correspondence may be edited for length and clarity. http://www.drugtopics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - October 8, 2007

Drug Topics - October 8, 2007 Latebreakers Latebreakers in Depth Letters Rx Care Community Practice JP at Large 150 Years of American Pharmacy Hospital Practice Are You Getting Pharmacy's Message Across? Self-Care Government and Law Legal Q&A The Pharmacist as First Responder in Disaster Relief Technology Update New Products Advertisers Index Statement of Ownership Classified Viewpoint

Drug Topics - October 8, 2007

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