Drug Topics - October 22, 2007 - (Page 12)

12 DRUG TOPICS OCTOBER 22, 2007 www.drugtopics.com Community Practice New federal, state reforms to ease disaster relief kinks Kathryn Foxhall s the emergency phase after Hurricane Katrina passed, there were many people who had worked diligently to get medications to those in need. “There were big pharmacies and little pharmacies,” said Chris Worrall, special assistant in the administrator’s office of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS had worked with private industry, he said, and retailers and wholesalers were amazingly responsive and efficient. He cited instances when companies had massive shipments headed to shelters 30 minutes after a phone call about specific needs. But after all that effort, many of the pharmacies and other industry people had no way of knowing who to bill, whether it was a local board for pharmacy, local government, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Indeed, some of those payment problems are ongoing to this day, said Worrall, who spoke at the recent Fall Legislative Conference of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in Arlington, Va. A The EPAP process will pay pharmacies for “eligible clean claims” through a claims processor that will have the contract for that purpose. Worrall said the program will provide more than 50,000 locations to get necessary medications and equipment, while allowing pharmacists to be first responders without taking on excessive financial risk. It will leverage the efficiencies of the private drug distribution system and lower the costs of government, he asserted. Crossing the line In another example of post-Katrina reforms, a piece of proposed legislation will be before many state legislatures next spring to help healthcare practitioners, including pharmacists, cross state lines and practice, to provide aid in emergencies. Raymond Pepe, an attorney who chaired the drafting committee for that proposal, told the NABP meeting there were widespread reports of problems and barriers for volunteer health practitioners eager to help after the 2005 hurricanes. In light of that, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws formed a study group to look at what changes in state law would make systems more workable. It approved a model state law in July of this year. The proposal, which each state can adopt, reject, or adopt in an amended form, would have the state recognize the licenses of out-of-state practitioners in emergencies if the volunteers are registered under the systems established for that purpose. The registration systems will be those set up by governmental agencies, by private organizations that work with disaster relief, or by healthcare organizations that have demonstrated their ability to carry out this kind of effort. Systems will determine whether the volunteers are licensed and in good standing. In cases in which practitioners are injured or killed, the proposal would provide workers’ compensation coverage by the host state as a source of last resort, if no other coverage is available. The proposal has already been adopted or introduced in several states. Information on the act is provided at www.UEVHPA.org. THE AUTHOR New program That’s why the federal agencies have created the “Emergency Prescription Assistance Program” (EPAP), which was approved by FEMA last March, as a payer of last resort to cover medications and some durable medical equipment for people affected by major disasters who have no other coverage, Worrall said. The program has a predefined formulary. The system also includes provisions for communications between government and industry and for facilitation of product donation. Eligible consumers—who must be from the disaster area—may bring a prescription or a refill to a retail pharmacy. Pharmacies may also deliver to a shelter. Worrall noted that if evacuees went from Louisiana to Maine, the system could serve them. The pharmacy will check eligibility, adjudicate the claims, and dispense the medications with no Raymond Pepe (left) and Chris Worrall spoke at the NABP session on emergency preparedness. co-pay. is a writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. Photo: Kathryn Foxhall http://www.drugtopics.com http://www.UEVHPA.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - October 22, 2007

Drug Topics - October 22, 2007 Contents Latebreakers Legislative Victory Builds Momentum for Pharmacy Month Letters Health-System Edition R.Ph.s Brace for Payment Denial for Hospital-Acquired Conditions Topical Human Thrombin Helps Arrest Bleeding FDA Panels Fail to Set Target Levels for Renal Patients’ Hemoglobin Warning Letters Raise Patient Safety Concerns for Fentora Ending/Reversing Weight Gain Man Given Fatal Drug Overdose at Staten Island Hospital Pharmacists Playing More Important Role in Dialysis Treatment AHA President R.Ph.'s Here's How You Can Increase Your Value Premier Launches Comprehensive Quality Improvement Project FDA Approves Dexrazoxane for Treatment of Extravasation New Federal, State Reforms to Ease Disaster Relief Kinks 150 Years of American Pharmacy Ten Tips for MTM Success Independent Superstars: The Ones to Watch The New Dynamic Duo A Parkinson's Disease Primer Classified New Products Advertisers Index Viewpoint

Drug Topics - October 22, 2007

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.