Drug Topics - March 2009 - (Page 12) Up front INDUSTRY NEWS & ANALYSIS Hawaii school expected to generate $50 million The College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo is expected to eventually generate $50 million in annual economic activity and an additional $15 million in state incomes, according to a recently released study conducted by university economist David Hammes. The only pharmacy college in the state, UHH-CoP admitted its rst class of 90 students in 2007. At present, the school has 180 students, 32 staff members, and supports 274 new jobs. Hammes says that while much of the spending associated with the college takes place on the Big Island, the entire state bene ts from the economic activity, which includes spending by relatives who come to visit students and staff members and others who come for conferences and continuing education. In two years, the college will grow to 360 students, 70 staff members, and 610 related jobs. UHH-CoP will eventually have 360 students and 70 staff members. LEGISLATIVE North Dakota eyeing crackdown on illegal online pharmacies Alarmed by the increasing number of people addicted to prescription pain killers, North Dakota’s attorney general has proposed a state law to crack down on online pharmacies dispensing drugs illegally. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s bill would give local and state officials authority to prosecute such cases even if the federal government does not. Minnesota has a similar law, named for Justin Pearson of St. Cloud, who overdosed on a prescription painkiller obtained through an online pharmacy. Pearson got a prescription for the painkiller without seeing a physician. A state legislative committee held a hearing on the bill and recommended it be adopted by the full legislature. Stenehjem said the rogue pharmacies have business arrangements with physicians who write prescriptions for patients who fill out online questionnaires. He cited a news interview with one such doctor, whose database included more than 32,000 “patients,” none of whom he had seen in person. Federal law prohibits Internet sales of prescription drugs without an in-person visit, but some complain that the federal government’s resources to target such crimes are limited. The bill is supported by the state medical association, the state’s board of pharmacy, and the state Board of Medical Examiners. RETAIL PHARMACY Walgreens is expanding a central fill program, first launched in Florida, nationwide. The program, called POWER, for Pharmacy Optimization Within Enterprise Re-engineering, has already 12 DRUG TOPICS March 2009 W W W.D R U GTO P I C S .C O M COURTESY ROBYN PECK Walgreens takes central ll program nationwide been expanded into Arizona. The company hopes to have all of its 7,000-plus locations in the program within three to five years. “By the end of the fiscal year, all of our Florida locations will be using POWER,” said Walgreens spokeswoman Tiffani Washington. “This could be gamechanging in terms of the perception of pharmacy and pharmacists in health care.” While most major drug chains have tested central fill programs, Walgreens appears to be the first to take the concept national, said industry consultant Robert Coopman. He created a central fill program for Texas-based H.E. Butt Grocery Company. “Walgreens could be a tipping point for central fill,” Coopman said. “They have done a great job of getting prescriptions out the door of individual stores. But at some point, you start to choke at the store level. Central fill gives you higher volume through an existing footprint without expansion.” — Fred Gebhart http://WWW.DRUGTOPICS.COM
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