APhA applauds Medicare “fix” bill passageAmerican Pharmacists Association
June 27, 2008
PTCB Supports Florida’s New Patient Safety Solution
June 27, 2008
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), the leading national program that has certified more than 300,000 pharmacy technicians, is pleased to support and congratulate the Florida House of Representatives and Governor Charlie Crist for passing legislation requiring new standards for pharmacy technicians. PTCB is proud to have certified 15,000 pharmacy technicians in Florida to date and looks forward to working with more pharmacy technicians and their employers.
The new Florida legislation takes a progressive step toward increasing patient safety for consumers. By passing this legislation without amendment, and signing it into law, the Florida state legislature and governor will ensure pharmacy technicians meet key requirements for training, certification, and registration.
“Florida’s new pharmacy technician standards are an important patient safety solution for consumers in the Sunshine State and Governor Crist and the state’s legislators should be applauded,” said PTCB Executive Director and CEO Melissa Murer Corrigan. “To meet these new state standards, PTCB is looking forward to continued work with pharmacy technicians and significant employers of Florida’s pharmacy technicians such as Walgreen’s, CVS, Publix, Target, the U.S. military, multiple health systems and independent pharmacists in communities across the state. Several employers presently support and endorse PTCB across the United States.”
The landmark piece of Florida legislation (SB 1360) contributes to raising the bar for states across the country by providing an example of the high standards needed for pharmacy technicians. The more than 40,000 pharmacy technicians currently working in Florida will be required to register with the Florida Board of Pharmacy by 2010. To do so, they will need to either complete a board-approved training program with 1,500 hours of work as a technician under a Florida licensed pharmacist, or be certified by a program accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
PTCB was the first pharmacy technician certification program accredited by the NCCA and has been included in regulations by more than 30 state boards of pharmacy. Through its strategic partnership with Pearson VUE, PTCB is able to offer highly scalable computer-based testing through the world’s largest network of testing centers.
Studies show without a doubt that Americans support a standard of excellence for pharmacy technicians.
A recent poll commissioned by PTCB confirms that 91% of American consumers support strong regulations across the country to protect patient safety by requiring that pharmacy technicians are trained and certified. While states like Florida reflect this growing need for action, almost twenty other states still have no requirement for certification. Clearly, consumers are relying on state boards of pharmacy to protect them and enact strong requirements such as Florida’s for pharmacy technicians.
[Entire Article © 2008 Medical News Today]
E-prescriptions for C-II?
June 27, 2008
U.S. drug regulators are close to allowing doctors to electronically prescribe potentially abusive medications like painkillers, rather than requiring written orders, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said on Thursday.
A new rule allowing the change is expected to be made public soon, said administration spokeswoman Rogene Waite.
She could not say when it would be announced.
While the move could make it easier for doctors and patients to manage their prescriptions, recent studies have found few doctor’s offices have adopted the electronic prescribing system.
A New England Journal of Medicine study published earlier this week found just 4 percent of physicians have “fully functional” computerized health records systems while another 13 percent have more basic systems.
Under the new rule, doctors could prescribe the restricted medicines electronically, but it was not clear which drugs would apply. Waite said she could not give more details until the rule was published.
[Via Yahoo News]
Don’t Shoot the Pharmacist: Video
June 26, 2008
You may have seen the trailer for a new film titled “Don’t Shoot the Pharmacist” in the Featured Video section of this website.
The film was written, directed, and produced by Dave Broitman, RPh. and stars Cash Cab’s Ben Bailey as Zack Wright, a Pharmacist stuck on a zany graveyard shift in Brooklyn who must do everything in his power to simply surive the night.
Dave was kind enough to send me a link to an additional scene from the movie, located at the video section on the website of one of the film’s actors.
Go to myles.macvane.com, Click on VIDEOS then DON’T SHOOT THE PHARMACIST. Watch, Laugh, Enjoy.
CPhTLink.com will keep you posted with news and videos as they are made avilable.
Supreme Court Rejects Pharmacist’s Petition
June 20, 2008
Last March, I posted a story on Niel Noesen, a pharmacist who refused to refill or transfer a college student’s birth controll pills.
Noesen, 34, of St. Paul, Minn., told regulators that he is a devout Roman Catholic and refused to refill the prescription or release it to another pharmacy because he didn’t want to commit a sin by “impairing the fertility of a human being.”
Ethex recalls more morphine tablets
June 17, 2008
Following the recent recall of one lot of 60-mg morphine sulfate ER tablets, Ethex has announced the recall of additional lots. The St. Louis company explained that the voluntary recall is designed to eliminate the potential for oversized tablets. The affected lot numbers are as follows:
Morphine Sulfate ER 30mg Tablets with NDC #58177-320-04: Lots 75090, 77846, 77847, 80048, 83320, 89661, 89665, 90252 through 90258, and 93284
Morphine Sulfate ER 60mg Tablets with NDC #58177-330-04: Lots 91762 (as previously reported), as well as 75091, 75092, 77848 through 77851, 82517, 82518, 83333, 83817, 83862, 84111, 84112, 84315, 84900, 85326, 85335, 85807, 86270 through 86276, 87723, 87939, 88007, 89083, 89668, 89669, 89821, 90260 through 90272, and 91763 through 91765.
Questions? Call Ethex Customer Service at 1-(800) 321-1705.
(Via Judy Chi, DrugTopics)
Pharmacy techwithdraws guilty plea in homicide case
June 17, 2008
A Quincy, Illinois man who pleaded guilty to drug-induced homicide had his sentencing postponed Friday after filing motions to withdraw his guilty plea and hire an attorney.
Caleb Walker, 20, pleaded guilty May 7 in connection with the death last August of 17-year-old Shanae Jacobs. Authorities said Walker, who worked as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens supplied MS Contin pills to a juvenile, who then gave two 200-milligram pills to Jacobs.
The juvenile pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced last week to an indefinite term in the Juvenile Department of Corrections, where he could be held until he’s 21.
Walker faces up to 13 1/2 years in prison. He filed motions to withdraw his guilty plea and hire a private attorney. A Public Defender was appointed by the court to represent Walker.
Judge Scott Walden approved Walker’s request to continue the sentencing so he can hire an attorney. Downey said Walker has “talked to a local attorney,” but did not name him.
Walker will have a status hearing June 30. Motion hearing dates could be set at that time, Walden said.
Authorities said Jacobs’ autopsy showed she had 790 nanograms of the substance in her system, about four times the lethal dose.
[Article Excerpt By RODNEY HART, Staff Writer for the Quincy Herald Whig, Whig.com]
Senate bill fails to make it to the floor
June 16, 2008
On a 54-39 roll call, a majority of the Senate voted June 12 in favor of continuing debate on health care legislation (S.3101) sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that includes provisions requiring prompt payment to pharmacies in Medicare Part D and a delay in the implementation of the disastrous AMP reimbursement cuts in Medicaid. It also includes a delay in implementing the Medicare DME competitive bidding program. Read more
Two lots of Daytrana patch recalled
June 13, 2008
Two lots of Daytrana (methylphenidate transdermal system, Shire) have failed to meet their release liner removal specification, leading to a voluntary recall by the manufacturer. Lot numbers 2750211 and 2764111 are affected and may cause difficulty removing the liners for both patients and caregivers, but do not pose any safety concerns, according to the company.
Shire said it will continue to perform quality assurance monitoring to ensure no new cases of liner failure occur and that current supply levels of the patch should be sufficient despite the recall. Pharmacists with questions should direct them to the Daytrana customer service line at 1-(888)-879-8218.
(Article by Heidi Belden, Pharm.D. via Drug Topics)
20 CE hours for $24.00
June 8, 2008
Joe Medina at TechLectures is running a special for his MySpace members, where you can get 20 CE credits for only $24.00. That is two years worth of credits required for recertification by the PTCB.
I am sure this is a limited time offer, advertised only for the members of his “RX Tech Talk” MySpace group. But, if you are not a member, just ask nicely… tell him I sent you. He’ll probably give you the deal anyway.
It’s a bargain if you ask me. Sure, I link to Pharmacy CE’s on powerpak. But just how usefull are most of them to today’s technician? Mr. Mendina composed these lessons with the tech in mind. So you are sure to get something out of it.
For more information, Click Here.
