For a long time, reimbursement for specialty drugs have been a subject of heated debates and controversies. A reason for this could be a lack of clear definition of what constitutes a specialty drug. Recently, a Seattle pharmacy brought a case against Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) revolving around the issue of underpayment for specialty drugs
Effective July 1, 2022, California pharmacies providing auto-refill services must:
Earlier this year, a client reported a very smooth scam. Someone called the pharmacy and represented to be a California Board of Pharmacy inspector who was investigating an anonymous complaint against the pharmacy. The so-called “inspector” asked the pharmacy to provide its account number with Cardinal, which the pharmacy staff did. The scammer then contacted
Please join me for our next Roundtable Discussions organized by the American Society of Pharmacy Law. The topic is PBM and Drug Management Update for Commercial Plan.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
12:00 – 1:00 pm Central
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are experiencing rapid changes post-Rutledge vs. PCMA. In this roundtable, we’ll review briefly some of
Similarly to a recent California case that denied Optum’s motion to compel arbitration, the 12th Circuit Court has denied a similar motion due to procedural and substantive unconscionability.
In a nutshell, 45 pharmacies brought a legal action against Optum claiming underpayment since 2012 (as in the California case, Mark Cuker represents the pharmacies). To stall
While we are facing less issues in Covid-related prescribing and dispensing, the controversy around ivermectin continues. In my blog post “Risk of dispensing ivermectin,” I stressed the importance of obtaining informed consent prior to dispensing ivermectin.
On the same note, a legal action was filed in Arkansas against a prescriber (among others) for
Cardinal has recently agreed to pay over $13 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act for paying “upfront” discounts to physicians in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
As the Department of Justice (USAO) explained in its press release:
“The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits pharmaceutical distributors from offering or paying any compensation
Starting February 9, 2022, California pharmacies must submit controlled substance dispensing to CURES through Bamboo Health. The last date to submit data through Atlantic Associates is February 8, 2022. Pharmacies must complete the registration process with Bamboo Health as soon as possible to ensure they are prepared for the switch. Register with Bamboo here.
Keeping accurate records for controlled substances often presents a challenge. The Controlled Substances Act requires every pharmacy to maintain complete and accurate records on a current basis for each controlled substance received, sold, delivered, or otherwise disposed of.
This closed system is supposed to reduce the potential for diversion of controlled substances (“CS”).
But in
I am excited to share with you Mike Koelzer’s podcast, in which we discuss pharmacy audits and investigations. We had a very engaging conversation on the pharmacy industry, DEA investigations, and even some psychology (!).
Listen on YouTube
Listen on Apple Podcast
Listen on Spotify
Enjoy during your commute (it’s over an hour)!