CSHP's Legislative Committee reports that the Dept of Consumer Protection released new modifications to some regulations today.  One of them is the change in pharmacist/tech ratios in "Institution outpatient, inpatient and satellite pharmacies". Please see the attached announcement
Pharmacy_Credential_Holder_Letter.pdf

The physical CSHP may be closed but the Society is still open and operating remotely during our regular business hours. If you need assistance, email to office@cshponline.org (please do not call)

In the interest of the health and safety of our community, the CSHP leadership is exploring ways to present CE programs and conferences virtually. Information will be sent directly to all for whom we've email.

ASHP's COVID-19 Resource Center is updated regularly with tools and quick links to evidence-based information and guidance, serving as a central online repository to provide you with helpful resources such as:

• Guidance for healthcare professionals
• Sample list of potential pharmacy public health roles at the local or state level
• Infection prevention and control checklist
• Free member access to the Pharmacy Competency Assessment Center modules on emergency preparedness and infection prevention 
• Drug Shortages Resource Center 
• Guidance on usage of face masks versus respirators  
• Links to COVID-19 information hubs from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, World Health Organization (WHO), and others
• Links to academic journal collections
• Links to healthcare organizations' COVID-19 resource centers, including resources for patients

"ASHP in the News," a collection of news articles quoting ASHP experts  

We have extended recertification deadlines for 60 days for CPhTs and Certified Compounded Sterile Preparation Technicians (CSPTs) who have March 31, April 30, and May 31 expiration dates to allow them extra time for completing CE and submitting applications.

Please click on About Us/Pharmacy Technicians for all the details.
https://cshponline.org/page-1075344/8860264

Due to the unprecedented impact of COVID we are extending the deadline for submissions of nominations through April 16th, 2020.  This is to balance the time necessary for the recipient to write their lecture for related fall events.

Criteria for the Award and Nominations:

Nominations should be accompanied by a one to three page statement about why the individual is qualified for the award along with a copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae.

Candidates for the award should be pharmacy practitioners or educators who have distinguished themselves through extraordinary dedication to fostering excellence in pharmacy management or administration. Although this award does not have specific minimum criteria that must be met, candidates for the award will often have:

• Demonstrated inspiring team leadership that yielded nationally significant innovations in pharmacy practice
• May have made noteworthy contributions in mentoring new practice leaders
• May have inspired a large number of pharmacy students or practitioners to make a commitment to professionalism and innovation in practice management through their teaching, speaking, or publications

Nominations should be emailed to:
Patricia C. Kienle, B.S.Pharm., M.P.A, FASHP
Chair John W. Webb Lecture Award Selection Committee ASHP
awards@ashp.org

For more information about the history of the award and to see a list of past recipients please visit: https://www.ashp.org/About-ASHP/Awards/Leadership-Awards/John-Webb-Lecture-Award

Your help in selecting a most deserving 2020 John W. Webb Lecture Award Recipient is much appreciated.

State policymakers should take the following steps to ensure that pharmacists in their communities are enabled to effectively support prevention and response efforts for outbreaks such as the coronavirus disease 2019  CLICK TO READ ASHP'S FULL REPORT

MSHP Annual Meeting
May 14^th and May 15^th
MGM Springfield
Registration: https://www.mashp.org/event/AM2020

Current CSHP members should contact the CSHP office for the discount code before registering.

Applicants must complete education and training or work experience to be eligible in 2020

WASHINGTON, DC -- With the start of the new year, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board^® (PTCB^®), the nation’s leading certifying organization for pharmacy technicians, has implemented new eligibility requirements and an updated Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam^® (PTCE^®) for its Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) Program. The 2020 changes are based on data generated by PTCB’s most recent pharmacy Job Task Analysis, reflecting input from more than 40,000 technicians across practice settings, and guidance from the pharmacy community, including employers, educators, and organizations.

“PTCB is focused solely on advancing medication safety, and we rely on data and input from pharmacy professionals to guide the direction of our program updates,” said PTCB Executive Director and CEO William Schimmel. “With the 2020 changes, PTCB reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that PTCB’s CPhT Program advances patient care. Pharmacists can trust that technicians who earn PTCB credentials have demonstrated current knowledge that is critical to performing their jobs safely in today’s pharmacy workplace.”

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Residency Funding

ASHP continues to advocate on behalf of PGY-1 residency funding and has had productive discussions with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the funding disallowances for several programs. We are working with CMS to resolve this issue and provide guidance to our members on how they can avoid compliance challenges that would jeopardize funding. You can join the over 1,000 members who have already helped us raise awareness of the importance of funding pharmacy residencies.  

Drug Pricing

During our Annual Legislative Day in September, and throughout 2019, ASHP and its members advocated for bills aimed at curbing high prescription drug costs, including the CREATES Act, which prohibit manufacturers from using safety requirements to prevent generic competitors from accessing samples of brand name products. ASHP's efforts paid off with the inclusion of the CREATES Act in the 2019 end-of-year budget deal, which was signed into law on December 20, 2019 and is expected to improve access to generic drugs while also saving the government about $4 billion dollars.

In 2019, we also lobbied to reform Direct and Indirect Remuneration (DIR) Fees imposed by PBMs. ASHP is pleased to see bipartisan legislation in the Senate that addresses DIR fees. The bill requires PBMs include any price concessions at the point of sale for Medicare Part D drugs. We are advocating for this language to be included in a final drug pricing bill.

Drug Shortages

Addressing drug shortages was one of our top advocacy areas in 2019 and we are pleased that Congress has turned to us for advice as they develop shortage legislation. The Senate has introduced the Mitigating Emergency Drug Shortages (MEDS) Act. The bill incorporates many of ASHP's policy proposals to address shortages including:  

• Requirement to disclose the cause and expected duration of shortages;
• Disclosure of manufacturing sites and use of contract manufacturers;
• Contingency plans for manufacturing disruptions; and
• Assessment of national security risks associated with drug shortages.

We are working closely with the House of Representatives and expect to see a similar bill introduced early this year. FDA's Drug Shortages Taskforce also published an ASHP-supported proposal to reduce supply disruptions from manufacturing quality challenges. The proposal calls for making manufacturing quality metrics available to inform pharmacy purchasing.

Provider Status and Scope of Practice

Several state legislatures made progress expanding pharmacists' scopes of practice in 2019. We are actively working with state societies to continue that progress and secure reimbursement for those services.

We are starting 2020 by working with other state and national pharmacy organizations to ask CMS to eliminate barriers to pharmacists practicing at the top of their licenses. In particular, we are highlighting pharmacists' role in patient care and asking for CMS to align Medicare supervision and payment rules with the most robust pharmacist state scopes of practice.

Thank you for your support and participation in our advocacy efforts,

Tom Kraus

Vice President, Office of Government Relations/ASHP

The Pharmacy Forecast is a strategic planning tool designed to help leaders prepare for and respond to trends likely to impact patient care. Each chapter includes the results of a series of surveys given to pharmacy leaders addressing the likelihood of a variety of trends and strategic recommendations on how to address these changes. 

Pharmacy Forecast Preview: The Value of Pharmacy

The Trend
This section in the Pharmacy Leadership chapter examines the continuing trend toward value-based reimbursement models. Technology has made it easy to collect information on everything from how we communicate to how many steps we take. Healthcare is no different. Collection and analysis of data is essential to demonstrate the value of pharmacy to patients and organizations.

The Recommendation
Pharmacy Forecast experts recommend that leaders develop improved documentation systems. This will help departments prepare for the extra work and workflow changes sure to accompany the increasing amount of data documented in electronic health records. The 2020 edition of the Pharmacy Forecast published in AJHP covers eight domains, including healthcare reform and patient-centered care. Take a look at the open access report for a full list of domains covered in this edition. 

The Pharmacy Forecast was supported by a grant from Omnicell, Inc., to the ASHP Foundation's David A. Zilz Leaders for the Future Fund.

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