= The Independent News An official publication of GPhA’s Academy of Independent The mission of AIP is to ensure the economic viability and security of independent pharmacy, and to advance the concept of pharmacy care designed to enhance patient quality of life and positive outcomes.

2018- 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS VOLUME 22, ISSUE 8/9 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018

Scott Meeks, R.Ph. Chairman

Ira Katz, R.Ph. Chairman Elect Chairman’s Message E. Laird Miller, R.Ph. Secretary I had heard about Joe Mengoni years before I met him. My best friend, Michael , worked for Ciba-Geigy

Drew Miller, R.Ph., CDM Immediate Past Pharmaceuticals. He had risen to the rank of Region Manager and had a group of sales reps working for him. Chairman Life was good. Then his boss, this guy named Mengoni, helped to pull him up into a new stratosphere. Mike was given a dream job. He was to be the product manager for the launch of a major new drug. The drug was Hugh Chancy, R.Ph. Voltaren, and at the time it was one of the biggest new products to come on the market. Because of the Bob Coleman influence of Joe Mengoni in getting him promoted, my friend Mike was riding Ben Cravey, R.Ph. the wave! Mike and I used to go on Great Adventure trips, as we called them. Carolyn Florence, R.Ph. Fishing, Gambling, a lot of Sailing, and whatever else popped up. On those Kevin Florence, Pharm.D. Ira Katz, R.Ph. trips we talked a lot about our careers. Mike told me many stories about this George Launius, R.Ph. man Mengoni, AKA the Godfather, one who could help you soar to the top of Pamala Marquess, Pharm.D. the corporate ladder but one who could, if you didn’t measure up, end your Mac McCord, R.Ph. career. I could only imagine this man, Mengoni. He had to be ten feet tall, Fred Sharpe, R.Ph. VERY Italian mafia-looking, and tough as nails. Tim Short, R.Ph. Chris Thurmond, Pharm.D. I met Joe Mengoni at a GPhA convention at Hilton Head in the mid-nineties. I Lindsay Walker, R.Ph. heard that the Pharmacy Association had hired him and his main objective was to help the fledgling Academy of Independent Pharmacy come A I P S T A F F to full fruition. I decided to gird my loins and seek him out. With a little

Jeff L. Lurey, R.Ph. anticipation, and a little more fear, I prepared myself to meet this legend of Executive Director of AIP the corporate world. I was directed to a sitting area in the lobby of the hotel, and walked over to the group there Verouschka Betancourt-Whigham and asked, “Excuse me, but is one of you Joe Mengoni”? A somewhat diminutive gentleman began to rise, and Manager of AIP Member Services said “I’m Joe”. I told him who I was, and a huge smile crept across his face, and he said, “I’ve been looking for Rhonda Bonner you.”. I truly believe that at that point the direction of my future changed! Joe was not big in stature, but this guy Member Services Representative who stood before me in his signature Guayabera shirt, exuded a sense of power and confidence that from that Charles D. Boone day forward, I knew I could always rely on when times got hard. Member Services Representative Amanda Gaddy, R.Ph. Over the next year or so, Joe and I kept in touch. He would call me and just talk or occasionally we would get Director of Clinical Services together for lunch. It was always my choice of where to eat….(as long as it was his favorite Cuban spot or his Melissa Metheny favorite Fish spot). He knew something about me from his relationship with my friend Mike, but in retrospect I Member Services Representative Gene Smith believe those meetings were like visiting a tailor . He was taking my measure, to see if the plan he had would fit Member Services Representative me. Finally, he approached me and told me of his idea. That idea was that I would become active in AIP, and that one day I would lead that group. Like most of us would, I first laughed at the idea, knowing I was woefully short on knowledge and leadership skills. Joe addressed that saying that we don’t know what we can do until we try, and he had a feeling that if I would step up, together we could make a difference. I said I would get involved, and joined the alternative income committee (AIC) which under Ira Katz’s leadership was making a huge difference in most of our bottom lines, but more importantly was making us known as a group to be taken seriously.

Sooner than anticipated, a void of leadership presented itself, and Joe pushed me to throw my hat in the ring for AIP chair, promising that if I was chosen, he would always be there to assist me. In Nineteen Ninety Seven I was elected AIP chairman, and stayed in that position for eleven years. As he committed to do, Joe worked with me all along the way, and even when we disagreed, he remained a huge supporter. He encouraged me when I was discouraged, offered subtle counsel when I strayed from the path, and he passed to our board credit for everything he did.

One of my greatest memories of Joe was a trip to Vegas for an NCPA convention years ago. After taking in a Vegas Review at the Riviera to celebrate our October birthdays, we sat down in a lounge at the Las Vegas Hilton. After some prodding, Joe and Joann shared some crazy Vegas cocktail. I don’t know if it was the alcohol, Continued on Page 3 P A G E 2

********* Opportunities Beyond Dispensing- Making a Members Difference in your Community Please Be The landscape in healthcare is changing and for good reason. The Aware spends more on healthcare than any other developed country with the lowest results in outcomes. Reimbursement based on ‘fee for service’ was driving up costs without When emailing Amanda Gaddy,R.Ph., AIP Director of Clinical the results so the model is changing. With a focus on improving the outcomes of the Services AIP regarding patient, community pharmacy is perfectly positioned to collaboratively partner with pharmacy other stakeholders caring for the patient and be the key to success. issues please include your All stakeholders are expected to do more for less and are either incentivized or penalized based on the name, results. Because community are accessible, knowledgeable and trusted by their patients, you can truly impact measurements which help everyone involved in patient care. pharmacy name, address, Here are examples of how pharmacists are working with other healthcare providers in this new model of phone number healthcare. and NPI#. • Chronic Care Management *********** At least 20 minutes of clinical staff time managing and educating on chronic conditions. • Diabetes Self-Management Education Education on proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes to better control diabetes, as well as counseling on proper use of diabetic medications. • Transitional Care Management/Medication Reconciliation Ensuring a patient’s transition from discharge to the community goes smoothly. Includes Audit Alert! coordinating discharge medication pickup and helping to schedule follow-up appointments in order to OptumRX/Medicare help prevent hospital readmission. Part D Immunizations: • Medicare Annual Wellness Visit

In order to prevent Comprehensive wellness visit allowed once yearly for Medicare patients. audits and recoupments • Weight Loss Education for Medicare Part D Education on healthy methods to lose weight, including proper diet, exercise, and pharmacotherapy immunizations billed to options. Optum RX, only submit • Tobacco Cessation Education the contracted fee, $20, Education on smoking cessation methods, and counseling on pharmaceutical products used to help in the incentive fee section. Also, submit quit. a DUR/ PPS Code • Bedside Delivery Program Counter of “1” and Fill prescriptions and deliver them to the patient’s hospital bedside before discharge. Helps to ensure Profession Service Code the patient is on proper therapy before leaving the hospital. of Medication Administration (MA). The first step is finding out the needs of other healthcare providers in your area and developing a plan to reach common goals. Some of the services you currently provide could decrease hospital readmissions and improve adherence. Additionally, you may want to add programs based on the needs of the community. Schedule a meeting and have the conversation.

Make plans to attend the AIP Fall meeting in Macon on Sunday, October 21! You’ll hear how Jennifer and Mike Shannon, owners of Lily Pharmacy, have partnered with Emory-Johns Creek and created an amazing ‘Transition 2 Wellness’ program. They have developed a complete program you can use in your own community. https://www.pharmwrx.com/

THE INDEPENDENT NEWS VOLUME 22, ISSUE 8/9 P A G E 3 Chairman’s Message—Continued from Page 1 or just a lucky evening for me, but the two of them sat there, holding hands, and told us the story of their meeting, their courtship, their marriage, and their lives together. The laughs, the smiles, and the looks toward each other as the tale unfurled, was the portrait of Joe that I will always see when he passes through my mind and my heart. Joe always talked about how blessed he was. Any time you asked how he was, you got a “fantastic”. Years ago, when we rushed to his bedside when blockages had caused a loss of blood flow to his brain, and we thought we might lose him, he had the same answer. As a serious diabetic, he knew how lucky he was to live the long life he did. He was a great example of how to take care of himself. I think he cherished each day he lived.

I was blessed to be a friend of Papa Joe. My Dad had died a few years before I met Joe, and in many ways he filled in as a mentor and cheerleader for my career and my life. His fatherly advice was always given great consideration, and most often heeded. I think he helped me discover that success for me might be measured by more than my bank account. When we spoke to young pharmacists, he and I always preached giving back and sharing our knowledge as the thing pharmacists must do to preserve and promote the profession. Any time I am lucky enough to speak to students or young pharmacists, I make sure they understand that they don’t just have a job, they are part of something bigger. Joe nicknamed me “muscles” simply because I helped him and Regena load up the van after a fall meeting in Macon, and he called me that for 20 years, to the last time I spoke with him. For me it was special every time I saw him, and I was saddened when he no longer was able to put in appearances. My last real visit with him was shared with Tim Short and Ira Katz. We shared lunch with Joe at one of his favorite spots (Italian of course). We spent 90 minutes recapping some of the wins and losses for AIP, and for each of us former AIP chairmen. We joined for good food and good fellowship. Any Italian would have looked at our table and nodded in approval. As I sat there and shared and listened while others did the same, I looked at Joe and smiled, knowing that we had disagreed over some things in our twenty years of AIP life together, but that we always loved each other. That meal started with a “Salute, Chin Don” and ended with hugs all around. Perfect!

I know most of us in AIP knew Joe on some level. Those of you who did not should find someone who did and let us tell you a story about him. We all have one.

We miss you Papa,

Muscles (aka Laird Miller) FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR JOE AND JOANN MENGONI

It is with deep remorse that we send out the funeral arrangements for Joe and JoAnn Mengoni; they passed away last week. Joe was the first AIP Director when we formed the Academy in 1993. He was the “heart & soul” of our organization and was mainly responsible for our growth and prominence. He loved Independent Pharmacy.

On a personal note, Joe was my mentor and inspiration. Joe, Buddy and I would have breakfast at the GPhA office every morning around 6:30 AM; he always had a big smile on his face and would greet me with his famous saying “I am outstanding, but could be better”. Here is a quote from Buddy:

“Joe Mengoni had a major impact on Pharmacy in Georgia for many years from the time he was with a major pharmaceutical company and created a program for pharmacists to help patients quit smoking to the Mohawk diabetic project and his work with the Atlanta Regional Commission on Pharmacy help for the elderly in “Georgia Cares”. In addition to AIP he played a major role in Georgia Pharmacy Services, GPhA and GPS. He was a true friend to pharmacists and pharmacy. He and Joann will be long remembered by Linda and me for their friendship.” - Buddy Harden

Funeral Mass for Joe & Joann Mengoni will be Saturday, September 8th at 11:00 am. All are welcome to attend.

Saint Columba's Episcopal Church 939 James Burgess Rd Suwanee, GA 30024 http://Www.SaintColumba.Net

Joseph Mengoni Jr. and Josephine Ann Mengoni, lifelong faithful servants of God, loving husband and wife, father and mother, and grandparents have been called to Heaven. They recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. As in life, even death could not keep them apart, as they passed within 32 hours of each other.

Joseph was born and raised in Raton, New Mexico to Italian immigrants. He achieved his Pharmacy degree from the University of New Mexico in 1956 and later became a Doctor of Pharmacy. He practiced retail pharmacy for almost a decade, holding licenses in New Mexico, California, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, and Georgia. He then had a successful career in Sales and Marketing with Geigy Pharmaceuticals (Novartis) for 29 years. In the next phase of his career, he was Vice President of the Georgia Pharmacy Association, President and Founder of The Academy of Independent Pharmacy in GA, and a Certified Diabetes Educator. Lastly, he was Chairman of the Board for Data RX Management before retiring at the age of 80. He had a passion for the field of pharmacy and a lifetime commitment to helping people. P A G E 4

You can do things the chains can’t do. But you have to do those things if you want your pharmacy business to prosper.

That’s the theme of the cover story in our upcoming October issue of America’s ® Magazine. It’s also the purpose of our upcoming NCPA Annual Convention: to equip you and your pharmacy team to move beyond dispensing, to expand your patient services offerings and discover new payment opportunities.

In fact, at the NCPA Annual Convention October 6-9 in Boston, you'll find more than 30 first-rate learning programs to help you:

Grow revenues via enhanced services and new product lines. Increase patients and prescriptions in your pharmacy. Lower your business costs. Save The Date: Position your pharmacy to compete with the big box stores and online .  AIP Fall Meeting Not only that, but it comes with NCPA's 'No-Fluff' Promise: No grand theorizing, only solid ideas, Sunday, connections and solutions you can take home and put to work. October 21, 2018 Macon Marriott & You need to be there. And if you register now, you'll save money. Go to www.ncpanet.org/convention to Centreplex, review the agenda and REGISTER! Macon, GA NCPA's 2018 Annual Convention is the premier annual learning event for pharmacy owners and their teams. It's where you'll find your future – and where I look forward to finding you.

Best,

Doug Hoey, Pharmacist NCPA Chief Executive Officer

license. We always send our pharmacy license Please read the letter below. This since we do not have a DME license. Our letter represents the success of an AIP Helps A Member re-credentialing request was denied because we extraordinary effort by the GPhA/AIP did not have a DME license. After conferring staff to help an AIP member retain his with Jeff and Greg, we sent DCH the Georgia Medicaid DME credentialing The AIP Compounding Section (AIP/CPS) Code which states that any pharmacy with a license. We received the information recently sent the names of more than 60 AIP current pharmacy license is not required to on the LAST DAY before their members who compound Veterinary products to obtain a DME license as long as the DME is license expired. We were able to hire the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association sold on the same premises. We have now been a courier to pick up the application (GVMA). Please read the “thank you” letter re-credentialed. at our office and deliver it to the from the GVMA below. Thanks to all the AIP Medicaid office before they closed compounders who responded. Thanks, their office that day. This was truly Tommy Lindsey an amazing display of service Jeff Lurey, RPh Omega Pharmacy provided by AIP for one of its ************************************** Dr. Lurey, members. I wanted to thank you for referring me to I just wanted to give you a quick update on the Amanda Gaddy for help with our recent list you sent. We sent the list out in our July 29 audit. Our preliminary assessment was an issue of or email newsletter to GVMA members overpayment of close to 10,000 dollars. After and we had 147 click on the link to view the list. submitting the initial documentation, the I would call that a great success, and we amount decreased to 4,000 dollars. I reached greatly appreciate your help with getting this out to XXXX who informed me that under no information to our members. circumstances would the amount change, and

Scott Piper this would be our final outcome. As a last ************************************** resort, I called Amanda to get her opinion. She Jeff, was beyond helpful and was able to supply documentation and information that enabled me I thought I would write a note of thanks for help to battle with the PBM. It was nothing short of with my DME problem with DCH last month: a miracle to receive our ending overpayment

…..I would like to thank GPhA, AIP, Jeff total today of 136 dollars! Amanda Gaddy is a Lurey, and Greg Reybold for their help last true Rockstar and I am forever grateful for her month with a problem that we had with kindness and willingness to share her DCH. Omega Pharmacy is credentialed to bill knowledge and wisdom. DME to Medicaid. In the re-credentialing process we are asked to upload our DME **************************************

THE INDEPENDENT NEWS VOLUME 22, ISSUE 8/9 P A G E 5 P A G E 6

Chancy to talk “gag clauses” with House subcommittee by NCPA | Sep 04, 2018

Hugh Chancy, R.Ph., small business owner, and NCPA board member, will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health today at a hearing on "Opportunities to Improve Health Care." Chancy is expected to speak about his experience with restrictive contractual language (often referred to as "gag clauses") that may result in patients being charged inflated prices for their medications and to tell the committee about how multiple contract provisions or requirements embedded in lengthy PBM provider manuals have the effect of chilling a range of pharmacist communications with patients for fear of retaliation by PBMs.

Community pharmacies need a place to point to in the law that will allow for the free flow of information between them and their patients. NCPA strongly supports the Discussion Draft that is the focus of this hearing. The Draft is legislation to prohibit "gag clauses" in Medicare and private insurance by banning health plans from restricting a pharmacy's ability to inform a customer about the lower cost, out-of-pocket price for their prescription.

This hearing is timely as legislators consider bills in the Senate and House which seek to prohibit the use of "gag clauses" in various insurance plans.

THREE HIGHEST Georgia pharmacies score some awards SALARIES IN THE U.S.

Congrats to the Georgia independent pharmacies that Bloomberg News by Riley Griffin won awards at this year's Digital Pharmacist Awards! According to an article in the Bloomberg News, “High-tech jobs and health-care fields offer the • Best Web Patient Engagement: Pavilion Compounding highest paying jobs. While tech jobs pay well Pharmacy, Atlanta across the board, the health-care industry offers the largest paycheck at the very top of the • Pharmacy with the Highest Patient Level of Patient spectrum.” Satisfaction: Crawford W. Long Pharmacy, Jefferson Here’s a breakdown of the top 3 highest paying • Most Friendly Pharmacy in America: Dykes Pharmacy, jobs:

Cochran 1. Physicians – AVG. $195,842

• Best Value for Money Pharmacy in America: Crawford 2. Pharmacy Managers – AVG. $146,412 W. Long Pharmacy, Jefferson 3. Pharmacists – AVG $127,120

THE INDEPENDENT NEWS VOLUME 22, ISSUE 8/9 P A G E 7

KEEP INDEPENDENTS INDEPENDENT

Please don’t forget, if you have a desire to sell your pharmacy or if you have an interest in buying a pharmacy, please contact Jeff Lurey at 404-419-8103. We have been quite successful during the past several years at keeping independents independent. We maintain a list of pharmacists who want to buy additional pharmacies and we also keep a list of young pharmacists who want to own a pharmacy. All information is kept strictly confidential.

AIP Mission Statement

To advance the concept of pharmacy care. To ensure the economic viability and security of Independent Pharmacy; To provide a forum for Independent Pharmacy to exchange information and develop strategies, goals and objectives; To address the unique business and professional issues of independent pharmacies; To develop and implement marketing opportunities for members of the Academy with emphasis on the third party prescription drug program/benefit market; To provide educational programs designed to enhance the managerial skills of Independent Pharmacy Owners and Managers; and, To establish and implement programs and services designed to assist Independent If you change wholesalers please be sure to let us know. Pharmacy Owners and Managers. Please contact Verouschka Betancourt-Whigham “V” at [email protected] or 404-419-8102. Thank You

6065 Barfield Road, Suite 100 Sandy Spring, GA 30328