In This Issue

October 2, 2020

Dear <<First Name>>, Welcome to this week's issue of the California Pharmacists Association's CEO Message.

IN THIS ISSUE What Pharmacy Needs from the Next Administration Presidential candidates regularly trade barbs on access to care, drug pricing, health insurance, and similar issues. But exactly how the 2 candidates, President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, might address health care issues is murky. [Read Article]

How To Fix The Supply Chain Flaws Exposed By COVID-19 The sudden emergence and rapid spread of COVID-19 caught the nations of the world off guard. A global pandemic of this scale is unlike anything experienced in modern times. [Read Article]

The Time for Pharmacists to be “Essential” in Primary Care There are multiple factors coming together that support pharmacists becoming “essential” in primary care. Perhaps the most important is the COVID-19 pandemic for which several persons have written commentaries on the importance of pharmacists in the COVID-19 crisis. [Read Article]

Technology And Policy Are Empowering Pharmacists According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the U.S. is staring down the barrel of a primary care physician (PCP) shortage to the tune of 21,000 to 55,000 primary care providers (PCPs) by 2023. [Read Article]

Flu Vaccine for Children in the Time of COVID Public health experts have emphasized that during the COVID pandemic, it is important for people of all ages to get seasonal flu vaccine this year. In August 2020, the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health asked a national sample of parents about getting flu vaccine for their children age 2-18 years. [Read Article]

Four Steps for Independent Pharmacies to Connect with Legislators Hi, my name is Beth Mitchell, and I'm Senior Director of Government Affairs at AmerisourceBergen. And I think now is a time more important than ever, for pharmacists to connect with their local, state and federal legislators. And while we're living during this unusual time during the pandemic, there are several ways that pharmacists can get involved in advocacy using different virtual formats. [Read Article]

Pfizer Urged to Wait for November to Seek Vaccine Authorization Pfizer Inc. should wait until at least late November before seeking FDA authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine to meet rigorous safety standards, more than 60 leading researchers and bioethicists said. [Read Article]

U.S. Supreme Court Hearing State Appeal on Pharmacy Benefit Managers Arkansas Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni will defend before the U.S. Supreme Court the constitutionality of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers. [Read Article]

How Operation Warp Speed's Big Vaccine Contracts Could Stay Secret The Trump administration has compared Operation Warp Speed's crash program to develop a COVID-19 vaccine to the Manhattan Project. And like the notoriously secretive government project to make the first atomic bomb, the details of Operation Warp Speed's work may take a long time to unravel. [Read Article]

Ensuring Medication Safety During COVID-19 During the COVID-19 pandemic, staying healthy is top of mind. For individuals at risk for or diagnosed with COVID-19, the addition of new treatments may pose another medical danger: adverse drug events (ADEs). ADEs cause an estimated 150,000 deaths per year in the United States and 1.3 million emergency room visits, resulting in nearly 350,000 people hospitalized for further treatment. [Read Article]

Stroke ‘Alarm Clock’ Improves Acute Stroke Management Metrics Use of a stroke alarm clock demanding active feedback significantly improves management metrics for acute stroke, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in Stroke. [Read Article]

Even Before Pandemic Struck, more US Adults were Uninsured About 2.5 million more working-age Americans were uninsured last year, even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to a government report issued. The study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 14.5% of adults ages 18 to 64 were uninsured in 2019, a statistically significant increase from 2018, when 13.3% lacked coverage. [Read Article] Celebrate the Pharmacy Profession October is American Pharmacists Month. This celebration—recognizing pharmacists’ contributions to health care and all they do for their communities—includes Women Pharmacist Day (October 12); Pharmacy Week (October 18-24), acknowledging the invaluable contributions of pharmacists and technicians to patient care; and Pharmacy Technician Day (October 20). [Read Article]

Alternative Care Sites are Leveraging Remote Pharmacy Services As patient volumes increasingly shift to non-acute settings, providers are looking to expand the pharmacy's reach to provide a consistent continuity of care beyond the hospital. Clinical pharmacy work such as medication reconciliation and patient education, among others, have the added benefit of maximizing care continuity which can improve medication adherence. [Read Article]

Why Prescription Medicines Remain Unaffordable for Many Americans There may be few issues that unite Americans ahead of the 2020 election as do their concerns about the cost of prescription drugs. A clear majority — 75% — of respondents to a July survey said the cost of prescription medicines would be among the factors likely to influence their votes this year, according to a report from Gallup and the nonprofit West Health. [Read Article]

Warning Signs Flash Ahead of Covid’s Second U.S. Winter Public health officials in the U.S. could take heart at the end of the summer. Even as the new coronavirus continued to spread, fewer people were winding up in the hospital because of Covid- 19, and fewer were dying. [Read Article]

Johnson and Johnson Vaccine Produced Strong Immune Response There is some good news on Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. Early results from a Phase 1/2a clinical trial show it was well tolerated and even one dose appeared to produce a strong immune response in almost all of the 800 participants. [Read Article]

FDA Official says Vaccine Makers know what Data the Agency Expects The head of the Food and Drug Administration office that oversees vaccines said drugmakers developing Covid-19 shots are aware of the data that will be required to gain an emergency-use authorization, regardless of whether the agency provides formal guidance. [Read Article]

Pharmacy Groups Oppose FDA’s Rule Allowing Drug Importation Pharmacy groups oppose the FDA’s new final rule that legalizes the importation of drugs from Canada. The rule was published late last week. The final rule implements a provision of federal law that allows FDA-authorized programs to import certain prescription drugs from Canada under specific conditions. [Read Article]

To Beat High Costs, California Moves to Create its Own Drug Label California took a step in that direction this week, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the first plan to create a state-sponsored drug label—one that would produce and distribute generic drugs and biosimilars to make them accessible and affordable to patients. [Read Article]

Pharmacies are Bracing for a Surge in Demand for Flu Shots With flu season fast approaching, and the Covid-19 pandemic raging on, hospitals and pharmacies across the country are stockpiling far more flu vaccines than normal, anticipating a surge in demand. [Read Article]

How AI And Technology Can Help Patients Manage Chronic Pain About 20% of adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain. Unfortunately, for those millions of people, doctors and researchers are learning that painkillers — from powerful opioids to over-the- counter medications like aspirin or ibuprofen — may not actually reduce certain types of chronic pain or improve quality of life. [Read Article]

Smartphone Biosensor may Meet ISO/FDA Standard A photoplethysmography (PPG) biosensor present in millions of smartphones could potentially be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pulse oximetry monitoring, according to study results published in CHEST. [Read Article]

Novo Nordisk Teams with ACC to Open Diabetes Discussion Novo Nordisk wants the heart disease community to join the diabetes conversation. As Type 2 diabetes drugs nab approvals for reduced cardiovascular risks—including Novo’s own Ozempic and Victoza—the need to communicate across specialties has grown. [Read Article]

Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacogenetics and Medication Optimization It’s been a tough few months, so let’s take on a lighter subject: names. We often hear “pharmacogenetics” and “pharmacogenomics” used interchangeably.Is that accurate? Generally speaking, yes. Both refer to the use of genetic information to guide therapeutic decisions. Both even share the PGx abbreviation. [Read Article]

Administration Finalizes Drug Importation Plans Tthe Trump Administration released a final rule aiming to permit states or other specific actors to establish programs to import prescription drugs from Canada. If it is not blocked in court, the rule will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register, near the end of November. [Read Article]

BACK TO TOP Governor Newsom Vetoes AB 2100 (Wood) September 30 Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 2100 (Wood), a bill co-sponsored by the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. AB 2100 would have made the necessary changes to implement Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-01-19 regarding the Medi- Cal pharmacy benefit fee-for-service (FFS) transition without causing undo harm or burden to patients. [Read Press Release]

Survey: Innovation in Pharmacy Access to Contraception During the COVID- 19 Pandemic This study is being conducted by Dr. Sally Rafie from the Department of Pharmacy at the University of California San Diego and Birth Control Pharmacist in collaboration with the University of Colorado. This survey is targeted to Community Pharmacist members. [Take Survey]

Survey: Exploring the Relationship Between Grit, Work Engagement, & Career Success Among U.S. Pharmacists This study will focus on both subjective and objective career success within the pharmacy profession and will examine whether two factors, grit and work engagement, impact career success. [Take Survey]

Advanced Practice Pharmacists: Career Opportunities If you have completed and are certified as an Advanced Practice Pharmacists, there are new career opportunities available to you in the Los Angeles Area! If you are interested, please send your resume/CV to Dr. Ethan Huynh at [email protected]. Full time and part time opportunities are available.

Spotlight on Postdoctoral Projects Attention Residents, Fellows, and MS Students! As you wrap up your year and write up your research projects, we invite you to submit your manuscripts to our peer-reviewed Journal of Contemporary Pharmacy Practice. The review process is quick, and publication is fee-free. [Submit Here]

Pharmacists are the Leading Provider of Immunizations Don't experience fall without a flu shot! As we prepare to be together again, we encourage all pharmacy professionals to remind family, friends and patients to visit their pharmacist for a convenient flu shot. Healthy communities are happy communities!

COVID-19 Resources CPhA understands that it is very difficult to keep up with the various news and resources pertaining to COVID-19. As such, we have created a valuable resources page and a COVID-19 Taskforce that is preparing recommendations and guidelines to ensure the health of all pharmacy professionals. [Resources, Taskforce Recommendations] A CPhA Virtual Town Hall MEMBERS EXCLUSIVE As pharmacy professionals, you remain on the front lines of care. As your association, we are ensuring that the needs of the profession and your health are respected by all government agencies. With the influx of information published on a moment-by-moment basis, the California Pharmacists Association invites you to a brief, forty-five minute Virtual Town Hall to understand the current state of affairs for pharmacy professionals and COVID-19. [Register Here]

October 22 Virtual via Zoom 6:00 pm - 6:45 pm

Save the Date: Western Pharmacy Exchange 2021 Did you catch the exciting news during our Virtual House of Delegates? CPhA has announced the dates of Western Pharmacy Exchange 2020! Mark your calendars for April 30-May 2 and join your colleagues for the largest pharmacy conference for all pharmacy professionals happening in Indian Wells (and virtually too)! COVID-19 On-Demand Continuing Education

Establishing CLIA Waived Lab Services in Community Pharmacy Basics of COVID-19 & Pharmacotherapy Considerations Understanding the Validity of COVID-19 Test Results What is an Emergency Use Authorization? Clinical Utility of Diagnostic & Serological COVID-19 Testing

Certificate Training Programs

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Management APhA's Pharmacy-Based Cardiovascular Disease Risk Management certificate training program explores the pharmacist's role in cardiovascular disease risk management. [View Program] November 14 Virtual via Zoom

Advanced Practice Pharmacist The California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) are proud to offer the new Advanced Practice Pharmacist certificate training program. The program, which is open to pharmacists from all practice settings, provides one of the approved pathways for pharmacists looking to become an advanced practice pharmacist and meets one of the Board of Pharmacy's licensing criteria. The August 22nd course offering has reached the maximum number of registrants. Register for our December 5th offering here. [View Program]

December 5 Virtual via Zoom

View the entire calendar of events of educational opportunities. [Click Here]

LOCAL ASSOCIATION EVENTS

Attention Local Leaders! During our Fall Local Leaders Roundtable, CPhA provided our Local Leaders Manual! If you have not yet received your copy, please click here.

Greater Los Angeles Pharmacists Association Nominations The next GLAPhA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 7pm. Contact President Gail Orum to receive virtual meeting details.

Inland Empire Pharmacist Association Member Survey The Inland Empire Pharmacist Association is turning a new leaf and would like to reinvigorate the association with member engagement. We are looking for volunteers to serve various board positions and leadership roles. [Complete Survey] If you have further questions or comments please feel free to reach out to Debrina Johnson, PharmD the Inland Empire Pharmacist Association President at: [email protected].

Help Shape the Pharmacy Profession in Sacramento The Sacramento Valley Pharmacists Association is looking for your feedback from its past, present and future chapter members!! As we continue forward into a new decade, with varying demands placed on the pharmacy profession, it is important that we respond to the needs of our chapter members and local pharmacy professionals that may not yet be members. Please take a few moments to advise your board on what you feel your chapter should provide to you. [Take Survey]

Dear Susan,

I’m so sad that I missed House of Delegates and viewing the installation of our new President, Clifford Young, RPh. Is there any way I can view his installation remarks? Rick Patterson, PharmD San Marino, CA

Dear Dr. Patterson,

Thank you so much for asking! A benefit of a virtual conference is being able to record important moments, like the installation of President Young. Please feel free to watch his remarks here.

As always, please feel free to reach out to CPhA with any questions. We are here to help.

Best,

Susan A. Bonilla Chief Executive Officer

Submit your Dear Susan question for a chance for your question to be answered in future newsletters. [Submit Question]

The California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) is the largest statewide professional association for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians in the country. CPhA represents the pharmacy profession in all practice settings and promotes the health of the public through the practice of pharmacy. For more information, visit cpha.com.