September 2011
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The newsletter of Smith Drug Company A Division of J M Smith Corporation Spartanburg, SC - Paragould, AR - Valdosta, GA Thank You! September 2011 Page 1 R Dear Valued Customer, For those of you who attended the Smith Drug Company CE & Trade Show, THANK YOU SO MUCH for supporting this program. For all of you that were unable to attend, THANK YOU for taking the time looking over the 200 plus pages in the trade show catalog and turning in your orders and please try to attend next year! We came back with enthusiasm knowing that we have tried to provide an avenue for your pharmacies to save money and learn of other opportunities Smith has to offer. This year the theme for the Trade Show was “Celebrating Being an American”. Our President Ken Couch welcomed everyone wearing his George Washington costume. Rick Simerly wore his Uncle Sam costume, while Christa was lady Liberty. To open the ceremony the ROTC from West Ashley High School in Charleston presented the colors while two students sang our national anthem. It was a very moving and exciting way to kick off the trade show. Customers began pouring in the newly renovated Charleston Marriott ballroom at 2:00 on Friday afternoon. Along with regular pharmacy products, over 130 vendors were in attendance with specialty items from e-Cigarettes to new As Seen on TV to new pharmaceuticals to several new vendors! Our Continuing Education offered pharmacists and technicians up to 14 CEUs. Most of the classes were nearly filled to capacity. In addition to the Continuing Education and Trade Show, customers were entertained by an American legend, Elvis Presley, portrayed by Tom Bartlett, in support of out theme “Celebrate Being an American” he sang The Battle of the Republic and America the Beautiful which spurred a standing ovation plusa roaring round of applause. It is with complete gratitude that we thank all vendors and customers for participating and attending the 2011 Smith Drug Company CE & Trade Show and look forward to seeing you at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC in 2012 for another successful and fun event! “The Sales and Marketing Team” PS - Please remember those who perished on 9/11 and the women and men fighting daily so that we can celebrate our freedom. Page 2 TABLE OF The newsletter of Smith Drug Company CONTENTS A Division of J M Smith Corporation Spartanburg, SC - Paragould, AR - Valdosta, GA Pharmacy First Press Release 4 - 5 HealthWise™ Circular Program QR Codes 6 DollarWise™ Program Good Sense® Controlled Label Program NCPA News 7 Greeting Cards Program Continuing Education Tinsley Bible Pharmaacy 8 Gift and Trade Show Celebrates 100 years in business Rx QuikShip™ Oliver Drug Enters 51st Year 9 GeneRx QuikShip™ Third Party Station Industry News 10 Pharmacy First DrugSmith™ Monthly Newsletter Accu-Chek 11 Smith Weekly e-Blast Remembering 9/11 13 Diabeticare™ Program (Medicare Vendor Contracts) 2012 CE and Trade Show 16 Perfect for Profit Catalog Hamacher Retail Zone Pricing Home Health Care Catalog HealthWise Signage Program Smith Gift Box Gift Category •••Important Notice Concerning••• Vials and Vitamin Program Nystatin Suspension Direct Mail Advertising Well Staffed Customer Service Excellent Service Levels Due to the recent Store Fixture Program discontinuation of Nystation Merchandising Services Oral Suspension by Qualitest who supplied appx 90% of 9098 Fairforest Road the market, our current Spartanburg, SC 29301 supplier will not be able (800) 572-1216 to supply us or the market 1104 Jones Road at full capacity for an Paragould, AR 72450 additional 4 to 6 weeks while (866) 346-9147 they acquire API and bring 1500 Commerce Drive manufacturing up. Valdosta, GA 31601 (800) 572-1216 Page 3 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Pharmacy First and Frier & Levitt, LLC Announce Alliance Overland Park, KS – May 12th, 2011 - Pharmacy First (“PF”) and Frier & Levitt, LLC (“FL”) are proud to announce a new strategic alliance. FL has become the preferred legal vendor to PF’s network of over 5,000 independent community pharmacies. FL is a national boutique healthcare law firm specializing in PBM and Medicare audit issues as well as pharmacy and regulatory issues. FL maintains a pharmacy membership program called “PhAIR”, where the firm provides discounted legal services and protection against PBM audit abuse. PhAIR’s many benefits include a review and one hour strategy session with an FL attorney after a completed audit to discuss a plan of action. Members of the PF network will receive a discount off the usual PhAIR membership. Visit FL’s website at www.pbmauditlawyers.com . Brian Huckle RPh, CEO of Wholesale Alliance LLC / Pharmacy First, says “making available to our network members the expertise of Frier & Levitt and their PhAIR program is an added boost to those programs already offered by Pharmacy First. In today’s environment of multiple PBM audits, we feel FL can directly aid our network pharmacies with their timely advice.” About Pharmacy First: Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, Pharmacy First holds a unique position in the retail pharmacy marketplace by providing independent retail and regional chain pharmacies nationwide with access to a menu of retail programs that include manufacturer-sponsored, performance-based revenue programs, third-party contracting and reconciliation, and a fully transparent PBM. Created fourteen years ago by the Wholesale Alliance LLC, a national consortium of regional pharmaceutical distributors, and the network currently has more than 5,300 participating retail pharmacies in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Please visit www.pharmacyfirst.com or call 888-800- 3784 for more information. About Frier & Levitt, LCC: Frier Levitt (“FL”) is a boutique health care law firm representing thousands of community and specialty pharmacies across the United States in all aspects of pharmacy law. FL has developed a reputation amongst PBMs as relentless and ethical legal advocates of independent pharmacies. FL’s Pharmacy Audit Intervention and Response (“PhAIR”) program affords community pharmacies unique and discounted legal services for a low annual fee. PhAIR’s many benefits include a review and one hour strategy session with an FL attorney after a completed audit to discuss a plan of action. Please visit our web sites for more information; www.pbmauditlawyers.com or give us a call at 1-888- Levitt1 (538-4881) # # # Page 4 july 2011 A monthly update from the Pharmacy First national network of community pharmacies. www.pharmacyfirst.com 1-888-800-DRUG (3784) A Message from FDA Track & Trace of Prescription Products Chief Executive Officer - In February the FDA held a workshop to discuss its track & trace initiative. In case there is interest in this, you can download public comments, which were recently made avail- Just some thoughts on the “news of the day”: able from this meeting, as well as the PowerPoint presentations here: http://www.asapnet.org/downloads/FDA_Track_Trace_Archive.zip (ASAP e-Mail 6/2/11) Drug Store News announced this AM that prices for the Top 10 branded diabetes drugs have risen faster at Walmart and New Medicare Part D Notice for Pharmacies Kmart than at other retailers. Gee, do you think it’s due to their $4.00 generic pro- - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that pharmacies now will grams and the realization that they still be required to provide a written standardized notice to Part D beneficiaries when their need to pay their pharmacists a competi- prescription cannot be filled. The purpose of this notice is to provide enrollees with infor- tive salary? How many $4 scripts need to mation about how to contact their Part D plans to request a coverage determination, in- be dispensed to cover a pharmacist pay? cluding a request for an exception to the Part D plan's formulary. The notice reminds en- rollees about certain rights and protections related to their Medicare prescription drug News this week from Walgreens claims benefits, including the right to receive a written explanation from the drug plan about why they are willing to walk away from billions a prescription drug is not covered. Previously, it was sufficient for pharmacies to post a of dollars with Express Scripts. By most sign in the pharmacy with such a notice. (NCPA e-News Weekly 6/7/11) counts it is clearly a negotiating ploy with 6 months to play. Don’t you wish inde- pendents had the luxury to say ‘no’…? Lilly For Better Health Launches Multi–Channel Platform What other industry, besides the health insurance industry, allows one provider to - LILLY for Better Health, a program of Lilly USA, LLC, launched a multi-channel platform hide the amount it will pay to another pro- focused on health information. The platform includes patient education materials, Lilly vider? Plus be able to change it as they programs and partnerships, a website –www.lillyforbetterhealth.com - and a Lilly Health see fit. It’s an illusion that even David Channel on YouTube. Copperfield couldn’t pull off. Is this type of practice corrected in the new Federal Healthcare legislation…? CMS to use Predictive modeling to Detect Fraud Congrats to New York State pharmacists -The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will use predictive modeling soft- for their legislative ‘any willing provider’ ware to detect potential fraud in the two government healthcare benefit programs before victory. Why hasn’t this been passed in paying claims. The system, which CMS will start using on July 1, will use tools similar to every state? those used by credit card companies. Northrop Grumman is supplying the information tech- nology that supports the program. (CMS Press Release 062011) Hope everyone had a safe and restful July 4th holiday! “Script Your Future” Campaign Brian Huckle RPh – The National Consumers League (NCL) has launched a multiyear public education cam- [email protected] paign to raise awareness about the importance of medication adherence.