August 18, 2010—Safety-net hospital pharmacies nationwide are reporting severe shortages of widely used pharmaceuticals, including pain medicines, emergency drugs and some oncology treatments. In late July, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a nonprofit group devoted to medication-error prevention, described the recent rash of critical medication shortages as … [Read more...]
Pedley Named New OPA Director
Overseer of patient-safety initiative takes over the reins from Mitchell.July 15, 2010 - Cmdr. Krista Pedley of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps has been tapped to become the next director of the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA). Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Associate Administrator Joyce Somsak made the announcement in a letter released the evening of July 14. Pedley, who has led OPA's … [Read more...]
Mitchell and Burch to Receive 340B Coalition’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Program stalwarts are both retiring this year after lengthy careers.July 14, 2010 - Two pillars of the 340B drug discount program who announced their retirements early this year have been chosen to receive the 340B Coalition's highest honor. Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) Director Jimmy Mitchell and National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) Executive Director Christine (Chris) Burch will each be presented with the … [Read more...]
Multiple Contract Pharmacy Guidelines Are Drawing Considerable Interest
340B providers and potential partners, however, aren't rushing in.July 14, 2010 - The number of contract arrangements for the provision of 340B-discounted drugs reached an all-time high of just under 3,000 during the first week of July, reaching the mark three-quarters of a year faster than had been projected just in April. In March, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) issued long-delayed final guidelines allowing … [Read more...]
Drug Firms Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Santa Clara 340B Case
Justices asked to decide whether providers can sue on their own accord.Court Rules Against BMS on Overcharge Payments The federal court hearing the California case alleging that nine drug manufacturers overcharged 340B covered entities has found that Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) misled covered entities about why it wassending them checks for retroactive overcharges. In his July 8 order, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that any legal … [Read more...]
House Votes to Lift 340B Orphan Drug Prohibition for Children’s Hospitals
Scaled-back inpatient drug discount was not included in the measure.July 14, 2010 - The U.S. House voted unanimously today to re-enable children's hospitals to buy nearly 400 high-priced orphan drugs with the 340B discount. Orphan drugs are used to treat rare conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. The bill, H.R. 5712, now moves to the Senate, where its future is uncertain. The ban on the reduced-price … [Read more...]
SNHPA Expresses Condolences to Friend of Safety-Net Hospital Community
Staunch 340B advocate Fred Metschulat passed away on July 6 following heart surgery.July 9, 2010 - It is with great sorrow that Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), the publisher of the Drug Discount Monitor, reports the death of its close friend, Fred Metschulat, assistant director of business operations for the University of Maryland Medical Center Pharmacies (UMMC) for the last eight years. Fred passed away on July 6 following a … [Read more...]