February 10, 2012—The Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) is holding a webinar at noon (Eastern) on Tuesday, Feb. 28 to explain in detail what hospitals must do to recertify their eligibility for the 340B program and to answer any questions that hospitals might have.
Beginning in April, hospitals will be required to recertify that they meet all 340B eligibility requirements. OPA recommends that hospitals wanting to make changes in the 340B covered entity database prior to recertification to do so by March 1 “to avoid significant delay.”[ms-protect-content id=”2799”]
According to the webinar announcement that was sent by email, the meeting will cover “what will be required to recertify, who is responsible for recertification, what the process flow will be, importance of making sure the [OPA covered entity] database is up to date with current information, how to fill out change request forms, and the positives and negatives of not performing the recertification procedures.”
Hospitals can participate via the Web by clicking here. They also can participate by telephone by dialing (888) 790-9118. The conference number is PW1880597 and the participant pass code is 340B.
OPA said in the email that questions regarding recertification may be directed to the Pharmacy Services Support Center (PSSC) Help Line by calling 1-800-628-6297 or by sending an email to340B.recertification@hrsa.gov.
Some 340B hospitals have expressed concerns about the webinar’s timing. They note that it will be held just two days before March 1, the date by which OPA recommends that all changes to the covered entity database be made. In addition, many hospital officials responsible for their institutions’ 340B program are attending 340B Coalition winter conference Feb. 29 through March 2 in San Diego.
Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), which represents hospitals in the 340B program, says it has spoken to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) about the issue and was told that HRSA will look into whether it can do anything to address these concerns.
In the meantime, SNHPA says it is continuing to encourage 340B hospitals to make sure their contact information is up to date and that all of their 340B-eligible sites are listed in the covered entity database by March 1.[/ms-protect-content]