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127th VPhA Annual
Convention
Aug 3-6, 2008
Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront
Registration Form
Updated
Agenda and Hotel Information
VPhA Foundation Golf Tournament Registration - Aug 4
APhA/VPhA Immunization Certificate Program - Aug 6
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Major Congressional Victory
for Pharmacy: Congress Overrides President's Veto - H.R. 6331
Enacted Into Law NEW
Following the expected veto by President Bush, Congress acted quickly
on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 in overturning the President's action by
overwhelming support in both the House and Senate for the passage of
H.R.6331 - the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of
2008.
After a brief debate on the House floor, 383 Representatives voted in
favor of overriding the veto with only 41 in opposition at 4:48pm. Not
wasting anytime, the Senate took up the bill shortly after final
passage in the House. At 5:58pm, the Senate voted 70-26 in favor of
overriding the President's veto. With this action, H.R.6331 now
becomes law. This marks only the 4th time that Congress has overridden
a veto by President Bush.
The following are some highlights of H.R.6331:
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Clean claims submitted electronically to
Part D and MA-PD plans must be paid within 14 days (penalties
enforced on plans if not paid within 14 days).
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Drug prices for Part D and MA-PD plans
must be updated at least once every 7 days (beginning Jan 1, 2009).
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Implementation of Round 1 of DMEPOS
Competitive Bidding program delayed until 2009 (Round 2 - which
includes Richmond and Tidewater MSA - is delayed until 2011).
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Delay in Average Manufacturer Price
(AMP) Medicaid Reimbursement until October 1, 2009. The Secretary of
HHS shall not, prior to Oct 1, 2009, finalize, implement, enforce,
or otherwise take any action in imposing AMP. In addition, the bill
also postpones the public posting of AMP data until the 2009
deadline.
For those that contacted Virginia's Senators and Representatives
concerning H.R.6331, we ask that you follow up and thank them for
their support. This bill would not have passed nor overridden the veto
without your calls for support!
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Pharmacists and Technicians Are
Encouraged To Share Their Experiences with Electronic Prescribing on
New NASPA/SureScripts Online CQI Portal
The National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) and
SureScripts have announced a collaborative effort to gather direct
input from practicing community pharmacists and technicians about the
experiences that they have had with electronic prescriptions. This
initiative, which compliments the patient safety focus of NASPA’s
ongoing Pharmacy Quality Commitment program, is designed to allow the
two organizations to gather suggestions for improvement as well as
detailed, actionable, non-PHI data about issues that may have been
encountered with electronic prescriptions so that said issues can be
traced, analyzed, and if appropriate, remediated.
VPhA is a member of NASPA and is supporting this PEER Portal
initiative and encourages pharmacist and technician members to fill
out the brief questionnaire on the portal whenever they have
suggestions for improvement to, or constructive criticisms about,
e-prescribing processes that they have encountered. Additional details
about this initiative are available on the portal itself, which can be
viewed by going to
http://www.pqc.net/eprescribe. Pharmacists and technicians having
questions about the PEER Portal can feel free to contact either Tara
Modisett of NASPA-CQI at (804) 285-4431 (tara@naspa.us)
or Ajit Dhavle of SureScripts at (703) 921-2149 (ajit.dhavle@surescripts.com).
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Robert G Wampler/Daniel A Herbert
Memorial Scholarship - Deadline Extended to August 15, 2008
UPDATED
Do you know of a pharmacy technician employed within the Richmond
Pharmacists Association (RPhA) local association boundaries who is
entering their first or second year of pharmacy school?
The
Robert G Wampler/Daniel A Herbert Memorial Scholarship is a $1000
scholarship awarded to those individuals as described above. If you
know of a worthy recipient that you would like to nominate, additional
information and application materials can be provided by contacting
Tana Kaefer, RPhA Scholarship Committee Chair at 804-285-8055 x119.
Nominations for the 2007-08 Scholarship are due by August 15, 2008.
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Directions to our new home
Virginia Pharmacist
July Issue
Now Available
VPhA E-Newsletter - Members Only!
Not receiving the weekly VPhA E-News in
your email mailbox? If you're a VPhA member, please provide us
with a valid email address. If you are a non-member,
sign up today!
Note: PDF preview of E-News lacks graphics
and active links that are available in email version. |
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Virginia Medicaid Memo
– New National Drug Code (NDC)
Billing Requirement for Pharmacy Claims Submissions (UB04/837I) –
Effective July 1, 2008
To comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS)
requirements related to the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, a
change involving all drugs administered in an outpatient hospital
setting will become effective with dates of service on and after
July 1, 2008. The Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS)
will require hospital providers who bill drug products administered in
an outpatient hospital setting to include National Drug Code (NDC)
information of the drug dispensed on all electronic (ASC X12N Health
Care Claim: Institutional 837I) and paper claim (Universal Billing (UB)
form) submissions.
Click here to read the April 2 Memo from DMAS
NCPDP Partners with State Pharmacy
Associations for Promotion of the HCIdea™ Prescriber Look-up
The National Council
for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) is partnering state pharmacy
associations to promote NCPDP's Web-based HCIdea™ Prescriber Look-up (www.HCIdeaLookUp.org).
VPhA members have the opportunity to sign-up for HCIdea for a
discounted rate.
Pharmacists must contact their state pharmacy association and verify
participation in the HCIdea program. VPhA will then provide NCPDP
with the necessary information for the pharmacist to enroll. NCPDP
will follow-up with these pharmacists to extend the discounted
pricing.
Pharmacists may search for a prescriber in the HCIdea™ database
simply by entering a valid DEA number. In addition, pharmacists can
perform a geographic search based upon name, city or state. Pharmacy
friendly search criteria save pharmacists time filling prescriptions
and updating prescriber files. This flexible search capability
demonstrates how the HCIdea™ Prescriber Look-up (www.HCIdeaLookUp.org)
is easier to navigate compared to other NPI lookup tools.
In addition to NPIs, the prescriber records show multiple addresses
and phone/fax information, DEA status, information on licensing and
prescriber specialties.
For more information, contact VPhA at 804-285-4145 or Robin Ebert at
NCPDP at 480-477-1000 ext. 118.
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DMEPOS Competitive Bidding
Implementation Contractor Website
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New VPhA Career Center now open!
For careers in pharmacy… look no further
than the VPhA Career Center Services!
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Realize Your Dreams: Posting
your resume is fast, easy and free. It’s the smartest way to find
real-world, professional opportunities.
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Get Connected: Job listings are
tailored to your chosen field – making your search for the perfect
job easier.
With help from the VPhA Career Center
Services, you can find and hire today’s best pharmacy talent!
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Save time and money! Posting
your job is fast and easy, and costs a fraction of what other major
job sites charge.
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Connect with qualified candidates!
Gain access to qualified applicants who specialize in a practice of
pharmacy.
Hire and be hired at the
VPhA Career Center today!
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