Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Nate’s Week 4


We enjoyed a shorter work week due to a holiday and meeting for our 4th and second to last week with MPhA.

Monday was spent gathering resources for the website updates. I’ve been gathering some useful links and billing information for MTM services. I’m not sure when the MPhA site will be officially updated with the new links, but hopefully you will find the info helpful when wading through unfamiliar ground and seeking payment for MTM visits. Gina has been working hard on cleaning up old links and providing some new and useful references for you all.

Tuesday offered us an opportunity to attend a seminar at the University. The UPlan health network along with the U of M sponsored the event and brought several MTM topics to a day-long discussion. The morning of the event included some background and statistical information, administrative info specific to the UPlan MTM benefit, and quality assurance. The afternoon session focused squarely on marketing and how to build a sustainable competitive advantage with any MTM-type service. There were also several practicing MTM pharmacists and managers present to share their success stories as well as the main challenges they have encountered in their practices. The day concluded with a group discussion and wrap-up. We are in the process of writing a couple articles for the journal to give you a glimpse into some of the discussion from the day.

Thursday found us attending our final class meeting for our 4th year of the PharmD program. With graduation approaching rapidly, we had one final gathering to discuss all of the steps we will need to take to complete this phase of our training. It was great to see everyone again. I will be thinking about all of my colleagues this week as the residency match results will be posted soon. I know it is a stressful time with job hunting, interviews and waiting!

One final entry next week and we are on to our final rotation block! Hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring in Minnesota. 

What a week!


My name is Maggie Wallace.  I am a recent graduate from North Dakota State University and am currently a Pharmaceutical Care Leadership Resident at the University of Minnesota.  I started a professional advocacy rotation at MPhA this week and it has been quite a week!  I’ll share a few highlights with you…

I find the political process fascinating!  On Wednesday, I was able to see a bit of this process in action.  We met with a Senator to discuss the third-party audit standardization bill that has been a focus for MPhA this legislative session.   She had been approached previously about this piece of legislation and on Wednesday she agreed to be our primary author in the Senate!  The bill will be introduced early next week.  I look forward to following this bill closely this session. 

Thursday was spent at Century Middle School in Lakeville working with the AWARxE campaign.  AWARxE is a national campaign that was founded by the Minnesota Pharmacists Foundation.  Borne out of unfortunate circumstances that took place in MN in 2006 resulting in the death of a 24 year old man, AWARxE now provides information and education to the public about medication safety, prescription drug abuse, medication disposal, and safely buying medications on the internet.  The 8th graders welcomed us into their health classroom and we spent the day talking to them about something that they don’t hear a lot about:  prescription drug abuse and misuse.  A good time was had by all and I think the students really learned something in the process. 

It’s been a great first week and I look forward to seeing what next week brings.  Until then, wishing you all the best!

MTM Marketing Symposium

Nate and I had a busy but short week due to PD4 class meeting and University Holiday! We attended "Marketing MTM Services," a seminar held at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and hosted by the UPlan University insurance benefit. The seminar covered new information specific to UPlan, covering topics such as changes to the Prior Authorization process via Prime Therapeutics, services and benefits of using Fairview Specialty Pharmacy and ensuring quality MTM services via the MTM Peer Advisory Panel.  During the afternoon session we had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Rajiv Vaidyanathan, marketing professor from the Labovitz School of Business and Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth. Dr. Rajiv discussed marketing concepts and strategies to advance the practice of Medication Therapy Management and reach a broader patient base. He focused on the idea of sustainable competitive advantage, asking the question, 'What can you do better than your competitors that they cannot copy?' (and that consumers care about?). This question is the foundation for MTM-- Pharmacists are the drug experts! Dr. Rajiv also presented current MTM practitioners with a set of questions to work through (after the session) which allows them to better define their market segment, which consumers they want to target and how they plan to position themselves. The afternoon session of the conference also allowed for experience sharing by current practitioners, discussing what tactics have been successful in recruiting new patients (and what has failed!). Look for further information and lessons learned from the Marketing MTM Services Seminar in the next issue of the MPhA Journal!


Additionally, as I mentioned in my last blog post, I am working on updating the MPhA website! If you have comments, suggestions or edits you would like to see to the website--please contact me!



Gina E. Rozinka

PharmD Candidate Class of 2011
University of Minnesota
College of Pharmacy
Rozi0007@umn.edu

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Nate’s Week #3 at MPhA


Monday allowed us the opportunity to attend the state capitol for most of the day. Both the House and Senate were in full session. Several bills are being presented but there were none with significant impacts on the pharmacy profession on this day.  The sessions were without fanfare, but entertaining to observe again.

There was some exciting news on the national level with a significant piece of legislation hitting both the House and Senate recently. The two bills are parallel in their goals, although slightly different in their content. A main goal for both bills is to expand the eligibility criteria for Medication Management services delivered by pharmacists. There are links available on the MPhA website for more info. Each bill is available as a pdf file at the top of the page if you would like to explore the specifics further. There is a great deal of potential to expand MTM to many more patients, so keep an eye out for any updates on this!

We were also able to attend a meeting of the minds at the U of M regarding the pharmacy practice act. Planning is in the early stages, but there are some great ideas and input being collected to improve and modernize the act. Performing a revision such as this may be a time-intensive process, but will be well worth the efforts, I think. I’m excited to see where this work will lead the profession in the years to come.

Only two weeks remaining in our rotation here. It’s hard to believe how quickly the time goes!

Another Fun-Filled Week at MPhA!

This past week Nate and I had the opportunity to spend some more time at the capital and meet with legislators to discuss current issues in pharmacy! Everyone who we have spoken with has been very receptive and supportive of our proposed audit standardization bill.  I am hoping the bill is dropped soon, so that Nate and I can see how this process works firsthand! I was able to some research on US Senate Bill 296: Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act proposed by Senators Amy Klouchar (D-Minn) and Bob Casey (D-Pa) for this months E-News. This bill mandates manufacturers to notify the FDA in instances where they believe their is the potential for manufacturing delay leading to a potential drug shortage. There are many more details to the bill but the basic idea behind the bill is better communication with the FDA to avoid drug shortages!

On Friday we were able to go on a field trip to Blomberg Pharmacy, a local independent pharmacy in St. Paul MN. It was great to see independent pharmacy in action-- the patients knew the employees by name, weren't afraid to ask questions and the pharmacist had time to provide individual attention to each patient.  This week we also completed many administrative tasks including sorting out CE certification, soliciting members for the Board of Directors, finalizing articles for the E-News and covering MPhA budget/finance basics. I am continuing to work on providing a list of updates needed to the MPhA website—I would appreciate any and all feedback about the MPhA website, as we start to update it. Is there anything you would like to see that is not on there? Things that need to be removed? I am here to help!

Please feel free to contact me or anyone at MPhA if you have questions about accessing your CE certification, if you are interested in becoming a Board Member for MPhA or if you have any feedback about the E-News! We love to hear from you!
--
Gina E. Rozinka

PharmD Candidate Class of 2011
University of Minnesota
College of Pharmacy
Rozi0007@umn.edu
612-385-8167

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Nate’s Week 2 at MPhA


Well, as expected, it was another busy week at MPhA. I wanted to give everyone a quick update on a few things I was able to see:

Monday provided us an opportunity to watch both the senate and the house in session. The senate meeting was very brief and didn’t provide much to report on. The house meeting, however, provided some heated discussion regarding a motion made there. Both parties showed their passion and weren’t about to back down on their viewpoints. This is what I had always imagined these sessions to be like, and it was a great experience to observe from high above the floor in the gallery. I hope we will be able to attend more sessions in the near future.

Tuesday and Wednesday brought us a few more opportunities to meet with legislators in both the house and senate to educate them about an upcoming bill, which will have a direct and positive impact on pharmacies enduring PBM audits. All parties have responded positively, so we are hopeful that the bill will move forward with their help.

We also attended a Health and Human Services committee hearing regarding the budget for the upcoming year.  The hearing included testimony from the Minnesota Department of Health and discussions around the changes being made to reimbursement for drugs. As many of you know, AWP is being phased out, and WAC is likely to become the new standard for determining reimbursement rates. This was interesting to observe- especially given the complexity of the pricing of pharmaceuticals. It is not an easy topic to explain clearly; although the gentlemen did the best they could for the committee.

Thursday was a big day for the profession as the Board of Pharmacy held its rules hearing before an administrative law judge. The rules package has been in process for several years, and this hearing likely signals the later stages of the whole process. Pharmacists and managers from many organizations were present to provide public comment, which was recorded and will be considered by the judge. Stay tuned for further developments regarding the rules package and their enactment in the coming weeks.

Hope you all have a great week!

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Role of the Pharmacist and Emergency Preparedness


Our visits to legislators seem to be slowing a bit, just in time for other meetings to ramp up.  There were a few visits this week with the remaining legislators on the Health and Human Services committees, and we continue to hear positive feedback and support regarding the third party audit standardization legislation.  The HHS Committee hearings continue, and now more sessions in both the House and Senate are occurring. 
I have had the opportunity this week to spend time researching the role of the pharmacist and emergency preparedness as a project for MPhA (which you will be hearing about soon).  There are many rather recent events in which pharmacists have played a vital role on the healthcare team, such as Hurricane Katrina, the 35W bridge collapse, and the H1N1 Pandemic.  I feel that I am very comfortable in my day to day responsibilities, but sometimes forget that I and all pharmacists have many skills that are vital in emergency situations.  Being accessible and able to vaccinate and having a thorough understanding of drug use and distribution, just to name a few.  I am currently enrolled as a member of the University of Minnesota Medical Reserve Corp, and they are always looking for active membership from all health professions, including pharmacy.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Exciting Week at the Capitol!

 I am just wrapping another busy week at MPhA. We had several meeting with Minnesota state senators and representatives, as well as attended the House and Senate full session. The House session was very lively, with banter from both sides — similar to what you see in the movies! It was very exciting to see and hear them debate on omnibus House Bill number 1, containing controversial legislation regarding the environment. If you have never been to the State Capitol for a full session I strongly encourage you to attend.  It was so exciting to see democracy in action! While you are there, I also encourage you to meet with your legislators. This past week I had the opportunity to meet with my state representative Sarah Anderson (R) 43A to discuss matters concerning pharmacy, the proposed pharmacy audit bill and expanding MTM eligibility. Representative Anderson was interested to hear from me as a constituent and was very welcoming to the proposed audit bill! 

In addition to spending time at the capital, we had a chance to attend the Board of Pharmacy Rules Package Hearing with the Administrative law judge. The hearing allowed members of the public to provide verbal (and written) comment to the administrative law judge regarding the proposed rule change. After attending the ad-hoc meeting last week, the hearing with the administrative law judge was uniquely different, allowed interested parties to verbalize their concerns, as well as provide background information and context or reasoning for the objection to the proposed changes. I had anticipated the hearing would be "heated," with representation from every area of pharmacy (Community, Institution, Long-Term Care, Industry, etc), however individuals were respectful, eloquent and provided thoughtful insight on the rules package. The next step is a 20-day comment period, where the administrative law judge will accept comments regarding the rule package. If you have any concerns or would like more information on how to contact the administrative law judge, please do not hesitate to contact MPhA for help!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Week 1: student Chandler

Hello MPhA members. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as I begin a five week rotation here in the St Paul office. My name is Nate Chandler and I’m in my fourth year of pharmacy studies at the U of M- Duluth campus. My roots are in rural Wisconsin, and still enjoy returning there to visit friends and family. Prior to my pharmacy education, I held a career in plastics manufacturing where I enjoyed several great experiences, including numerous medical device projects. A move westward to Arizona provided me the opportunity to escape the Midwest cold and snow and begin my undergraduate studies. My goal of entering a PharmD program brought me back to Minnesota and I’m happy to be planning my future here as rotations are wrapping up soon. 

As a pharmacist, I hope to be well-rounded and deliver the service and care that my patients deserve. Part of that, I believe, involves having a broad base of knowledge about events that happen outside the doors of the pharmacy which can shape the practice in significant ways. I am very happy to have this learning experience with everyone here at MPhA. I hope to use my time here to learn about the interaction between the profession and the legal processes that shape the future of the practice. We will be spending time at the capitol, meeting with representatives, and provide education to the lawmakers of the state about the bills and issues that are of immediate and future concern to our profession. Building upon the clinical training we have worked on for the past four years, this experience will most certainly be unlike any I have had in the past. I will attempt to keep everyone up to date as we move forward. Stay tuned! 

Nate Chandler
University of Minnesota-Duluth
College of Pharmacy
PharmD Class of 2011

Learning about advocacy, legislation and the administrative side of MPhA

Hello MPhA Members!  I am so excited to spend my next 5 weeks learning about advocacy, legislation and the administrative side of MPhA— in order to meet the needs of the changing pharmacy environment!  My name is Gina Rozinka and I am a 4th year student from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. I grew up in Plymouth Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Genetics, Cell Biology & Development with a minor in Leadership. During my time at the College of Pharmacy, I was actively involved with Phi Delta Chi professional fraternity, Phi Lambda Sigma Honor Society and College Board, serving in various leadership roles. These organizations allowed me to meet many wonderful faculty and staff, as well as my colleagues on the Duluth Campus!

During my first week, I had the opportunity to meet with several State Senators and Representatives to discuss the proposed audit standardization bill, expanding MTM eligibility and pharmaceutical waste. I also toured the state capital, learned some fun trivia about the building (did you know we have the 2nd largest marble dome in the world?) and experienced democracy first hand! Nate and I also attended the Board of Pharmacy proposed rule change comment session. The session allowed Board of Pharmacy members to interpret, evaluate and alter the existing proposed rule packet based on the comments received from the public.  It was very interesting to see how the new rules affect each area of practice!  We will be attending the Board of Pharmacy hearing with the administrative law judge next Thursday so check back next week for an update!


Gina E. Rozinka

PharmD Candidate Class of 2011
University of Minnesota
College of Pharmacy