Monday, February 27, 2012

Welcome, Sean Kenny!


Hello everyone. My name is Sean Kenny and I am a fourth-year pharmacy student from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy on rotation with Julie Johnson from MPhA. I have just finished my first week with MPhA and have already learned loads about what professional organizations do.

The week started off by Lindsay, Julie, and myself finishing the final preparations for Legislative Day at the Capitol. Legislative Day started at the University Club in Saint Paul in the morning. I had never been to Legislative Day so everything about this experience was new to me. During the morning we had a number of presentations and discussion about important issues in pharmacy and why they are important for the profession of pharmacy and patient care. I found this discussion especially rewarding because I was able to meet and speak with many interesting people. I gained a greater understanding about the importance of pharmacy advocacy as a result of this experience. After the morning I went to the capital and helped to direct pharmacy advocates to their various representatives. I have not been to the capital in many years and it was exciting and refreshing to see all of the action going on downtown.

Later during the week I had the opportunity to attend two meeting including a MN Board of Pharmacy meeting a MN Healthcare Reform Access Task Workforce meeting. I had never been to a BOP meeting and it was interesting to gain an understanding of the process. During the meeting various members of the pharmacy community spoke with the goal of obtaining variances for individual needs. The BOP seemed to care about the concerns of the speakers and acted in a way that was fair and balanced. The MN Healthcare Task Workforce meeting was very different from the BOP meeting. It was much more formal and seemed less focused. There were several instances when the meeting had to be refocused because the discussion had gotten off topic. Although, there was a little diversion along the way, the committee was able to come to a consensus by the end of the meeting.

In the upcoming weeks I look forward to learning more about pharmacy advocacy and also learning about leadership skills from the MPhA team. 

Thanks,
Sean Kenny


Friday, February 24, 2012

Legislative Day was a great success!

Legislative Day was a great success! Many pharmacists, technicians, and students came out to the Capitol to talk to their legislators. It was great to see the number of students that took a day out of studying to advocate for pharmacy and learn more about bills that have been or will be introduced this session.

The morning included discussions on Health Reform, the Third Party Audit bill, National Precursor Logbook Exchange, drug shortages, and e-prescribing of controlled substances. The presentation by Joel Kurzman from NACDS emphasized the importance of grassroots advocacy and meeting with legislators. It was an empowering talk to send constituents off to talk the lawmakers who represent them. Please look at the issue briefs for the topics at the roundtables posted on the MPhA website under the Advocacy section.

The evening closed with a panel by Sen. Hann and Representative Abeler. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on the redistricting released the same day, health reform, and views on pharmacy. Their support for the Third Party Audit bill and the profession of pharmacy is appreciated.

It was a fun day meeting new pharmacists, spending time with familiar faces, and advocating for pharmacy.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Signing Off (for now)


Hello MPhA! Sadly, it is my last day here at MPhA offices.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and am grateful for the opportunity to serve all the great Pharmacists and members across the state for the past 5 weeks.  I have participated in a plethora of meetings, activities, committees, and events and really appreciated the unique experiences and knowledge gained.

Wrapping up the final week was a flurry of scheduling appointments and working on the agenda for legislative day – next Tuesday Feb. 21st.  We also had many great encounters with legislators last week regarding the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act and electronic prescribing of controlled substances.  I also had the pleasure of attending a very informative meeting at the College where some excellent education was provided to students who will be attending legislative day. 

Outside of the activities at the capitol and surrounding professional advocacy, another productive meeting of the community pharmacy business community transpired.  A great deal of information was shared at this meeting and we are all looking forward to future meetings of the group. 

Healthcare reform has been a constant on the agenda for the association’s work and this week was no exception as I had some additional meetings regarding ACOs (accountable care organizations) and some opportunities for community pharmacists in the very near future.

I will be passing the torch to the very capable hands of Lindsay Sorge, leadership resident, and Sean Kenny, next PharmD IV student.  Stay tuned to hear from them, as I am excited to watch their progress in all the great work the association does.  Although I will physically be in Duluth for the next 5 weeks, my work with the association will not end and you will still hear from me in the future.  I am excited to start my rotation with Dr. Schneiderhan at the Human Development Center, and am also encouraged by the fact that he is very active in MPhA.  Once again, I appreciate the opportunity to serve the pharmacy community for Minnesota and look forward to all the association can accomplish in the future.

Thank you and best regards to all,

Zach Marty 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Lindsay - Week 1

Greetings! My name is Lindsay Sorge and I am currently on rotation at MPhA. I graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy last May and now am a Pharmaceutical Care Leadership Resident at the U of M. 

During the past week, my eyes were opened even more to how important the association and its members are for pharmacists in the state of Minnesota. There are continually changes in legislation and policy discussed that affect pharmacy. It is important to have a voice in those processes and MPhA is that voice. The Minnesota Health Reform Task Force has been meeting and there have been such interesting discussions about payment reform and workforce issues. Since I am currently at MPhA, I was able to be in the room during the discussions instead of at home reading the minutes from these meetings. I have also been visiting legislators with Zach, pharmacy student, to discuss issues important this session. This is definitely the place to take an active role in your profession and work for and with your colleagues to advance pharmacy practice.

Monday, February 13, 2012

The Ball is Still Rolling...


I walked into MPhA offices just in time for some great news one day last week; the office for the Governor's health care reform task force wanted to meet with MPhA to gather our input on the pending health care reform. 

This triggered a whirlwind of activity for the association over the next week and from here on out.  I was fortunate to sit in on meetings regarding payment reform and healthcare integration workgroups (a sub committee of the task force), as well as a task force meeting.   I also was able to witness Dean Speedie's testimony to the workforce task group at the Minnesota Department of health.  One amazing thing coming out of those meetings was the testimony of several other organizations claiming an increased need for PharmD graduates to fill in important roles on primary care teams across the state.

Legislator meetings are coming along swiftly and I have even been given my "credentials" to conduct some by myself when schedules conflict.  I am highly anticipating the introduction of our bill in both the House and Senate in the very near future. 

We also had a very productive Public Affairs Committee meeting this week at MPhA, with a great sharing of knowledge about all things advocacy related.  Remember - its not too late to sign up for Legislative Day, Feb. 21st.  Never underestimate the power of some face time with your elected officials.  

Friday, February 3, 2012

Things Are Starting to Heat Up


Hello again, this is Zach Marty, your PharmD candidate from MPhA here to provide you with all kinds of exciting updates from the Capitol, MPhA HQ, the COP, and beyond. 

Meetings with legislators have started to pick up as session is kicking into gear.  As part of MPhA’s legislative team I was able to meet and educate 4 representatives on our proposed Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act last Thursday, and today we have met with 4 additional representatives and 1 senator regarding the Act.  In addition, we have also been able to discuss with legislators the upcoming proposal for changing the wording for MN statute 152.11 (controlled substances) in order to be consistent with DEA guidelines released June 1, 2010, which allows for e-prescribing of controlled substances. 

The most exciting thing was recently meeting with Senator Al Franken and his healthcare staff regarding concerns that many pharmacists have expressed over the pending merger between Express Scripts and Medco.  Overall, the meeting went very well and I am looking forward to following Senator Franken’s actions regarding this very important federal issue. 

Outside of the government affairs portion of my time, we had a successful MTM academy meeting which was very informative as providers across the area shared success stories and adaptations relating to the recent MTM audit. In addition, I was a proud participant of a productive professional affairs committee meeting, with extensive discussion surrounding one of my personal interests – accountable care organizations.  I also was able to go back to “class” this week at the Twin Cities campus and promote Legislative Day to the Community Pharmacy Management class.  Thank you to Dr. Schommer and Dr. Hadsall for that opportunity.  I also had a great time helping facilitate transitions during the Midwinter Conference: Vascular Diseases: the Strategic Approach.  We had a great turnout and I can say we all learned an immense amount that day, from each other and from the presenters.  Thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, and participants for making the day such a success.  

That’s all for now.  It has been a busy week so far and I can’t wait for what is next! Until next time.

Zach Marty