{"id":3739,"date":"2022-04-01T08:42:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T12:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a4pc.org\/?p=3739"},"modified":"2022-04-29T10:32:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:32:01","slug":"3739","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/2022-04\/3739\/","title":{"rendered":"CC: April 1, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

\"Masthead\" <\/p>\n

The voice for pharmacy compounding | April 1, 2022<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\"Our<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

From APC\u2019s President<\/h1>\n

SWOT \u2014 a recap<\/h2>\n


\nDavid J. Miller, RPh
\nAPC President<\/p>\n

Over the past six weeks, we have looked at APC\u2019s S<\/strong>trengths, W<\/strong>eaknesses, O<\/strong>pportunities and T<\/strong>hreats (or SWOT<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Our greatest strength is you<\/em>. Thank you for your support of APC. Thank you for your service to your patients. Thank you for making a difference for your patients and their families.<\/p>\n

Our greatest weakness is our lack of members. We are down about 70 percent in membership since 2014. We need your help to reverse this trend. Remember to call one person every week and encourage them to join APC. Sign up one of your technicians as an APC member. Even better, look for news of APC\u2019s new Pharmacy\/Facility Membership that we\u2019ll roll out in a few days.<\/p>\n

Our opportunities are vast including rebuilding our membership, working with TRICARE to explore new collaborations that will help current and former service members, finding a middle path with FDA that assures patient safety without marginalizing our profession and the patients we serve, strengthening our relationships with members of Congress, working to save cBHT, and increasing the professionalism and recognition of technicians in our profession.<\/p>\n

Last are the threats. In many ways, FDA overreach presents the greatest threat to compounded, customized medications and the patients who benefit from them. We are working on many fronts to counter this threat, but we need your help to seize all our opportunities in order to be as strong as possible in diplomacy or battle.<\/p>\n

Again, thank you for all you do and thank you for being an APC member.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

David Miller<\/strong> is APC\u2019s president and the managing co-owner of Keystone Compounding Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can reach him at drdave@keystonepharm.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This Week<\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

APC submits amicus<\/em> brief to preserve California patients\u2019 access to glutathione and methylcobalamin<\/h2>\n

Supported by its Legal Action Fund<\/a>, APC will file an amicus<\/em> brief on behalf of La Vita Compounding Pharmacy in San Diego, which is facing enforcement action from the California Board of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

At issue: California compounders’ ability to compound glutathione and methylcobalamin.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nChristine Givant, RPh<\/p>\n

Almost a year ago, the California BoP determined that it would not take enforcement action against pharmacies that compounded sterile preparations from bulk ingredients that are on<\/em> the FDA\u2019s 503A Category 1 bulk substances list, but do not<\/em> have USP\/NF drug monographs. Despite saying that, however, the board continued to initiate enforcement actions in those cases \u2014 including targeting APC member Christine Givant, RPh, of La Vita Compounding Pharmacy, who compounded glutathione and methylcobalamin.<\/p>\n

APC used its Legal Action Fund to retain attorneys Stephen Snow and Jennifer Bellis of Bendin Sumrall & Ladner, LLC, to write the brief in support of La Vita and all other California-licensed pharmacies. The LAF is funded by an annual voluntary $50 dues-bill gift from renewing APC members. Our goal is to protect patient access to glutathione and methylcobalamin \u2014 and to prevent the board\u2019s unlawful prohibition against using these bulk substances to compound sterile drug products.<\/p>\n

“The California Board of Pharmacy is trying to impose an arbitrary restriction that is not supported by FDA regulations or California law,” said APC CEO Scott Brunner, CAE. “We\u2019re concerned not only about Christine and La Vita Pharmacy, but that if the California board is able to get away with this, other states will try to follow \u2014 and it\u2019s patients who will suffer.”<\/p>\n

(The California BoP strenuously objected to APC even being allowed to submit<\/em> the brief, but the judge was not persuaded by the BoP\u2019s arguments and will allow it.)<\/p>\n

Read our more-detailed issue brief for members on the La Vita case here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Menopause<\/em> publishes cBHT meta-analysis<\/h2>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A paper co-authored by APC board member A.J. Day, \u201cSafety and efficacy of compounded bioidentical hormone therapy (cBHT) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women<\/a>\u201d was published Thursday in Menopause: Journal of The North American Menopause Society<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Although limited in scope, its unambiguous conclusion: There is no evidence that compounded hormones pose an increased clinical risk compared to FDA-approved products.<\/p>\n

Sound familiar? We covered a pre-release of the paper in February; you can read the details on whizkid.com\/a4pc<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

MedQuest hosts a big congressional visit<\/h2>\n

Jeff Bray\u2019s MedQuest Pharmacy in North Salt Lake, Utah, had several members of Congress come by for a tour \u2014 and a primer on the issues facing compounding. Check out one of the rather crowded photos:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nFront Row (l to r): Rep.\/Dr. John Joyce (PA), Jim Smith of PCCA, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Rep. John Rose (TN), Rep. Debbie Lesko (AZ), MedQuest pharmacist Ryan Young, MedQuest pharmacist Hali O\u2019Malley, Jared Powell (Rep. McMorris\u2019s chief of staff)
\nBack Row (l to r): Jeff Bray, Joe Lesko (Rep. Lesko\u2019s husband), Tim McMenamin of MedQuest, Nate Hodson (E&C chief of staff to Rep. McMorris), Connor Meyers (Rep. Stewart\u2019s legislative assistant) and Peter Jenks (Rep. Moore\u2018s district director).<\/p>\n

Remember the CompPAC Challenge!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Invite your member of Congress on a pharmacy or facility tour and you can have your donation to their campaign doubled<\/em>. Just donate at least $500 to their campaign and present it during the visit \u2014 CompPAC will match your donation up to $500. (You\u2019ll need to let us know in advance, of course.)<\/p>\n

Not sure how to set up, prepare for, and conduct a good visit? No worries. Check out APC\u2019s guide, “Hosting a Pharmacy Visit With Your State or Federal Legislators<\/a>.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Help save cBHT \u2014 and don\u2019t forget the Medisca\u00a0Match!<\/h2>\n

Remember: Now through April 15, Medisca will match every new contribution to the Campaign to save Compounded Hormones, dollar-for-dollar<\/em>, up to $100,000<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

That means your support for the next two weeks is doubled<\/em> thanks to Medisca!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Be ready to talk the thyroid talk with a free CE\u00a0webinar<\/h2>\n

Whether it\u2019s dosage limits, allergies, or other issues, commercial thyroid products simply don\u2019t work for every patient. Learn how \u2014 and why \u2014 to start the conversation with prescribers about compounded thyroid.<\/p>\n

APC is offering a free<\/strong> hour-long CE webinar, “Compounded Thyroid: How to Start the Conversation With Your Provider<\/strong><\/a>” taught by Michelle Moser, RPh, owner of Maker\u2019s Compounding Pharmacy in Mount Vernon, Wash.<\/p>\n

Learn to educate prescribers and patients, and pick up some important best practices for working with thyroid options.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Thursday, April 21, from 2:00\u20133:00pm EDT<\/strong>, and it provides 1 hour of CE credit. Check it out!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

ONE WEEK LEFT to \u2018attend\u2019 EduCon!<\/strong> If you haven\u2019t grabbed some of those CE credits, don\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

Polio\u2019s back<\/strong>: After 30 years of being polio-free, it\u2019s reappeared in Africa<\/a> \u2014 likely because Covid-19 interfered with normal health services, and a stark reminder that we can\u2019t ever let our guard down.<\/p>\n

Irony watch<\/strong>: Two studies have shown that the live-virus oral polio vaccine provides some protection from Covid-19<\/a>. “[T]hese live vaccines […] may be used temporarily to protect people in low-income countries that do not yet have access to Covid vaccines.”<\/p>\n

\n

Accept Part D insurance?<\/strong> Check those new PBM contracts. NCPA is advising pharmacies to read their upcoming Medicare Part D plan year PBM contracts carefully<\/a>. Not only may some PBMs be offering reduced reimbursement (potentially below cost), but some have sneaky opt-out contracts.<\/p>\n

\n

And that\u2019s that<\/strong>: \u201cIvermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of Covid Hospitalization, Large Study Finds<\/a>\u201d \u2014 and even the guy whose now-retracted study started the craze (virologist Andrew Hill) agrees. Money quote: \u201cAt some point it will become a waste of resources to continue studying an unpromising approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s safe to talk<\/strong>: If your smartphone supports voice calling (kids, ask your parents), British researchers studied more than 380,000 women over an average of 14 years, and they\u2019ve concluded that there is no notable risk of developing cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Coming Up<\/h1>\n
\n

Now through April 8, 2022<\/strong> \u2014 EduCon Virtual 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

April 21<\/strong> \u2014 APC FREE<\/u> CE: Compounding Thyroid<\/a> with Michelle Moser<\/p>\n

May 10 <\/strong>\u2014 PCCA ACT Virtual Legislative Conference<\/a>
\nMay 12<\/strong> \u2014 PCCA ACT Virtual Hill Visits<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 14\u201315, 2022<\/strong> \u2014 APC\u2019s Compounders on Capitol Hill 2022, Hilton National Mall, Washington, DC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n

APC is committed to addressing any concerns or complaints within one business day. Please send them \u2014 and, of course, any compliments \u2014 to info@whizkid.com<\/a>\/a4pc<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Facebook\" <\/a> \"Twitter\" <\/a> \"LinkedIn\" <\/a><\/td>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
whizkid.com\/a4pc<\/a><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fighting for California compounders, cBHT analysis published, get a cBHT investment match, and more
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compconnections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3739"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3904,"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions\/3904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}