{"id":3890,"date":"2022-04-29T10:25:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a4pc.org\/?p=3890"},"modified":"2022-04-29T10:32:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:32:49","slug":"compounding-connections-april-29-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whizkid.com\/a4pc\/2022-04\/compounding-connections-april-29-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"CC: April 29, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The voice for pharmacy compounding | April 29, 2022<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

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THIS EDITION SPONSORED BY PCCA<\/h1>\n
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IT\u2019S NOT TOO LATE! Take charge of your future and the future of compounding<\/strong> at the 2022 ACT Virtual Legislative Conference<\/a>, May 10 & 12 \u2014 your opportunity to meet with federal lawmakers to communicate concerns about patient access to compounded medications. We\u2019ll match you with your representatives and handle all the logistics. Register now!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From the CompPAC Chair<\/h1>\n

This week President Dave is way sunning himself on some tropical beach, so we’ve asked APC’s CompPAC Chairman Anthony Grzib to take up the pen. Dave\u2019s column will return next week.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to protect your job<\/h2>\n

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Enjoy your compounding job? Fond of your patients and fellow employees? Think it\u2019s all worth preserving and defending? Read on.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re an owner, a line pharmacist, or a technician, you need Congress<\/em> \u2014 sometimes to pass bills that help your patients or your businesses, sometimes to prevent a bad idea from becoming law, sometimes to help put pressure on an agency on your behalf. This is a fact of life in a field as regulated and scrutinized (and rightly so!) as pharmacy compounding.<\/p>\n

Not every member of Congress will step up when we \u2014 when you<\/em> \u2014 need them to, but we want as many as possible to listen<\/em> to us. And that means electing compounding-friendly legislators in the first place.<\/p>\n

Enter CompPAC: Its one goal is to elect and cultivate compounding champions in Congress<\/strong> \u2014 men and women who think like you do about pharmacy compounding. CompPAC supports their campaigns, and that support means \u2014 while we may not always get their votes, we\u2019ll at least get their ears<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Out of our league<\/h4>\n

But CompPAC has yet to raise $50,000 in 2022 (mid-term elections!), while Big Pharma spends $233 million per year<\/em>. Its budget is among the smallest of the PACs associated with our peer organizations. We\u2019re very, very<\/em> good at stretching our budget, but there\u2019s a limit when you\u2019re outspent $1,863 to $1.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the ask. No, I don\u2019t expect you all to contribute the $5,000 maximum, but I do<\/em> expect you \u2014 I need<\/em> you \u2014 to give something. To invest $100, or $50, or even $20. Yes, invest<\/em>: The money you contribute to CompPAC is political insurance \u2014 an investment in your livelihood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a click away. Do it \u2014 do something<\/em> \u2014 for yourself, your pharmacy, your patients, and your profession:<\/p>\n

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This Week<\/h1>\n

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OutcomeMD: For you, for the profession<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been a long time coming, but compounders now have a way to turn the success of the therapies they dispense into a powerful tool to help the compounding profession: OutcomeMD.<\/p>\n

OutcomeMD allows compounding pharmacies to collect information about how their therapies are working for their patients in a standardized, validated format \u2014 the same, in fact, that FDA uses. Collecting and tracking that is good for the pharmacy, but it\u2019s also important for compounding as a whole.<\/p>\n

While pharmacy owners get patient-level data about their formulations\u2019 effectiveness, APC gets access to the aggregated metadata \u2014 scrubbed of HIPAA-protected details, of course \u2014 to share with FDA.<\/p>\n

That will allow us to demonstrate in unambiguous terms how patients benefit from compounded therapies. And the more pharmacists who use OutcomeMD, the stronger our case becomes.<\/p>\n

Thanks to our partnership with OutcomeMD, APC Pharmacy\/Facility Members members receive more than half off OutcomeMD\u2019s standard subscription rates.<\/em><\/p>\n

Get started<\/h4>\n

Learn more about everything an OutcomeMD subscription provides at OutcomeMD.com<\/a>. Then reach out to Lorraine Kaiser at lkaiser@outcomemd.com<\/a> to schedule your demo. You can even click here to schedule it directly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Any questions? APC\u2019s Jason Dunn \u2014 jason@whizkid.com<\/a>\/a4pc<\/a> or (918) 770-6333 \u2014 can help.<\/em><\/p>\n

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PFM: for your business<\/h2>\n

Sure, an APC Pharmacy\/Facility Membership<\/a> is great for each member of your team, but it\u2019s even better for your business. Small or large, joining as a company gives you access to a growing list of valuable services and discounts.<\/p>\n

APC\u2019s PFM-members-only Compounded Cost-Charge Tool<\/strong> will help you calculate the cost of your compounds \u2014 and the right price to charge for them. Enrollment in APMS<\/strong> will help ensure you\u2019re in compliance with state and federal safety regulations. The weekly<\/strong> Kosar Report<\/strong><\/em> will keep you up to date on state compounding legislation and regulation.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s more:<\/p>\n

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  1. An annual subscription to NABP\u2019s Survey of Pharmacy Law<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. A $1,000 discount on PCAB accreditation from ACHC<\/li>\n
  3. All your locations listed listing in APC\u2019s Compounding Pharmacy Locator<\/li>\n
  4. Half price on a subscription to OutcomeMD for patient-reported outcome tracking<\/li>\n
  5. Waived fees and best pricing for HealNow, a HIPAA-compliant online payment solution for pharmacies<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And much more. Check out our PFM brochure<\/a> and visit whizkid.com\/a4pc\/pfm<\/strong><\/a> for the details, then upgrade your membership today!<\/p>\n

    Important peptide clarification<\/h2>\n

    Several members wrote to us after reading last week\u2019s story about compounding peptides<\/a> to ask \u201cWhy are semaglutide and sermorelin exceptions to the peptide rule?\u201d<\/p>\n

    A good question! For the answer, we reached out to APC Vice President Tenille Davis, PharmD, of Civic Center Pharmacy in Scottsdale. Here\u2019s what she told us:<\/p>\n

    Sermorelin and semaglutide meet the criteria for compounding because they are part of an FDA approved drug product \u2014 one of three criteria we use to determine if an API is eligible to be used in compounding.
    \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They are not considered biologics (which we cannot compound)     because they contain fewer than 40 amino acids<\/a> in their sequence. Keep in mind that we cannot compound a copy of a commercially available medication, but if a patient needed semaglutide in a nasal spray, for example, it would be legal to compound it.
    \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Think of them as commonly used peptides that we compound with, like oxytocin. Oxytocin is a peptide hormone<\/em> but it is not a biologic<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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    Level the playing field<\/h2>\n

    HealNow is APC\u2019s preferred online payments platform, and an way for smaller companies to act like the big guns.<\/p>\n

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    HealNow is more than a payment processor. It allows consumers to engage with your pharmacy online: to make co-payments, schedule delivery, purchase OTC items\/supplements, and get answers to clinical (and non-clinical) questions \u2014 fast and easy.<\/p>\n

    Make the move to full-service digital, and let HealNow do the heavy lifting. And thanks to our relationship, APC Pharmacy\/Facility Members can save a bundle when using HealNow.<\/p>\n

    Check out what going all-in with digital can do for your pharmacy, and how HealNow can make it happen: HealNow.co<\/a>. And when you sign up, be sure to tell them you\u2019re an APC member!<\/p>\n

    With threat looming, patients need your help<\/h2>\n

    All is quiet on the compounded hormones front as we await word from FDA on whether and how it might restrict cBHT. Now is the time we need to be raising the pressure, rallying legislators, patients, and physicians to prevent the loss of this critical therapy.<\/p>\n

    Problem: It\u2019s almost June and we\u2019re barely halfway to our goal of raising $850,000 for the Campaign to Save Compounded Hormones<\/strong>. That money would pay for stakeholder advertising, practitioner engagement, an expanded compounding.com<\/a>, more media buys and podcast appearances, and more.<\/p>\n

    If you haven\u2019t supported the campaign yet, please take a few minutes to read the background on the threat to cBHT, including the debunked NASEM study that\u2019s FDA\u2019s excuse to threaten compounded hormones, what we accomplished last year, and what we\u2019re hoping to do in 2022. It\u2019s all at whizkid.com\/a4pc\/cbht<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    We need your help \u2014 today<\/em> \u2014 to protect the millions of Americans who rely on these treatments.<\/p>\n

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    Short Takes<\/h1>\n

    Stark perspective<\/strong>: Covid-19 has killed a million Americans in a little more than two years, but almost a quarter of the deaths in the last 12 months could have been prevented with vaccination<\/a>. That\u2019s 230,000 American lives that might have been saved \u2014 almost as many as were killed in all of World War II.<\/p>\n

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    Don\u2019t cut funding<\/strong>: APC has joined 66 other patient- and health-related organizations in signing a letter to congressional leaders<\/a> asking that they restore funding for the HRSA Covid-19 Uninsured Relief Fund, which is not included in the latest budget proposal. The letter asked that Congress act \u201cwithout delay and safeguard Americans\u2019 access to Covid-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines, and prevent the further dismantling of critical elements of our public health response.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Perchance to dream<\/strong>: If you find yourself running naked through your high school, late for an exam, being chased by a faceless person on a flaming bicycle \u2026 you might be recovering from Covid-19<\/a>. Apparently frequent nightmares are fairly common after recovery, akin (say Italian researchers) to people with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.<\/p>\n

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    ICYMI<\/strong>: There\u2019s a Mysterious Hepatitis Outbreak among little kids, first in Europe and now in the U.S. and Asia. There have been about 200 cases so far<\/a> \u2014 10 percent of which required a liver transplant. It\u2019s not caused by any known hepatitis virus, and may in fact be related to an adeno<\/em>virus, but no one is sure.<\/p>\n

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    Coming Up<\/h1>\n

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

    May 12<\/strong> \u2014 PCCA ACT Virtual Hill Visits<\/p>\n

    May 19<\/strong> \u2013 APC Webinar: Compounding for Long Covid \u2013 Lessons from the Research (and from the trenches)<\/a><\/p>\n

    May 24<\/strong> \u2013 APC Webinar: Pharmacists Mutual\u2019s Most \u201cPopular\u201d Claims \u2013 and How Not to Be One<\/a><\/p>\n

    June 21\u201323, 2022<\/strong> \u2014 Informa Connect\u2019s Compounding Pharmacy Compliance<\/a>, College Park, Md.<\/p>\n

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

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    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

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    \"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

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

    More on peptides, compounder job protection, help us save hormones, and more
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