Happy start to the holidays, everyone!
Did the turkey, decorations, rest/walk in the woods/quiet time, and the family thing this weekend - and that rolls into the social family, right here, right now. I'm thankful for y-o-u! Let's go!
- ? Still True - Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company wants to work with independent pharmacies. If you're a PIC or pharmacist-owner of an independent pharmacy in the US, sign up here to learn more.
- ?????? Dear Providers - I know you're usually crushed this time of year as people meet their deductibles and OOPs - but a friendly reminder that if your patients are running out of options and don't have great insurance (or they are beginning their plan years 1/1/23 again with High Deductible Health Plans) CostPlusDrugs.com is here if you and they need us! Just look for 'Mark Cuban Cost Plus' inside most major EMRs and you can e-prescribe to our pharmacy fulfillment partner - just in time to save for the holidays. We just added another 82 NDCs to the fold this past week!
- ???? Jobs - we have job openings at CPD too - check them out.
- ?? Poll of the week - Debates in the news this week on Telehealth - should it stay or should it go? Vote here.
- ???? Made in the USA - last week I shared more on the drug shortages we're seeing right now. The scary thing is that these are vital drugs to our security - like several antibiotics and albuterol. If anything out of the pandemic, we as a country should have figured out that we need to bring more pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the states, and with that, manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs. Over 80% of APIs have no US source! That is unacceptable. Here's more on this crisis. Of course, Cost Plus Drugs will be on this on the manufacturing front in the near future, all things going well as we open; however, we still need more APIs made in the USA.
- ?? Shark Attack - and last but not least, this post. I like to see sharks helping sharks for good.
- ?? Join ASPL - our membership runs on the calendar year, so now is the PERFECT time to join the American Society for Pharmacy Law for 2023! Our membership is one of the lowest-cost pharmacy association membership dues under $200, and we have a great network and newsletter rolling out throughout the year. Check out our member benefits and if you love the law/pharmacy intersection like we do, join us!
- ?? Vegetable soup of reform in healthcare - The FTC will continue to support PBM reform, and will the next Congressional session shake things up in pharmacy benefits? BTW: did you miss #CHIRA during the pandemic that no longer provides an exemption to healthcare companies for antitrust? I did! Here's a recap. And...was it too late on that, considering the major administrative service organizations or medical carriers have successfully created verticals that are next to impossible to compete with these days.
- ?? Yo Gaba Gaba - Gabapentin is not a US federally controlled substance. However, some states have made it a C-V controlled substance. Why? The State of Michigan explains it (spoiler alert - it goes back to the Opioid Crisis, which is still a crisis in the US, BTW) - and watch for the new/next legislative session in several states that are also considering making it a controlled substance as well.
- ?? Gratitude at Work - Whenever I have a bad day, or a frustrating day, or something goes sideways, it's important to keep gratitude front and center not just now, but throughout the year at work. For example, I remind myself that I should be grateful for the learning experience if being challenged, or that I'm building tenacity, grit, or character when I'm advocating for a position or recommendation. When one loses their job, to be grateful for the point in a brand new direction for one's career. I have a friend who takes a 30-day gratitude challenge every November and posts one thing she is grateful for each day - and while I don't formalize at much as she does (love that about her!) I do try to think of 3 things I'm grateful for at the end of each day. Work and life can be hard, but your gratitude can remind you that there are silver linings in the cloudy days.
- ?? ?????? ?????? Thankful for my Network - And speaking of gratitude - I am thankful for this very platform here at LinkedIn, my network, and the power of social media this Thanksgiving. In honor of hitting 20K followers (thank you, BTW!) and probably the #1 request I receive for my own tracking data wares, I bring to the pharmacy sphere this weekend, for a limited time as thanks - the top 50 pharmacist influencers in my network. I will post it around noon ET today on the Pharmacy MTMS group right here at LinkedIn, which is a group built for pharmacists and certified pharmacy technicians. Keep in mind that my criteria is a bit fussy when it comes to pharmacy influence: I look at things like the basic metrics--like, are they licensed pharmacists, their # of followers, etc. but I also look at things like POSITIVE influence for change in the profession of pharmacy (not just complaints, but the provision of real solutions along with the opportunity for improvement), and unusual and experience/ownership/curation in niches of pharmacy practice.
It will also magically disappear in the near future as well - so keep your eyes peeled ??.
?? ?? ?? ?? Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and thanks for reading! Now, back to decking the halls... And if you need to shop this weekend (I'm not much of a shopper myself), please shop small business Saturday if you can - your local small businesses depend upon you.
Erin Albert works for Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, PBC - any opinions above expressed are her own and not necessarily those of MCCPDC.
