The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination will launch this week with a goal to increase access to the vital vaccination across the United States. Early on in the pandemic, pharmacists were identified as trusted members of the health care team to provide testing and education to the public. As vaccines have become available,Continue reading “Pharmacists in the Spotlight: Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination”
Category Archives: COVID
Racial Disparities During the COVID-19 Pandemic Continue – Featuring Larry Selkow
Earlier during the COVID-19 pandemic, we reported on the racial differences affecting our communities and the potential solutions pharmacists can provide. As the pandemic continues on, we see how these disparities remain magnified during public health emergencies. An analysis published last week describes continued higher mortality rates of communities of color as compared to Whites,Continue reading “Racial Disparities During the COVID-19 Pandemic Continue – Featuring Larry Selkow”
Déjà vu…Pharmacist state scope of practice overruled by HHS: Take 2!
If you liked the premiere, you are going to love the sequel. In a huge move on August 19, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has further amended his declaration of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. In doing so, he has allowed pharmacists and pharmacy internsContinue reading “Déjà vu…Pharmacist state scope of practice overruled by HHS: Take 2!”
Senate introduces bill to expand pharmacists’ ability to provide telehealth services
On August 4th, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced Senate Bill 4421: the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act. As stated by Murphy’s and Blunt’s press releases, this bill “allows any health care practitioner or professional in good standing with a valid practitioners’ license to render services—including telehealth—anywhereContinue reading “Senate introduces bill to expand pharmacists’ ability to provide telehealth services”
Racial Differences in COVID-19 and the Potential for Pharmacists
At the end of July, CMS published updated data on COVID-19 impacts on the Medicare population, including details on the American Indian/Alaskan Native Medicare beneficiaries for the first time. The new data indicated that this population has the second highest rate of hospitalization for COVID-19 among racial and ethnic groups after Blacks. The updated informationContinue reading “Racial Differences in COVID-19 and the Potential for Pharmacists”
Pharmacist Medicare incident-to telehealth services here to stay?
It is no news that pharmacists are able to bill incident to a physician when providing patient care services. This has been widely discussed since the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) requested clarification on this from CMS back in 2014. Despite this clarification, some pharmacists have still faced pushback on billing incident to theContinue reading “Pharmacist Medicare incident-to telehealth services here to stay?”
Board of Pharmacy Restricts Hydroxychloroquine, then Caves to Ohio Governor
We didn’t think it would be useful to cover the proven inefficacious use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on this blog. By the time we had launched, studies had already begun to question speculations circulating on social media of its efficacy for the treatment of COVID-19. The American Medical Association, along with national pharmacy organizations, publishedContinue reading “Board of Pharmacy Restricts Hydroxychloroquine, then Caves to Ohio Governor”
Why pharmacists should care about access to COVID-19 data
Data is vitally important to members of the profession of pharmacy and is essential in how we develop evidence-based methodologies that guide how we care for patients. Ensuring veracity of data is important in giving us the right foundation to develop long-term strategies to improve patient outcomes. That’s why it was particularly concerning to seeContinue reading “Why pharmacists should care about access to COVID-19 data”
Pharmacist state scope of practice overruled by HHS?
It’s been a few weeks since we launched our blog with our first blog post on pharmacists’s ability to provide SARS-COV-2 testing. But with all the policy changes taking place over the last few days, it was necessary to investigate some of the more recent changes. Today we’re going to take a look at theContinue reading “Pharmacist state scope of practice overruled by HHS?”
As Unemployment Rises, Access to Healthcare is in Question
Last week, the Department of Labor released its latest number showing nearly three million Americans filed for unemployment, bringing the total number of unemployed to 36.5 million. With the economic situation getting worse each week, Congress needs to consider what additional measures to take to address this growing problem. Last week, the House of RepresentativesContinue reading “As Unemployment Rises, Access to Healthcare is in Question”
The Grassroots Pharmacist 