“THE WORLD IS GOING TO CHANGE FOR PHARMACY”
National Experts To Take A Look At Pharmacy’s Future At Winter Conference
SPECIAL $99 REGISTRATION FOR SATURDAY CE WORKSHOPS
The world is going to change for pharmacy, according to Mark Riley, the executive vice president of the Arkansas Pharmacy Association and a national expert on pharmacy issues including PBMs and pharmacy reimbursements.
Riley, is one of five executives from pharmacy associations across the Midwest that are expected to be at the PBA Health Mid Winter CE Conference in San Antonio Feb. 18-21. Pharmacists can still register for the Saturday Special, a $99 registration fee for the Saturday, Feb. 20th CE workshops that will feature an exciting lineup of legislators and pharmacy advocates from around the country.
The conference will also give the first sneak peek into a new video produced by PBA Health and TrueCare Texas on how to communicate with your legislators and how to talk to lawmakers about PBMs.
Dr. Riley will take winter conference participants through facts and predictions on the future pricing benchmarks for both brand and generic drugs. He’ll help you understand how you’re going to
get paid for filling prescriptions. Many pharmacists are glad to have survived 2009 and most are questioning what 2010 has in store. If anyone can help you look into that crystal ball, it’s Dr. Riley, who has testified numerous times before Congress and various state legislatures.
“The world is going to change for pharmacy,” Riley said. “The AWP is going to go away. We need to come up an answer to that issue or we will get whatever someone else hands us.” Riley will be leading a workshop on pharmacy reimbursement and what pharmacists can expect in the near future. “On Saturday we will look at the correlations between the various payment models, how the whole process works and how to build equivalents,” Riley said. “I want to talk about the history of where we have been and the basis of which we can move forward to make pharmacy’s bottom line successful.”
Riley, who is known as one of the country’s top experts on PBMS, will also be participating in a executive roundtable that will feature executives from five states who will address matters critical to all of pharmacy.
“I think pharmacists will want to hear our ideas about how we are going to continue to take care of our patients and still be able to stay in business,” said Riley. “They will want to know if we are still in control of our own destiny and they want to have their relationship back with their patients – not have someone else telling them what they have to do.”
Joe DaSilva, who heads the Texas Pharmacy Association, agreed. “In addition, I think we can talk in the roundtable about what we are doing right with our state associations and what we can do better,” he said. “I hope to be able to spend time with Texas pharmacists while at the conference listening to their ideas on how to make TPA better serve their needs.”
Conference participants will also get to hear from two powerful state legislators from Texas on the importance of communication with lawmakers. They will be joined by NCPA’s Anne Cassity, senior director of federal government affairs for the group. In addition, Cassity will discuss the intricacies of the federal health care reform legislation and its impact on pharmacies and small businesses
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It is still not too late to get in on this exciting opportunity to hear more about the future of pharmacy. If you want to attend the Saturday CE sessions, just fill out the form below and fax it to the number listed below.
| Schedule of Events | |
Friday, February 19 1:00pm – 4:30pm “Technology Partners Showcase” 6:00pm – 7:30pm Guest Reception Hosted by PBA Health Saturday, February 20 7:00am Breakfast 8:30am – 9:50am “Pharmacy Reimbursement: Past, Present and Future” [CE 1.5 hrs] 10:00am – 11:30am |
“National Health Care Reform Update: Impact on Pharmacy & Small Business” [CE 1.5 hrs] 11:30am – 1:30pm “United States of Pharmacy Executive Roundtable” and Lunch. [CE 2.0 hrs] 2:00pm – 5:00pm Business Session and Interactive Exchange Saturday, February 22 6:30pm Mi Tierra Board our bus for a short ride from the hotel. Dinner cost is in addition to registration Earn 5 hours Continuing Ed Credits |
The narrow margin of Texas Pharmacist Chuck Hopson’s victory is another example of how one election can make a difference in independent pharmacy’s ability to get its message to the decision makers of the future. We must be ready and able to work with both political parties and with a variety of different lawmakers to ensure that our voice will be heard. Today we must decide if we want to be participants, or spectators in the legislativeand regulatory arenas. Participants have a say in their destiny. Spectators watch from the sidelines and read tomorrow’s newspaper to find out what happened. We must be proactive, and not reactive.
In the past, many of you have shown a commitment to the future of pharmacy by supporting the Texas Pharmacy Survival Fund, which has been instrumental in protecting the interests of independent pharmacy. Today pharmacies continue to reap the rewards from the work of the Survival Fund as it expands its grassroots efforts to educate legislators, opinion makers and the general public on issues important to independent pharmacy. We need your help again. In January we will face another legislative session and we cannot afford to wait two months to begin getting out pharmacy’s message to new legislators and legislative leaders. There is much work to be done and pharmacy needs your help to ensure that we maintain our momentum. Our voices must be heard in Austin. Please make a contribution to the future of independent pharmacy through the Pharmacy Survival Fund. The stakes have never been so high.
Respectfully,
The TrueCare Legislative Council
