CEO Message August 31 2007
Author: Lynn Rolston
Dear Member,
California State Budget Update
Today, please check your in-box for a CPhA message regarding the newly signed state budget and how it will affect pharmacy in California.
USC School of Pharmacy
On Monday, USC's Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy was honored with a State Legislature Resolution for exemplary work in eight safety-net clinics serving the neediest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. In attendance were USC School of Pharmacy Dean R. Pete Vanderveen, department chair Kathleen Johnson, professor Mel Baron and clinical pharmacist Marie Martinez. Congratulations on a job well done. To read more about this great honor, click here.
Policy Committee 1 Meets to Discuss Policies
Policy Committee 1 met at CPhA headquarters on Wednesday to review policies that are 5 years old. There was much lively discussion surrounding the policies and the Committee took great care to ensure that these policies reflected current laws and regulations as well as being broad enough to enable CPhA to have positions on future legislation. I would like to thank committee members Roger Klotz, Chair, Mel Baron, Colleen Carter, Pierre Del Prato, David Fong, Michelle Lau, Kerri Paulson, Ruth Conroy and Merilyn Ross for their dedication to CPhA.
Health Care Reform Meetings
As I previously mentioned, CPhA joined the California Chronic Care Coalition (CCCC). This week, Kathy Lynch attended various meetings at the Capitol with CCCC representatives to speak with legislators and staffers about the importance of health care reform and the vital part pharmacists play as a member of the health care team. Kathy reports that the meetings were very beneficial and she will continue to join CCCC in future meetings.
California Board of Pharmacy
Virgina Herold, Executive Officer of the California Board of Pharmacy, and I met yesterday to talk about several issues of importance to pharmacists in California. We discussed the suspension of the NAPLEX exam and Virginia said that she would let CPhA know immediately if she finds out from NABP an estimated date for when testing will resume. We also discussed upcoming Board of Pharmacy Committee meetings and topics of importance to our members, such as e-Pedigree and compounding. We had a very fruitful meeting and I appreciate the open-door policy that the Board maintains with organizations like CPhA.
Next Wednesday, the Licensing Committee will discuss regulations pertaining to compounding pharmacies. CPhA has been working with the Board of Pharmacy on their proposed compounding regulations. The Board would like to hear directly from pharmacists who compound. Please try to attend the meeting next week so you may personally relay your opinions to the Board. Please click on the following link, http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/meetings/agendas/07_sep_lic_mat.pdf, for the agenda and materials.
Outstanding CE
On Wednesday night, Annette Todaro Smith, Vice President of Business Development, attended a three hour CE event, co-hosted by the Marin County Pharmacists Association and the Kaiser Employee Pharmacists Association (KEPA). It was an outstanding CE that covered Hepatitis and Alzheimer's disease. The CE was sponsored by Merck and Forrest Pharmaceuticals. There were over 120 attendees, including many students from UCSF's and Touro's Schools of Pharmacy. Annette reports that the attendees received a lot of great information and that they really appreciated the efforts of the sponsoring organizations.
The following day, Annette met with Fred Mayer of PPSI and Phil Grauss from KEPA, both of whom are board candidates for CPhA's Academy of Employee Pharmacists. The meeting was also attended by CPhA's President Elect Paul Lofholm, who is also the Chair of the Membership Committee. The purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm about new benefits for CPhA members such as the CE mentioned above. CPhA is working to expand and develop all of our academies and we are pleased to have such active and able members joining in this effort.
CEWAER Event
On Monday, Kathy Lynch and I attended CEWAER's Summer Reception. CEWAER is an organization that supports women candidates for elected office in California. We were able to see some good friends as well as meet some dynamic women. This bipartisan event was attended by legislators and other supporters from around the Capitol. We had a chance to talk with Asssemblywoman Lois Wolk and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino as well as former Senator Jackie Speier about her new book, which profiles the lives of many courageous women. CEWAER has many worthy projects and we applaud them for their efforts.
LTC Weekend is Two Weeks Away!
Early Bird registration for LTC Weekend has been extended to Friday, September 7. To review the program agenda and registration material please click here and go to the Events tab and click on Long Term Care Weekend. If you have questions, or you would like to register by phone, please call Paige Talley at ext. 346
In the News
Medication errors continue to be a hot topic. The Washington Post highlights medication errors caused by shorthand writing and the Star Telegram in Texas provides an in depth look at medication errors and some of the legislation that has been introduced to combat the problem. To read the Washington Post article click here. To read the Star Telegram article click here.
Question of the Week
Dear Lynn,
There seems to be an ongoing debate between pharmacists as to what exactly can be changed or corrected by fax and or by phone on CII prescriptions. If a prescription is written for Percodan 5/500 can the doctor say he meant to write Percocet and a pharmacist fill it? Wouldn't that constitute changing the entire drug entity which I was under the impression couldn't be done by fax or phone? However, it could potentially impede patient care to make the pt get a new prescription. What is the proper way to handle corrections on CII prescriptions and what is allowed to be changed?
Sincerely
Jennifer Johnson
Answer
Dear Jennifer,
The prescriber's signature and the date written are required to be written by the prescriber. Everything else can be written by the prescriber or his or her agent. Therefore, the pharmacist can make changes to any other information on the prescription as long as the pharmacist verifies the change with the prescriber first. The pharmacist should document when and how the information was verified with the prescriber and, yes, the change from Percodan to Percocet would be allowed under the law. The Board of Pharmacy website, www.ca.pharmacy.gov, has an extensive selection of questions and answers that address many of these issues. While CPhA welcomes the opportunity to share this kind of information with our members, we recommend the Board's website as a valuable resource when questions like this come up.
Thank you for the question.
Sincerely,
Lynn Rolston
Chief Executive Officer
California Pharmacists Association