Liz Tiefenthaler, President
Pharm Fresh Media

Co-founder and President of Pharm Fresh Media whose focus is on providing marketing solutions to Independent Pharmacy. Liz helps pharmacists build customer loyalty and engagement through ongoing conversations in marketing, public relations, print and web solutions. Liz has worked in marketing and advertising for over 25 years and as an entrepreneur herself, understands the issues facing small and mid-sized businesses. She is a tireless promoter of Independent Pharmacy.

Specific Practice Areas

• Direct mail
• Email marketing
• Public relations
• Event promotion
• Print collateral and support materials such as brochures, inserts and pocket folders
• Web solutions including consulting on social media

We interview Independent Pharmacy and Community Activist Teresa Stickler, RPh.

Teresa has lived in New Jersey, Heidelberg-Germany, and Georgia. She went to college at Rutgers University's College of Pharmacy. She is a proud member of Gamma Sigma, the Georgian Society where she has met her best of friends. She's married to Kurt Stickler. She enjoys hurdling (Track & Field), gardening, traveling, belly dancing, her adult gymnastics class and relaxing with friends and family. Teresa was New Jersey State Champion for 3 years in college for the 400 meter hurdles. She is a master gardener. Her favorite place is the Dominican Republic. Teresa applied to be on Survivor.  She was PDS's Pharmacist of the Year for 2011 and was a National Ken Wurster Community Leadership Award Finalist for 2012.  She is currently the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association President. 

Melrose Pharmacy History

Melrose Pharmacy is independently owned and operated providing service levels that chain stores can only dream of. We are conveniently Located at the corner of Montecito and 7th Avenue.

Take a virtual tour of the Pharmacy:
http://www.seeaz360.com/melrose-pharmacy/

Toll Free #:
1-888-314-3413
Specializes in Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy & Weight Loss Programs

704 West Montecito Avenue  Phoenix, AZ 85013

Robert B. Frankil, R.Ph
Owner Skippack Pharmacy
Pennsylvania Pharmacist Association
2012 - 2013 Board of Directors
President

PPA's Vision:
Pennsylvania pharmacists will be recognized, engaged, and fairly compensated as health-care providers.

PPA's Mission:
The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, as the leading voice of pharmacy, promotes the profession through advocacy, education, and communication to enhance patient care and public health.

The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association is a professional membership society of registered pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others who reside, work, attend college, or are interested in pharmacy in Pennsylvania.

Our members comprise all pharmacy practice settings including academia, clinical, hospital, government, community pharmacy owner or employee, long term care, mail order, managed care, and the pharmaceutical industry. 

About OPA:

Mission Statement

The Mission of the Ohio Pharmacists Association is to unite the profession of pharmacy, and encourage interprofessional relations while promoting public health through education, discussion and legislation.

History & Purpose

The Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA) was formed September 2, 1879 in Columbus, Ohio under the name Ohio State Pharmaceutical Association (OSPA).

The purpose of the Association was to elevate the character of the pharmaceutical profession, by uniting the reputable druggists of the state in order to foster the education of those learning the art and thereby stimulate the talent of those engaged in pharmacy. In cooperation with its members and leaders, the present-day OPA continues to function by this purpose and act to positively impact the profession as these past extraordinary individuals did.

Ernest Boyd, R.Ph., MBA

Executive Director

Ohio Pharmacists Association

2674 Federated Blvd

Columbus, Ohio  43235

614-389-3236

eboyd@ohiopharmacists.org

www.ohiopharmacists.org

PUTT Board conference call with RxAlly

On Tuesday, 8/28/2012, All 8 members of the PUTT Board of Directors had a conference call with 4 senior people from RxA to discuss the new Smart D preferred Part D network. We sent in a list of 30 questions, with a request to reply in writing and also a request to see a copy of contract between RxA and the IAGs (buying groups) that signed on to support RxA.

The call last for over 2 hours, and consisted of Bruce Robert's explanation of his role in CCRX, and also his reasoning of why SmartD was needed (very similar to the written materials previously released). 

Because many in the independent pharmacy world still have issues with Bruce Robert’s involvement in CCRX and it’s sale to CVS/Caremark, combined with little  public disclosure of how the CCRX mess transpired, we tried to bring some of this into the sunlight.

Bruce responded that “this was all above board” because “the NCPA Board was aware of and approved of my role, and my compensation (stock package).” While I found his explanation to be factually accurate, I think it minimized what was (or should have been) known about venture capital (VC) involvement, VC entry and even more importantly VC EXIT plans, and the effects those plans would have on the future existence of CCRX. Those types of VC terms are spelled out at the time the transaction is originated, so it could not have come as a surprise to any of the principles involved that the VC wanted out when (and because of independent pharmacy) CCRX was successful.

Further, I think that NCPA Board oversight was lacking when it came to CEO oversight during that phase of CCRX being sold off. In short, there were other options besides VC involvement, and the appearance of conflict of interest in those decisions is high.

At the close of the meeting, a few of our written questions were addressed, but many others were not. We asked, and they agreed to provide a written response to those questions (copied below). To date, no further answers, including a copy of the IAG contract have been provided.

Anti-trust laws prevented us from discussing or addressing pharmacy contract offers.

Our goal here was to assess the transparency of the various parts of this multifaceted puzzle, so that pharmacy owners could have ALL the information they need to make an EDUCATED independent decisions about RxAlly, SmartD, and the future impact of various Part D networks beyond what was offered to them or to the PSAOs as a contract.

In summary, I can't say I obtained any new information that had not already been released into the public domain. I will say it appears as though we were expected to just buy into the logic of their business plan and agree to their explanations. I had the feeling they didn’t quite understand that we were not looking to develop a long term relationship, or even a friendship for that matter. I was quite clear we were seeking answers to our questions, and would be sharing those answers, or the lack of answers to our members. If we hear any different or they provide answers/clarification at a later date, we will share that as well.

Respectfully,

Dave Marley, PharmD

President

PUTT

Interview with Bob Killoran on Pharmacy Business Operations Assessment:

Through hands on experience with thousands of Pharmacy Operators and service providers, S & L Solutions LLC empowers you with Sound & Logical Solutions to help you remain competitive in today's dynamic pharmacy industry.

The comprehensive pharmacy support services provided through
S & L Solutions, LLC are driven by the philosophy that our success is measured solely upon the performance of our programs at each client’s location.

S&L Solutions has remained an independent entity and has no financial ties to vendors of any kind. We do not accept commission and/or referral fees from vendors. This policy has allowed us to make vendor recommendations that are in the best interest of our clients without any conflicts of interest.

Cost effective Short & Long term solutions which are customized to meet the specific needs of new or existing pharmacy operators:

"Results Driven Assessment"

Complete review of existing operations

Fiscal Management
Inventory
Receivables
Pricing Program

Pharmacy Supplier Management
Review Existing Arrangements
Recommend Optimum Services

Policy & Procedure Development
Integrate Pharmacy Services Per Company Guidelines

Technology Requirements
Review & Recommend

Health Organization Partnering
Expanded Services

Pharmacy Related Merchandising Solutions
Non Rx Essentials

Marketing / Promotion Programs
New & Existing Pharmacies

Market Research
Development of New Locations
Expanded Operations for Existing Pharmacies

Call us for your Risk Free Assessment: (412) 486-0855

We interview Kyle Fields - with ApproRx, a transparent PRO-Independent Pharmacy Benefit Management company.

Appro‐Rx is a growing Health Information Technology (HIT) company dedicated to payer medical cost reduction and improvement in patient health outcomes via their provider network. Through the use of Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) technologies, Appro‐Rx provides customers with prescription drug claims processing, prescription benefit management tools and other IT needs.

Appro‐Rx’s claims processing engine currently processes prescriptions through its PBM Software backbone for more than 400 thousand covered lives spread over 500+ employer plans and processing approximately 1 million claims per month.

The principals of Appro‐Rx believe strongly that the PBM model is broken, and we have set out to be industry game changers. We are targeting current practices – spread pricing on prescription drugs, manufacturers’ rebates and mandatory mail order programs that benefit PBMs instead of employers and patients. Our mission to bring pricing fairness and transparency to the PBM industry will enable employers to realize significant cost savings and improved health outcomes for their employees. Appro‐Rx has backing from independent pharmacists and pharmacy owners; various municipalities throughout the United States; and political and governmental groups.

Kyle Fields, PharmD, RPh
Owner/Vice President
ApproRx
513-897-1476
866-900-3711
Fax: 513-897-1446
Cell: 513-850-9519
www.ApproRx.com
Email: kyle.fields@approrx.com

We interview - Danny Vela owner of Lee’s Pharmacy in  McAllen, TX and member of the Rio Grande Valley Independent Pharmacy Association, who explains the situation in Texas (& throughout the country) that pharmacies have been facing when the state began its transition to managed care for Medicaid. Pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies were brought in to oversee the state’s prescription drug program.

Vela’s observation about the situation: “States that have tried this in the past, are now going back to the way they used to do things before. States that are going back, are using the [old] Texas vendor drug program model to go back to. So logic tells you that we had a great program in place. Why did we mess with it?”

WANT TO HELP? Contact us: (412) 486-0800
http://pharmacypodcast.com/index.php/contact

PHARMACY CHOICE & ACCESS NOW:
http://www.rxchoiceandaccess.com

Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency
http://www.truthrx.org

Preserving Community Pharmacy Access
http://preservingcommunitypharmacy.com

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran
http://moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=b6ec8e51-f2fe-435f-b503-d21ccf13328c