Testimonies of Inspiration

Dear Pharmacies,

The Deadline is getting closer and we're running out of time to Table SB397. We must act now to contact our representatives. SB397 has gotten pushed through the Senate and is almost through the House almost as to avoid opposition. No one realized it was even introduced to the Senate until it was too late! I have left you email links to each of the three Missoula representatives at the end of this message... please do your part. You may simply write to them saying that you are opposed to SB397 and fear for patient safety concerns and to please "table SB397" or you may address your own concerns such as why an insurance company is trying to push a bill through legislation only to save a few bucks for themselves while the clinic staff, pharmacies, and worst of all the patients get the shaft! I have attached a letter from a concerned pharmacist stating their concerns as a good example:


Dear Rep. Kerns:

I am asking you to please oppose SB 397. This bill would permit physicians to dispense medications at employer-based clinics. Although this may sound like a good idea at first, taking pharmacists out of the drug distribution system creates serious problems. Pharmacists provide a safety net for medication use, including providing the correct medication at the correct dose and screening for medication allergies, Pharmacists also screen for drug interactions with other prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, nutritional supplements, and herbal products. The pharmacist may have to compound special preparations, such as skin creams or ointments, or mix liquid antibiotics. Pharmacists educate patients about the correct use of medications and how to deal with possible side effects. Upon identifying any actual or potential medication-related problems, a pharmacist will contact the physician to make recommendations and find an appropriate solution. Physicians have a limited amount of time in which to assess a patient by listening to the patient’s problems, performing a history and physical examination, making a tentative diagnosis, ordering laboratory tests, deciding on appropriate treatment, and educating the patient about the treatment plan. They really don’t have time to adequately perform the additional tasks performed by a pharmacist, who have trained for at least 6 years to understand the nuances of medications. An employer-based clinic has a limited choice of mostly generic medications available for dispensing and no controlled substances. This often requires a patient to go to a local pharmacy for some, if not all, of his or her prescriptions. Local pharmacies are often less expensive because of bulk purchasing and special pricing. There are hundreds of medication-related problems and errors prevented by pharmacists every day, saving enormous costs by avoiding hospital and emergency room visits, serious side effects, and even deaths. Please vote no on SB 397 to keep patients at employer-based clinics safe from the many potential dangers of medications.


Please use the following links to contact Missoula's representatives on the House Committee.

Michele Reinhart HD97 MICHELEREINHART@GMAIL.COM
Dave McAlpin HD94 MCDAVE94@HOTMAIL.COM
Diane Sands HD95 HDSANDS@AOL.COM

Just let your representative know your vote: that you oppose the bill and to "TABLE SB397" thats all that's needed! Becky, Jim, and Starla need our support. Thank you!

For more information pertaining to these bills visit: Montana State Legislation for Bill information, and GrizRPh Current Legislation for a break down of what is happening in Helena with SB397 and more!

Time Sensitive Material...please read now!

Dear Pharmacies,

There are important matters at the level of the House Human Services committee that need our attention. SB397 is a bill that has sailed through the Senate with a unanimous vote of 50 to 0 and is at our back door. SB397 will give practitioners the ability to dispense medications to the public, just as pharmacies do, without a pharmacist on staff. There are some parts of the legislation that needs definitions as well as some expounding on who will actually dispense the drugs and who will counsel on the medications. One thing is clear... they don't want to pay a pharmacist to dispense or counsel medications in an "employer based onsite clinic"... and the question is how loosely this definition will be used. We all know where this is heading... huge patient safety concerns! If you work at a retail pharmacy, as I do, you know how devastating this can be. Physicians play a critical role in our community and I applaud their knowledge and prescribing practices; however, I believe that pharmacists also play a critical role in the healthcare system as well as the check-n-balances of that system…which should remain the same for the sake of our patients!

If every pharmacist receiving this could forward the message to all pharmacists they know, asking them to contact their area legislators on the House Human Services committee regarding SB397, asking those legislators to vote to table the bill or suggest "do not pass" that would be very helpful. You can use some of Becky Deschamps attached comments if you would like. Starla Blank has given a list of some of the pharmacists in home towns of legislators on the Human Services Committee, and Becky Deschamps has been calling those pharmacists yesterday and today to get the word out. We need to do this quickly, as SB397 won't sit in committee forever. The list can be found on Becky Deschamps' blog entitled "Current Legislation". Please act now... OR... at least please read through SB397 at Montana State Legislation and Becky Deschamps' blog.

Thanks for your support, please read the "About GrizRPh" statement for a better understanding of our mission. Also, please sign up for the RPh Messenger Service so you may get current upto date news from various highly respected pharmacists practicing in Montana.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Eric Shields, PharmD

Attention Pharmacists, Technicians, & Professionals

This website is designed as a knowlege base to bring you updated information on pharmacy practice as well as keep community ties with our collegues. In addition, this website will have a focus on the "legislative branch of pharmacy" so that pharmacists voices may be heard louder from our community to protect our pharmacy practice. Thank you for visiting. Don't forget to sign up for the RPh messenger so that I may e-mail you for important topics, and date sensitive materials such as CE's and Legislative material! Please see Becky Deschamps "Current Pharmacy Legislation" (very important we act now...please see blog).

Eric

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