Montana PharmAssist is Coming!!!

Just a quick Memo to remind everyone that if you haven’t already received your PharmAssist Training Program materials from the University of Montana, to please sign up now for the upcoming programs on: June 24th in Kalispell, August 19th in Great Falls, and October 14th in Missoula. Missoula is already receiving the “Green Cards” in the mail that have email contact information in which to receive a pdf form via email that you must fill out and fax in. To save everyone some extra work and time, just CLICK HERE to download the form in pdf format (get adobe acrobat reader, if needed), quickly fill it out and fax it in right from work…it will just take a few minutes. Hurry spots are filling quickly! Please fax signed form to:

ACPE Program Assistant, 406-243-4353 (Fax #)
Please e-mail any questions to:
pharmacy.ce@umontana.edu
or call 406-243-2453 (Phone #)

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Answers to some posing questions:
1. Yes, you get 6 Free CE credits for the program
2. Yes, the program itself is Free!!!
3. No, you do not have to have proof of Personal Liability Insurance to attend the CE or get certification. You will need Personal Liability Insurance before meeting your first patient.
4. No, pharmacies are not reimbursed through the Program; Only Pharmacists are personally reimbursed.
5. Yes, the program is very educational and fulfilling!!!

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The Following letter is from Roger Citron, RPh at DPHHS, that I found lying around, explaining the Montana Pharmacist Program:

February 13, 2007
Dear Montana Pharmacist,

The Montana PharmAssist is coming! The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is offering all Montana pharmacists the opportunity to become credentialed to participate in this new program. Based upon the Wyoming PharmAssist (see website below), DPHHS developed the program framework tailored to meet the needs of our Montana residents.

The University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy will offer six hours of free continuing education (CE) to train pharmacists intent on participating in the program. Only credentialed pharmacists may provide and be paid for these cognitive services through the Montana PharmAssist.

Once our credentialed provider base is trained the program will be advertised to the public, with the intent to begin processing requests in July, 2007. Any Montana resident will be eligible to request a consultation through the PharmAssist. The Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation will review these patient applications and then coordinate a one-to-one counseling session to be performed by one of the credentialed pharmacists.

The final rules for this new program are still in work, but DPHHS is planning to utilize personal service contracts for credentialed pharmacists (not pharmacies) to get reimbursed when they provide these services.

As a profession, we must look for innovative ways to get reimbursed for our clinical skills and knowledge.

The Montana PharmAssist is a start. I urge you to consider registering for one of the training sessions to be able to participate in this exciting, innovative program.

Sincerely,
Roger A. Citron, R.Ph.
Montana Medicaid Pharmacist
Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services
(406)444-5951
rcitron@mt.gov

Here is the example of the Wyoming PharmAssist Program Roger had mentioned that the Montana PharmAssist program is modeled after: Wyoming PharmAssist Program