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TPC Meds Generated Top $801 Million!
Users of The Pharmacy Connection software have now generated over $801 million (average wholesale price) in free medications from the PAPs which represents a cumulative total of 2.69 million requests for 194,880 uninsured and underserved patients in the past 13 years.
Keep up the awesome work! |
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Another great turnout at the Spring workshops held in Roanoke, Big Stone Gap, Virginia Beach, Richmond and Fairfax in April and May. We had 126 attendees representing 87 organizations.
Discussions focused on highlights of Health Care Reform for Safety Net Providers, Collaboration with Community Services Boards, TPC version 6,0,0,1 and more! To access the PowerPoint presentations, visit the Workshop Folder Spring 2010 on the VHCF FTP Site. If you need help accessing these files, please contact TPC staff.
Be on the lookout later this summer for the fall session dates & locations!
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Tracking Community Services Board Patients
With the closing of the state's Community Resource Pharmacy in November, many Community Services Boards (CSBs) turned to medication assistance programs in safety net clinics to help their uninsured patients obtain medications. Please be sure to track patients that are referred to you from a CSB in TPC. On the patient information screen, locate the Referral Source drop down menu. Click the blue star shortcut to add CSB to the drop down menu if it is not already there. Select CSB for any patient who is referred by a CSB or is a CSB patient. |
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Beginner
June 25-Richmond
July 29-Online
August 6-Roanoke
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QUARTERLY DATA TRANSFER
The next quarterly report is due July 14th! Remember you have between the 1st and the 14th of July to send your data before the system locks you out.
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Welcome to The Pharmacy Connection's quarterly e-newsletter! We've got some great information to share from the past few months. |
VHCF's 2010
You "Rx"ceptional Winners
Congratulations to Lita Truitt from Halifax MedAssist for winning this year's You "Rx"ceptional Award! Lita began helping uninsured patients with PAP medications six years ago in Halifax County, VA. She volunteered two days a week for two years at a local cardiology office to make sure that 125 uninsured patients got medicine they needed.
In July 2008, MedAssist of Halifax received an RxRelief Virginia grant and hired Lita to help uninsured area residents on a full time basis. To get the word out about the PAP programs, Lita and her team developed letters & brochures and spread the word to local medical practices, churches, civic organizations and community groups. She even scheduled monthly visits to outlying areas where she discovered patients needed help. As a result, the program grew substantially. Lita recruited another volunteer, who now is employed part-time.
In the last 18 months, Lita has helped over 1,000 uninsured Halifax area residents who suffer from chronic disease obtain more than $4 million in free prescription medicines. Lita is passionate about her work because "you never know when you might find yourself in the same situation." Keep up the great work, Lita! We were proud and delighted to honor you at VHCF's recent Heroes in Health Care celebration!
AstraZeneca also received a You "Rx"ceptional Award as an industry leader in the design and implementation of Patient Assistance Programs. Because AZ&Me staff invested time to learn about the characteristics and needs of both uninsured patients and the organizations which serve them, the company has developed a number of innovative PAP programs and features for uninsured consumers.
As a result, in 2009 alone, AZ&Me's PAP programs helped more than 25,000 uninsured Virginians fill over 185,000 prescriptions valued at $31 million! Thank you for your leadership and generosity, AstraZeneca!
To read more about other categories of winners at this year's celebration, click here. |
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Pfizer initiated a nationwide voluntary recall June 3, 2010 of all lots of Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin and Ondansetron IV Products due to the presence of floating matter and non-sterility. Adverse reactions should be reported to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-0178.
Abbott's Diabetes Care program offers the Freestyle Lite and Prescision meters and test strips. If the patient is insulin dependent, he/she can get a maximum of 400 strips every 4 months. If the patient is NOT on insulin, he/she can receive 300 strips per year and can order every 4 months. Contact the program at 1-800-222-6885 for more information.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recently launched the GSK Vaccines Access Program which provides adult vaccines free of charge to eligible low income individuals age 19 and older without insurance coverage. Income cannot be more than 250% of the federal poverty level ($27,075 for a single person or $36,425 for a couple). Vaccines are covered for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and cervical cancer for women age 19 to 25. For more information, visit GSK-VAP.com or call 1-877-822-2911. This information has been added to TPC.
Takeda, in coordination with the FDA, changed the name of the medication Kapidex to Dexilant in April.This change was made as the best way to minimize future dispensing errors between Kapidex and Casodex due to name similarity. Only the name and NDC numbers have changed.
Proctor & Gamble is now Warner Chilcott Pharmaceuticals. The application has been updated with the new logo. Eligiblity requirements and other program details remain the same. Medications (Actonel, Asacol, Asacol HD, Didronel, Macrobid & Macrodantin) are still only available to existing patients until further notice. |
Medicare and the New Health Law
Medicare Part D $250 Rebate
Starting in early-mid June, seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries who reach the Coverage Gap (or Doughnut Hole), will receive a $250 tax-free rebate as part of the Affordable Care Act (Health Reform Law). This amount will increase by $250/year until 2020 when the doughnut hole will be phased out. Medicare beneficiaries who are receiveing "Extra Help" from Medicare and Social Security will not be eligible for the rebate.
For most 2010 Medicare Part D plans, the Coverage Gap phase begins when the total amount spent of an individual's prescription drugs reaches $2,830 (this is the amount the patient spent plus the amount the Part D plan spent). With most 2010 Medicare Part D plans, once a patient enter the Coverage Gap, he/she is responsible for 100% of prescription drug costs.
Rebate Details:
- All Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D will automatically receive a check if they reach the 2010 coverage gap portion of their prescription coverage.
- Patients will receive a check within 45 days of having reached the gap.
- You DO NOT need to complete any forms. If anyone asks you to complete a form, it is a scam.
- The check should be from the US Department of Health & Human Services and will say Medicare Part D.
CMS has begun mailing Medicare beneficiaries a brochure "Medicare and the New Health Law - What it Means for You." This brochure outlines key provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act. To access this brochure, click here. Visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-633-4227 for more information. |
 ASK JULIET & LISA
Some of the most frequently asked technical support questions...
What are some alternative free or low cost options for obtaining diabetic supplies?
A: Limited diabetic testing supplies are available through TPC. If you are looking for other products, check out your local Walmart. www.homediagnostics.com & www.Diabetesstore.com who also provide a variety of meters and strips.
How do I download and run a custom report to determine which of my patients are age 64 and older?
A: Go to the VHCF FTP Site under the Web Menu within TPC. Locate the folder called Custom Reports. Double-click the folder and double-click the report "Patients Age 64 and older." Click Save. Select the location where your TPC files are installed to save this file to the Custom Reports folder, typically: C:\Program Files\VHCF\TPC SQL\Custom Reports. Save the file here and you are ready to run the report once you go back to TPC!
Is there a report I can run that will show closed requests?
A: Yes. You can use the Request Utility. Load the requests then export the data to Excel by clicking 'Export to Excel.' You can sort the data here and generate your own report. If you need assistance using the Request Utility, please contact TPC staff. This is also demonstrated in an Advanced training class. Click here to register for Advanced training.
It appears the font sizes are different on some of the data that is merged to applications. Can this be adjusted?
A: Yes. TPC staff has adjusted the fonts. Be sure to do your Data Transfer regularly to update your application forms. If you come across any forms you would like us to review, please contact us.
Other questions? Check out the Frequently Asked Question section under the Help Menu in TPC. Still can't find the answer you are looking for? Contact Juliet or Lisa. |
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Upcoming TPC Enhancements 2010
We would like to thank all of you who gave suggestions for features you would like to see in the next version of TPC. We have reviewed the list and the developers are already hard at work incorporating many of them into TPC. There are some new and exciting upgrades! In a few months, we will need some help beta testing the new features. If you are interested in beta testing, please email tpc@vhcf.org. |
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Thank you for reading the Spring edition of Rx Connect!
TPC Staff
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