Recently I attended a webinar “Managing COVID-19: Key Labor & Employment Issues” presented by LexisNexis. The speakers were two attorneys from Locke Lord LLP specializing in employment law. They covered and touched upon some important considerations that you need to keep in mind when running a business in these strange times. Many pharmacies are attempting to go back to “normal” and often ask me about COVID-related issues in the workplace. Because I do not practice…

A group of independent pharmacies filed a lawsuit against OptumRx alleging various unfair/illegal business practices, such as reimbursements below cost,  price manipulations, discriminatory treatment. Mark Cuker of the Jacobson Law Group filed the case in Pennsylvania and Illinois on behalf of independent pharmacies, and he is looking into filing a similar action in California. This is not the first case filed by Mark, in which he represents the interest of independent pharmacies. In 2015, he…

Recently, I’ve been inundated with offers to purchase N95 masks and PPE, as well as with offers to order COVID test-kits. Most of these offers come through my firm’s website and I suspect it is because my website has “pharmacy” written all over it. After reading the APhA’s article on new scams targeting pharmacies, I realized that a reason why I receive these offers is because I work with pharmacies. Apparently, pharmacies are dealing with…

Recently I was reviewing client’s compliance on sending advertisements via fax.  Because the pharmacy industry is still extensively utilizing fax machines (and e-faxes), I decided to remind how to properly send promotional materials through fax. First of all, a recent case prompted my compliance review. Last year, a doctor filed a legal action against a pharmacy who advertised its services and products by fax. Dr. Katz brought a class action against Benzer pharmacy for violating…

On March 10, 2020, CMS issued guidance to Part D sponsors urging them to relax some of the requirements that could disrupt access to medications due to the coronavirus outbreak. It recommended that Part D sponsors take the following steps: Relax “Refill-Too-Soon” and provide maximum extended day supply; Reimburse beneficiaries for prescriptions obtained from out-of-network pharmacies; Allow and reimburse pharmacies for home or mail deliveries; Waive prior authorization for drugs to treat or prevent COVID-19.…

Federal law requires an in-person medical evaluation before a practitioner may prescribe a controlled substance. Some exceptions, however, exist. One of them is a declared public health emergency. On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services issued such a public health emergency. On March 16, 2020, the Secretary and the Acting DEA Administrator announced that practitioners may prescribe controlled substances via Telehealth in all areas of the United States.…