Winegar A, Shepherd MD*, Lawson KA, Richards K. Comparison of claim percent gross margin earned by Texas community independent pharmacies for dual-eligible beneficiaries claims before and after Medicare Part D. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2009 Sept/Oct; 49(5):617-2

Abstract. OBJECTIVES: To describe dual eligibles’ claims before and after Medicare Part D and to evaluate the effect that Medicare Part D has had on the claim percent gross margin (CPGM) earned by Texas community independent pharmacies.

DESIGN: Nonexperimental time series study.

SETTING: Texas, October 2005 through September 2006.

PARTICIPANTS: 313 community independent pharmacies.

INTERVENTION: Review of more than 150,000 Medicaid and 300,000 Medicare Part D claims acquired from a drug claims processor.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: CPGM per prescription claim before and after the implementation of Medicare Part D, controlling for generic/brand drug status.

RESULTS: The mean CPGM for prescriptions dispensed before Part D (Medicaid claims) was 26.7%. The mean CPGM for claims dispensed after Part D (Medicare claims) was 17.0% (using ingredient costs in 2006 dollars) or 20.4% (using ingredient costs adjusted to 2005 dollars), a reduction of 36.3% and 23.6%, respectively. Under both Medicaid and Part D, pharmacies earned higher margins for generic drugs (39.9% and 29.5%, respectively) than for brand-name drugs (8.7% and 8.3%, respectively).

CONCLUSION: These results support community pharmacy assertions of lower reimbursements from Part D payers compared with Medicaid payers. Based on these results, pharmacies can respond to this evolving environment by carefully reviewing their Part D plans’ impact on CPGM and taking available steps to increase the proportion of generic drugs dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries.

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Medical Sales Representative Caught Selling Fake Flu Vaccines

View larger map What: The National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines caught a former medical sales representative selling fake Vaxigrip – a flu vaccine – throughout the country. When: July 28, 2009 Where: The Philippines, including the cities of Manila and Makati, as well as the Laguna province. Who: Sanofi Pasteur, Sanofi-Aventis Group Additional…

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2 Million Counterfeit Needles Found in Europe

View larger map What: More than two million counterfeit insulin needles were found in established European distribution channels. When: July 1, 2009 Where: Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom How: A Dutch company purchased insulin needles from a wholesaler in Malaysia, which claimed the needles came from Iran. The needles were subsequently distributed throughout the…

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Counterfeit Heparin Blamed for Worldwide Deaths

View larger map What: Counterfeit heparin has been linked to the deaths of 81 people and resulted in hundreds of allergic reactions in the United States. Batches of contaminated heparin were also detected in 11 other countries – resulting in as many as 68 more deaths. Reports issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration…

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Puchert T, Lochmann D, Menezes JC, Reich G. Near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) for counterfeit drug identification–a four-stage concept with a novel approach of data processing (Linear Image Signature). J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2010;51(1):138-45.

A new stage concept was developed to reliably identify counterfeit tablets which are very similar to the genuine drug product. This concept combines single-point near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) with statistical variance analysis. The advantage of NIR-CI over NIRS is the potential to determine not only the amount, but also the spatial…

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Counterfeit Drug Ring Busted in Montreal

View larger map What: Officials seized 15,000 counterfeit pills and arrested nine people during raids in the Montreal region. Counterfeit Viagra and cancer drugs were among the seized pills. When: August 6, 2009 Where: Montreal, Canada Additional details: According to the Montreal Gazette, the Royal Canadian Mounted Policy (RCMP) seized 15,000 counterfeit pills and arrested…

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Why Steal a Truck Full of Drugs?

Perhaps it’s an obvious question, but after the recent truck hijacking of generic asthma medication this month in McKinney Texas, we wondered, “Who steals entire truckloads of drugs, and what do they do with them?” It seemed like something right out of a mobster movie. We asked the counterfeit drugs experts on the Partnership’s board…

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GSK advisory about stolen Advair inhalers

Products stolen: Advair Diskus 250/50, 60 Dose, Advair Diskus 500/50, 60 Dose Lot numbers: 9ZP2255, 9ZP3325 Countries known affected: United States Investigating agency contact: FDA Office of Criminal Investigations at 1-800-551-3989 or GSK’s Customer Response Center at 1-888-825-5249 Manufacturers information: GSK PR/Newswire Posted on/updated: August 24 2009 View Larger Map On August 24, GlaxoSmithKline announced…

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West African Countries Inundated with Counterfeit Drugs

On July 15, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report detailing how West Africa has become an increasing target for counterfeit drugs. According to the report, as much as 50 to 60 percent of the medicines in this region of the world were found to contain “little or no active ingredients.” The report goes on to explain why these counterfeit drugs are a major public health threat in Africa.

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Microsoft’s Bing.com Sponsors Illegal Online Pharmacies

The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) strongly believes that that no one should be able to purchase prescription drugs, including controlled substances, over the Internet without a valid prescription and physician oversight. Last year we sent every member of Congress a postcard that illustrated this face and earlier this year, my colleague Dr. Bryan Liang published a paper in the American Journal of Law & Medicine that highlights how Internet search engines support illegal online drug sales and identified three key ways we can stop “online pharmacies” from peddling their dangerous wares in cyberspace.

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