Content about Compliance

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — As one retail pharmacy executive put it, "many members of Congress only experience the pharmacy industry through their eyes as a patient." Thanks to NACDS RxImpact Day on Capitol Hill, however, that no longer has to be the case.

(THE NEWS: NACDS RxImpact Day 2011 takes aim at new lawmakers. For the full story, click here)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Upon the unveiling of President Obama's budget proposal, National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and CEO Steve Anderson said the budget proposal serves as yet another opportunity to highlight the "important role of pharmacy services as a bipartisan solution to an ongoing challenge: reducing healthcare costs while improving people's lives, particularly in the treatment of chronic conditions."

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — New legislation that supports medication therapy management, which is known to improve patient health outcomes and lower healthcare costs, has been endorsed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association.

The Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act of 2011, which was introduced by Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., builds on legislation that Hagan authored in 2010 and also was co-sponsored by Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Maneuvering to set forth a firm policy position in advance of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores again urged Congress Tuesday to “look to pharmacy as a solution in improving patient health and curbing healthcare costs.”

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The healthcare system needs to find ways to help patients with such complex therapies as chronic heart disease to simplify and centralize their medication management and create a "pharmacy home" to improve medication adherence, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Almost $8,000 a year in healthcare savings, per patient. That’s how much patients with congestive heart failure could save the U.S. healthcare system simply by taking their medications as prescribed, an exhaustive, three-year study by CVS Caremark concluded.

(THE NEWS: Adherence among chronic disease patients can lead to big savings. For the full story, click here)

GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. — When you get north of Syracuse, N.Y., you enter a special part of Retail Pharmacy America known as “Kinney Country,” where people know their neighbors and everybody knows their neighborhood drug store.


ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation is inviting health and pharmacy experts and other researchers to join the Herculean effort to improve patient adherence rates.

The invitation comes in the form of a new Request for Proposal, issued Tuesday by the NACDS Foundation. The foundation is seeking bids from research organizations to study primary medication nonadherence, which occurs when a patient fails to fill or pick up his or her newly prescribed medication.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The industry has a lot to learn in order to determine how to most effectively use electronic communications to improve patient medication adherence, as few studies show how health information technology can be leveraged to motivate patients to take medications as prescribed, according to research sponsored by CVS Caremark.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Nearly all surveyed patients using BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy’s services over the last six years adhered to their therapies, according to recent statistics.

Quarterly data collected between 2004 and 2010 found that of 17,000 patients analyzed, compliance at the time of discharge was 92%.

NEW YORK — Adding pharmacists to a primary care team could help diabetics better manage associated risks, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Alberta.

Among 153 hypertensive Type 2 diabetes patients studied, 82 who had advice from a pharmacist were more likely to reach blood pressure treatment targets recommended by the Canadian Diabetes Association.