Communications
As pharmacists, we are among the most trusted professionals in the world, yet we don't utilize that trust to the fullest. This page is going to have more than just the information stored for general use, but also a section for informational stories and pieces for utilization.
Rural Health Statistics
Everybody continues to hear about the dwindling access to healthcare opportunities, but aren’t aware of them unless it directly effects them as individuals… Today, we
States Attempting PBM Legislation
Most states have taken some PBM action (licensing, transparency, anti-clawback rules), but only a minority passed the most aggressive reforms (ownership bans, delinking compensation, or
Cost Sharing? Or Cost Shifting in Disguise…
Despite numerous existing policies and regulations in place, certain groups continue to operate as if they are untouchable… Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and their associated
Pharmacy Pains – Praying for Gains
Local pharmacies are part of our community — they give medicine, vaccines, and help when people are sick. PBM practices that hide how money moves
OptumRX Continues The Game
Another perfect example of PBM attempted overreach: changing a contract requirement in the middle of the contract term, creating hostile dispensing environment(s) for retail dispensing
Power to Choose: How State-Level Health Regulations Are Restoring Patient Choice — and Raising Community Health
Across the country, states are quietly reshaping the rules that govern where patients get their medicines, who can treat them remotely, and how health dollars
"He Who Knows Does Not Speak"
This start to a Chinese proverb is highly indicative of the retail pharmacy industry. We have allowed mail-order pharmacy representatives to dictate our line of business for too long. The end of the proverb goes as “He who speaks does not know.” – Loazi, Chinese Philosopher 604BC-531BC
Today’s environment, although millennia after the proverb was coined, remains much the same in numerous aspects, with pharmacists high among the rank of sticking their heads in the sand and hoping for better… Mail-Order lobbyists have dictated several practice regulations for our industry because they are the loudest voice with the most funds due to their joined forces as PBM’s. We could learn a few things from their tactics if we would band together and work as a unit instead of constantly squabbling over the leftovers, getting left the moldy crumbs…
Our goal through UPC is to do exactly that: work pharmacists together, as a unified front, toward retail pharmacy for community-centric goals that everybody agrees should be center of the discussion. Join us in our endeavors to positively shape pharmacy healthcare standards today!