December 7, 2007

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

and

Quality Assurance and Improvement Programs Available

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is requiring that all Medicare Part D plan sponsors take steps to ensure that all participating providers in Medicare Part D plans have training to help avoid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA) when Medicare prescriptions are filled.  Specifically, CMS dictates that all plan sponsors and their “downstream entities”, which include pharmacists and pharmacy workforce members engaged in delivering any Medicare services, receive general and specialized training to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.       

An online program called “Preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse” is available for pharmacists and pharmacy employees to obtain training.  Please remember, this is required to participate in Medicare Part D plans.  To complete the FWA program, go to www.learnsomething.com and click on the program “Preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.”  Once you and your employees have completed the program, you should keep documentation that shows you have completed the training.

In addition, Part D plan sponsors and many private plan sponsors are also requiring pharmacies to have a quality assurance and improvement program in place.  The APA has a partnership with the Pharmacy Quality Commitment (PQC) and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) to offer a quality assurance program that will help pharmacies develop policies and procedures for quality improvement in their store and to provide continuous monitoring of errors and near errors.

For more information, or to order your quality assurance program, visit www.pqc.net.

Please keep in mind that both of these requirements are being incorporated into third party contracts, so it is very important that your pharmacy take the appropriate steps to ensure compliance.

2008 CE in Paradise - New England Cruise

Deadline to Register - Extended to January 1, 2008

The Arkansas Pharmacy Foundation 2008 CE in Paradise will be held October 18 – 28, 2008 aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s ship, the Jewel.  We will cruise from New York City, passing the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline on our way up the Northeast coast and down the St. Lawrence Seaway to Quebec City.  Along the way we will stop in Boston, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Sydney, Nova Scotia.  Due to interest, additional cabins have been added.  Please guarantee your reservation by January 1, 2008 to ensure early bird pricing.  

Call the APA office at 501-372-5250 or visit the APA website at  http://www.arpharmacists.org/PageContinuingEducation.htm for more information.