Tag: Industry Insights

SPONSORED CONTENT

At AIDS Healthcare Foundation, we commit to linking any person newly diagnosed with HIV to care within 72 hours of their reactive result. In addition, through our AHF Wellness Centers that offer free STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) screening and testing, our Healthcare Centers, our Mobile Testing Units, and community events, we provide the public with several opportunities for STI testing.

If there is a reaction after a person tests, a testing counselor will contact that person and set them up with a health care appointment at one of our many locations. At the appointment, we walk the individual through what care will look like moving forward, and we prescribe any appropriate medications needed to ensure they receive specialized care. At the same time, we schedule a follow-up appointment because statistics show that patients who make their second appointment are significantly more likely to stay in care long-term.

We are also excited to report the opening of two

SPONSORED CONTENT

With so many competing priorities dominating each workday, it can feel overwhelming to keep track of the latest developments that affect the 340B Program. For 340B stakeholders responsible for maintaining compliance, operating a strong program, and maximizing their resources in this complex and ever-changing landscape, keeping up with policies and operational best practices is mission-critical. There is a one-stop solution that 340B experts have used since 2019: the annual 340B Trends & Hot Topics module from the Apexus Advanced 340B Operations Certificate Program. Apexus experts keep the module current with the latest 340B news, legislative activity, and operational challenges and solutions affecting all 340B stakeholders.

In the new 340B Trends & Hot Topics module, 340B stakeholders can explore various 340B expert perspectives regarding strategies for implementing a compliant 340B program in their respective entities.

The newest 340B Trends & Hot Topics module covers a range of 340B hot topics, including the

SPONSORED CONTENT

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation thrift store division, Out of the Closet, presents a fun, stigma-free opportunity to link people to care. Every Out of the Closet thrift store benefits AHF’s life-saving programs around the world because 96 cents of every dollar spent at an OTC goes back to HIV care and services. Those services include HIV and STI testing, treatment, and securing medications for AHF Pharmacy clients.

OTC aims to serve a person’s life, not just a diagnosis. With Out of the Closet’s all-in-one model, people can donate old belongings, thrift for new clothes and furniture at an affordable price, grab free condoms to practice safer sex, receive HIV testing, get a referral for treatment if a reactive result occurs, and get linked to care in fewer than 72 hours. 

No other shopping experience allows people to provide for their livelihood and receive care all under one roof. In most OTCs,

SPONSORED CONTENT

With more and more drug manufacturers excluding their products from 340B contract pharmacies, covered entities are asking two questions: When does this end? And what should we do about it? At Sentry, we’re asking ourselves, how can we best support our customers in these challenging circumstances?

With drugs like AbbVie’s best-selling Humira, Merck’s Keytruda and diabetic drugs from five different manufacturers, it’s safe to say that the contract pharmacy exclusions are taking an ever-increasing bite out of covered entities’ 340B benefits and curtailing their ability to provide critical safety-net services in their communities. We know this from speaking with thousands of covered entity end-users, stakeholders, and advocates. One customer of ours, a large urban health system, has lost over $70 million in program benefits to date from Sanofi alone. The impact is real and has lasting effects on caring for the most vulnerable.

During our February webinar where we discussed the “Manufacturer Mayhem,” I did

SPONSORED CONTENT

Managing a hospital, clinic or specialty pharmacy grows more challenging with each passing day. Whether you are considering opening a new pharmacy or already operate one or multiple locations, existing and emerging complexities challenge daily pharmacy operations and financials.

Research conducted by Sage Growth Partners, a strategic healthcare-based marketing and research firm, reveals that community health centers (FQHCs) and hospital pharmacy leaders worry about scarcity and quality of labor, complex third-party payor contracting, and evolving compliance guidelines. Their concerns are rooted in the impact these issues have on patient access and outcomes, as well as profitability.

These concerns go above and beyond core pharmacy operations. Pharmacists and their staff face the unrealistic expectation to be highly knowledgeable about best practices for hiring and retaining employees, having the financial and contractual prowess to optimize drug purchasing and payor contracting, and even how to license and maintain accreditation in the complex regulatory world. However,

SPONSORED CONTENT

Numerous studies have demonstrated how patient medication adherence impacts long-term outcomes and healthcare costs. 

Drug manufacturers consistently work to refine their current products, and to create new ones, in order to increase patient adherence. Medications that once needed to be administered multiple times per day, now come in extended-release versions that require only one daily dose. Manufacturers have succeeded in combining multiple drugs into single tablet regimens. This trend is evident in the evolution of HIV regimens over time. One of the first combinations of anti-retroviral therapy used to treat HIV patients required patients to take almost 20 pills per day. Now, many of the most widely used medications for managing HIV consist of only one pill, once per day.

The Next Generation

Recently, manufacturers have taken it a step further–introducing long-lasting injectable medications. Examples include Cabotegravir/rilpivirine (CABENUVA), a monthly injection to manage HIV, and long-acting buprenorphine (SUBLOCADE®), a once-a-month injection, used to help manage opioid addiction.

SPONSORED CONTENT

In recent years, the federal 340B drug discount program has grown in importance for safety net facilities. Covered entities are continuing to battle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which lead to uncertainties including provider and staffing shortages, impacts on 340B eligibility, and revenue shortfalls. The financial stability of the 340B program is paramount to the care of these hard-hit communities.

Value-based payment programs, such as Medicare accountable care organizations, can be a critical pillar supporting your 340B program. Value-based payment programs provide data on patients and prescribers that create new opportunities to capture 340B discounts. Caravan Health has been able to help clients gain an average of $200,000 per ACO participant in additional 340B revenue by optimizing their programs with accountable care data.

Covered Entities can maximize discounts in value-based payment programs

Even covered entities that are experienced with 340B are often capturing less than half of available 340B discounts. That leaves the majority of these

SPONSORED CONTENT

Over the last twelve months, more than 435 healthcare providers across the U.S. had breaches of unsecured protected health information. 73% were hacking/IT incidents with more than 27 million individuals affected. These numbers are according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights Breach Portal, where HIPAA requires any breaches of over 500 individual records be reported.

HIPAA specifies a list of rules, or national standards that covered entities must follow to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information. However, HIPAA doesn’t specifically prescribe how those rules are implemented. For example, it doesn’t mandate that you use a particular encryption standard or set your passwords in a specific format. Instead, it’s up to each organization’s discretion on how to set those standards for themselves based on their unique circumstances.  There is an expectation, however, that implementations will be robust enough to provide adequate protection for personal health information.  Independent assessments by qualified