2008 Summer Meeting
The 340B Drug Pricing Program - An Update
Track: Hot Topic
Program Code:111-L04
Date: 9 June 2008
Time: Monday, June 9, 2008
Location:615 - Level 6MEETING PLANNING ASSOCIATE:
| Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., R.Ph., FASHP
Sr. Director, 340B Prime Vendor Program/Aprexus
Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., R.Ph. is senior director for the 340B Prime Vendor Program managed by Apexus in Irving, Texas. Apexus is a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of Provista Inc. Mr. Hatwig works closely with Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Office of Pharmacy Affairs and the Pharmacy Services Support Center in Washington, D.C. to educate all stakeholders, and to improve the integrity and value of the 340B Drug Pricing Program for the nation’s safety-net providers which include HRSA grantees and disproportionate share hospitals. The Prime Vendor provides added value by collectively representing 340B covered entities purchases to secure federal sub-ceiling discounts on pharmaceuticals and discounts on other outpatient pharmacy related products and services. In 2007, the program is generating an average savings of 16% below the federal 340B ceiling pricing on contracted sales for its participants. With an primary goal of improving access to affordable medication, the program is currently providing value to over 5500 provider sites providing care to the nation’s low income and uninsured populations.
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MODERATOR:
| Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., R.Ph., FASHP
Sr. Director, 340B Prime Vendor Program/Aprexus
Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., R.Ph. is senior director for the 340B Prime Vendor Program managed by Apexus in Irving, Texas. Apexus is a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of Provista Inc. Mr. Hatwig works closely with Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Office of Pharmacy Affairs and the Pharmacy Services Support Center in Washington, D.C. to educate all stakeholders, and to improve the integrity and value of the 340B Drug Pricing Program for the nation’s safety-net providers which include HRSA grantees and disproportionate share hospitals. The Prime Vendor provides added value by collectively representing 340B covered entities purchases to secure federal sub-ceiling discounts on pharmaceuticals and discounts on other outpatient pharmacy related products and services. In 2007, the program is generating an average savings of 16% below the federal 340B ceiling pricing on contracted sales for its participants. With an primary goal of improving access to affordable medication, the program is currently providing value to over 5500 provider sites providing care to the nation’s low income and uninsured populations.
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PRESENTER(S):
Mr. Jimmy Mitchell, RPh, MPH, Director, Office of Pharmacy Affairs, Healthcare Systems Bureau/HRSA
| Jimmy R. Mitchell
Jimmy Mitchell is the Director of the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and Co-chair, with Dr. Denise Geolot, of HRSA’s Patient Safety/Clinical Pharmacy Collaborative. His office administers the 340B Drug Pricing Program through which more than 13,000 outpatient clinics and disproportionate share hospitals purchase approximately $5 billion annually in discounted drugs. He has directed several new initiatives, including the Prime Vendor Program, clinical pharmacy demonstration grants, and the Alternative Methods Demonstration projects, all of which improve access to comprehensive pharmacy services for underserved populations. He retired from the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps after 31 years of service.
Mr. Mitchell graduated from the Ole Miss School of Pharmacy, where he currently serves on the Dean’s advisory committee. He also earned a Masters Degree in National Resource Strategy (health care focus) from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and a Masters Degree in Public Health from the John Hopkins University.
Mr. Mitchell is the recipient of numerous awards including the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management’s Award for Distinguished Achievement in Administrative Practice and the ASHP Award of Excellence.
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| Andy is a pharmacist with 25 years of experience as a pharmacy director in academic health centers and integrated health systems. He joined Ernst & Young from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD where he served as Chief Pharmacy Officer. He has extensive 340(b) experience and has served as a member and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Public Hospital Pharmacy Coalition (PHPC) and as a Chair of the DSH Advisory Board of the 340(b) Prime Vendor Program (PVP). Andy managed a broad range of pharmacy programs in an integrated healthcare delivery system, including a large acute care hospital, a network of retail, home infusion, specialty pharmacy and mail-order pharmacies. He has extensive experience in managing the implementation and optimization of integrated pharmacy computer systems and in the business systems integration of pharmacy information systems. |
| William von Oehsen is a Principal in Powers, Pyles, Sutter and Verville, P.C., a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in health care law and policy. He helped establish and serves as President and General Counsel to the Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), an organization of over 400 public and private non-profit disproportionate share hospitals participating in the Public Health Service 340B drug discount program. Mr. von Oehsen played a key role in the passage of the law that created the 340B drug discount program, and is deeply involved in the implementation of the program. In 1997, he helped organize the 340B Coalition, which now represents a dozen or more national organizations whose members comprise virtually all of the safety net providers participating in the 340B program. |
Dr. Krista Scardina, PharmD, Program Management Officer, Office of Pharmacy Affairs, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services, HRSA/Healthcare Systems Bureau, Office of Pharmacy Affairs
| LCDR Krista M. Scardina received her Doctorate of Pharmacy degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 2000 and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, with a Concentration in Crisis, Emergency and Risk Management from George Washington University. LCDR Scardina began her career as a pharmacist with the United States Public Health Service in 2000. She was assigned to the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Generic Drugs, as a Project Manager for Bioequivalence and then as Medical Affairs Coordinator reviewing topical drug protocol design. After five years, LCDR Scardina transferred to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) where she served as Senior Public Health Analyst for the National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program (NBHPP). Through legislation, the NBHPP was transferred to the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. Then after two years with the NBHPP, LCDR Scardina transferred to HRSA, Office of Pharmacy Affairs where she currently serves as a Program Manager with primary responsibility as Co-Manager of a new Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative. In this capacity LCDR Scardina will work with internal and external stakeholders to improve medication use practices in the safety-net clinics and hospitals. |
Melinda Joyce, Pharm.D., FAPhA, Corporate Director of Pharmacy, The Medical Center
| Melinda Joyce, Pharm.D, FAPhA, FACHE, is the Corporate Director of Pharmacy at The Medical Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky with responsibility over the pharmacy services at three hospitals, one long-term care facility, one long-term acute care facility, and two community pharmacies. She also does consulting work with the Pharmacy Services Support Center (PSSC) for 340B entities. Dr. Joyce is an adjunct faculty member of both the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy and Western Kentucky University College of Nursing. She received her Pharm.D. degree from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Joyce is very active in local, state, and national pharmacy organizations. She has held all elected offices within the Kentucky Pharmacists Association and was appointed to two terms on the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy. In March, 2008 she completed a three year term as a Trustee for the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Board of Trustees. Dr. Joyce has been honored by her peers throughout her career with several honors and awards, including the Gloria Niemeyer Francke Leadership Mentor Award from APhA and the APhA-APPM Distinguished Service Award for Hospital and Institutional Practice in 2007.
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| Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., R.Ph., FASHP
Sr. Director, 340B Prime Vendor Program/Aprexus
Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., R.Ph. is senior director for the 340B Prime Vendor Program managed by Apexus in Irving, Texas. Apexus is a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of Provista Inc. Mr. Hatwig works closely with Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Office of Pharmacy Affairs and the Pharmacy Services Support Center in Washington, D.C. to educate all stakeholders, and to improve the integrity and value of the 340B Drug Pricing Program for the nation’s safety-net providers which include HRSA grantees and disproportionate share hospitals. The Prime Vendor provides added value by collectively representing 340B covered entities purchases to secure federal sub-ceiling discounts on pharmaceuticals and discounts on other outpatient pharmacy related products and services. In 2007, the program is generating an average savings of 16% below the federal 340B ceiling pricing on contracted sales for its participants. With an primary goal of improving access to affordable medication, the program is currently providing value to over 5500 provider sites providing care to the nation’s low income and uninsured populations.
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Description:
Walk through a typical hospital evaluation process and discover appropriate implementation strategies to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while optimizing program savings. Learn about the voluntary Prime Vendor Program's role in negotiating sub-340B discounts on pharmaceuticals and discounts on other products and services. Hear various examples of hospitals' experience with the 340B Drug Pricing, highlighting unique challenges and benefits of the program including its impact on improving access to affordable pharmaceuticals for their patient populations.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain key changes to federal register notices and their importance to overall program integrity.
- Describe best practices for optimizing savings while ensuring program compliance in complex health-system settings.
- Describe recent changes with the PSSC and Prime Vendor Program designed to address disproportionate share hospitals' needs.
