NYT:At Walgreens, Complaints of Medication Errors Go Missing

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First, the idea that CVS does not have claw backs from PBM's is ludicrous. They have to get x nymber of people on readyfill and y number of people on 90 day rxs and z number of people compliant on their therapy or they get money taken back, just like you. CVS is subject to the same DIR fees that independents are.
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Old Timer said:
First, the idea that CVS does not have claw backs from PBM's is ludicrous. They have to get x nymber of people on readyfill and y number of people on 90 day rxs and z number of people compliant on their therapy or they get money taken back, just like you. CVS is subject to the same DIR fees that independents are.
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Yes, that's what I was saying... are you not reading my posts? lol But it isn't the same amount. Becuase caremark and aetna are owned by cvs they can reimburse what ever they want and charge themselves much less DIR fees. They are NOT subject to the same DIR fees and reimbursements. Trust me on that. They're not that nice.
 
sfachine said:
If all of you were right then how come retail (all levels)are contracting.Stock for both CVS and Walgreens are going nowhere.Rite Aid is up but still a shell of what used be


OK.You pass it.How are you going to enforce it?PIC loses license?Pharmacy loses license?How do you account for technology?Remote Processing?Do immunizations count?How do you account for seasonal variations or weekly, daily,or even hourly variations?Who gets access to stores data?How do you know it will remain confidential?
II agree more staffing is needed but this one size fits all is cumbersome.There are too many variables.
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This only works with the proper regulation of PBMs also.
 
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sfachine said:
Which is?
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Well look - my solution is a whole lot better than acting like nothing can be done and sitting there with my thumb up my ***.

I have started to take action and support movements that are looking to do this, and contacting my states legislatures to increase awareness. We are gaining steam, however if you sit there like a lump on the log and pout nothing will happen.
 
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VictorOfHungerGames said:
Yes, that's what I was saying... are you not reading my posts? lol But it isn't the same amount. Becuase caremark and aetna are owned by cvs they can reimburse what ever they want and charge themselves much less DIR fees. They are NOT subject to the same DIR fees and reimbursements. Trust me on that. They're not that nice.
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So you are sure of that? You have evidence or just your suspicion?
 
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VictorOfHungerGames said:
Yes. I just made a post about it actually.

Here, sounds like you dont like to read.

www.google.com

Lawmakers, Pharmacists Meet with CVS over Regulation of Pharmacy Benefit Managers

The Arkansas Pharmacists Association obtained records of more than 270 popular drugs in the state and found CVS pays itself at least $60 per prescription more than it pays pharmacies.&nbs…
www.google.com
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I don’t see DIR fees mentioned once in there. Did I miss the part where they specifically talk about them having different DIR fee terms?
 
PharFromNormal said:
I don’t see DIR fees mentioned once in there. Did I miss the part where they specifically talk about them having different DIR fee terms?
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Yes, same reason why i wont tell you in a public forum how much i make a year lol you cant be that naive... serious dude.

DIR fees are contractually built in. If anyone discloses that, that would be a violation of proprietary information.
 
Im actually tired of doing all these searches for you all. If you want to know more about it, please, do your own research. If not, keep on living that corporate slave life. Either way, im out.
 
PharFromNormal said:
I don’t see DIR fees mentioned once in there. Did I miss the part where they specifically talk about them having different DIR fee terms?
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One more thing, you may ask then how do we know about these different reimbursements? Because reimbursements terms are not contractual yet no one knows why there are discrepancies. Well, other then cvs wanting to steal money from others. Hence, the reason for the law suits.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Yes, same reason why i wont tell you in a public forum how much i make a year lol you cant be that naive... serious dude.

DIR fees are contractually built in. If anyone discloses that, that would be a violation of proprietary information.
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You mad bro?

Remember that huge report in Ohio that proved caremark reimbursed independents more than they reimbursed cvs pharmacies? Oh we forgot about that huh? We just deflect the story that the PBM is making too much! But let’s not talk about the reimbursement part again. Don’t like to see third party findings.

www.daytondailynews.com

Pharmacy middlemen made $223.7M from Ohio Medicaid

Pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark have been under scrutiny.
www.daytondailynews.com www.daytondailynews.com
 
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PharFromNormal said:
You mad bro?

Remember that huge report in Ohio that proved caremark reimbursed independents more than they reimbursed cvs pharmacies? Oh we forgot about that huh? We just deflect the story that the PBM is making too much! But let’s not talk about the reimbursement part again. Don’t like to see third party findings.

www.daytondailynews.com

Pharmacy middlemen made $223.7M from Ohio Medicaid

Pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark have been under scrutiny.
www.daytondailynews.com www.daytondailynews.com
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Right. Thats because theyre leaving out the rebates theyre getting. Lol. Nice try though. Sure, we will reimburse you .3% more even though we get the drugs 10% cheaper than you. Talking like a true corporate sellout.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Right. Thats because theyre leaving out the rebates theyre getting. Lol. Nice try though. Sure, we will reimburse you .3% more even though we get the drugs 10% cheaper than you. Talking like a true corporate sellout.
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time to put you on ignore, You hate PBM;s and rightfully so, but yout haytf blinded you.....
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Yes, that's what I was saying... are you not reading my posts?
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Stop saying people are not reading your posts. Your posts are so convoluted that I don’t even know what you are trying to say or your original point anymore.
 
wucool33 said:
Stop saying people are not reading your posts. Your posts are so convoluted that I don’t even know what you are trying to say or your original point anymore.
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People? I was just talking to one person. Oh the irony.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Right. Thats because theyre leaving out the rebates theyre getting. Lol. Nice try though. Sure, we will reimburse you .3% more even though we get the drugs 10% cheaper than you. Talking like a true corporate sellout.
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Look at all the pharmacies that got caught doing illegal things....most of them are independents. Stop your crying already.
 
BMBiology said:
Look at all the pharmacies that got caught doing illegal things....most of them are independents. Stop your crying already.
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Wtf? Uhhhh ok i dont even know why this is relevant to the topic but ill play. So you think only independent pharmacies do illegal stuff? Lol wow. Just wow. And somehow that justifies... what exactly?
 
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VictorOfHungerGames said:
Right. Thats because theyre leaving out the rebates theyre getting. Lol. Nice try though. Sure, we will reimburse you .3% more even though we get the drugs 10% cheaper than you. Talking like a true corporate sellout.
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Your opinion is very interesting. Most independents talk about how they are getting crushed by reimbursement but you are talking about how your DIR fees are actually helping you? This also seems to be the opposite of what I hear.

Edit: yes I didn't read much
 
wagrxm2000 said:
Your opinion is very interesting. Most independents talk about how they are getting crushed by reimbursement but you are talking about how your DIR fees are actually helping you? This also seems to be the opposite of what I hear.

Edit: yes I didn't read much
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Lol yup dir fees are making us millions. Unlike those terribly run indies, we turn dir fees into gold. Good chance our dir fees created this stock crash.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Lol yup dir fees are making us millions. Unlike those terribly run indies, we turn dir fees into gold. Good chance our dir fees created this stock crash.
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I still can't figure out your stance.

So independents are or are not benefiting from dir fees?

Obviously the only thing I know about these fees are from how Walgreens has explained it to us. From that stance, I could see how an independent could improve their stars rating with Medicare much easier then an entire chain.
 
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VictorOfHungerGames said:
Wtf? Uhhhh ok i dont even know why this is relevant to the topic but ill play. So you think only independent pharmacies do illegal stuff? Lol wow. Just wow. And somehow that justifies... what exactly?
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This is what I don’t like about independents. They think they are the saver of the profession. Ever heard of New England Compounding Center? Killed over 100 people:

ImageUploadedBySDN1582645326.701307.jpg
 
wagrxm2000 said:
So where do independents benefit over chains?
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I am lost as well. First it was “corporate greed/overhead” and that seemed like a plausible argument. Then it meandered over to everything from buying power to rebates to dir fees. None of which seem like an advantage for independents to me but apparently the problem is I don’t read the posts?
 
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owlegrad said:
I am lost as well. First it was “corporate greed/overhead” and that seemed like a plausible argument. Then it meandered over to everything from buying power to rebates to dir fees. None of which seem like an advantage for independents to me but apparently the problem is I don’t read the posts?
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I think you forgot about the argument about someone’s grandma having wheels and being a bicycle..


Or was that a different thread?
 
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Independents are more profitable than chains because they have a single group buyer with more bigger purchasing power than a big chain AND because they receive less reimbursement due to DIR fees that don’t impact chains the same. Therefore anyone working at a chain is a loser and work at an independent because there was an owner he knew that sold and retired a millionaire.
 
Remember Pacifica Pharmacy? This pharmacist killed at least 4 people:

ImageUploadedBySDN1582646460.684469.jpg
 
footfairy said:
This year the 5 overall metrics for the store and pharmacy managers are front end sales, pharmacy sales, budget adoption, RX verified by promised time, and Percentage of Days Covered (RX compliance).

So 3 of the 5 metrics for the store manager are Pharmacy related. It's like having a dumber DM in your store at all times worrying about hitting metrics.

On top of this, the PDC metric getting broken down to:
1. How successful our compliance calls are (not just that you attempt every call daily for 3 days each, but how many patients actually pick up)
2. Metrics on the Save a Trip Refills program. The current thing is threatening stores who have patients who unenroll from this janky program that will short fill 9 medications to sync them up with the 1 new flonase nasal spray they were prescribed.
3. NPS score, which isn't actually a graded metric anymore but I've gotten whined at//coached about mine last DM vidiy because I actually was above goal on all the other stuff.

So essentially 1 of our top 3 metrics gets split into a bunch of minimetrics that all involve making phone calls and begging for surveys and program enrollments. I can't imagine it's THAT much worse at CVS.
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this post is gold. :) thanks for this. haha. it's so awkward when the store manager discusses the pharmacy metrics with the pharmacy staff. they think they're enlightening us with new information from their higher powers. oh boy.
 
PharFromNormal said:
Independents are more profitable than chains because they have a single group buyer with more bigger purchasing power than a big chain AND because they receive less reimbursement due to DIR fees that don’t impact chains the same. Therefore anyone working at a chain is a loser and work at an independent because there was an owner he knew that sold and retired a millionaire.
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I looked up the different "buyer groups" and they aren't bigger then a single chain.

Looks like they are all a couple thousand independents each.

AAP is one of the bigger ones and they represent about 2000 independents.

I'm sorry but I don't agree at all with that poster. Are there a ton of real good independents? Sure but they don't have any advantages over the huge buying power of a chain.

Not to mention you have CVS owning a pbm and insurance, how's an independent suppose to compete.
 
Reading this thread shows me exactly how this profession went down tubes.
 
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Dr Wario said:
Pharmacists taking an important topic and derailing it into a penis measuring contest. Meanwhile the MBAs are laughing at us.
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Well everyone knows how to fix it but it will never happen.
 
Dr Wario said:
Pharmacists taking an important topic and derailing it into a penis measuring contest. Meanwhile the MBAs are laughing at us.
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I just want to jump in here and say - surely mine is the largest...
 
I work for a solid money-making Grocer and I'm starting to think these articles are pushing some of our current transfer business. Up like 12-15% monthly for the last five or so months.
 
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