URGENT: The Arkansas Pharmacists Association needs your help in its precedent-setting fight against the PBMs in the Supreme Court

The State of Arkansas is preparing to fight PBMs in the Supreme Court. The issue: Whether ERISA (the federal retirement/insurance law) preempts state laws from regulating PBMs.

The Arkansas Pharmacists Association is planning to file an amicus brief supporting the state (which GPhA will sign onto.) A win in the Supreme Court will set precedent every state can use, so a win for Arkansas is a win for Georgia pharmacy as well.

But our Arkansas colleagues need our help. They’re asking every state pharmacy association across the country to offset some of the massive legal costs the appeal is going to generate.

Click here to read CEO Bob Coleman’s letter to members explaining why this is critical.

GPhA will match, dollar for dollar, up to the first $2,500 donated by GPhA members. All contributions are appreciated.

Click here to make a donation to help the Arkansas Pharmacists Association today! (Click through the login box — no login is necessary!)

Apocalypse Watch

Death toll in China hits at least 17, more than tripling in a single day, with at least 470 more infected.

Health officials say they’ll be screening people flying into Atlanta.

Mexico reports a possible case.

Get schooled in mental health

UGA is offering its 2020 Mental Health Symposium — up to 14 hours of CPE for pharmacists. It’s four sessions over two days: February 4 and 5 at the Holiday Inn in Athens.

Register today (January 23) and it’s $50 a session. Wait till tomorrow and it’s $60 each. Register on-site and it’s $70, plus a disapproving look. (There’s a $20 discount if you take all four sessions, too.)

Session topics include: neurobiology of trauma, CBD, pediatric neurologic comorbidities, new drug update, technology update, USP 800, mindfulness and neuroscience, and managing comorbid diseases in adult psychiatry.

Click here for more info and to register!

Diabetes – TB link

A study of Chinese residents found that people with diabetes were more likely to contract tuberculosis — especially if they didn’t realize they had diabetes.

More people need Narcan

People who need naloxone aren’t getting naloxone. In fact, not even one in 50 are getting it, according to research from the University of Michigan and the VA.

Only 1.6 percent of those taking high doses of prescription opioid painkillers had filled a naloxone prescription by the last six months of the study period.

Try taking a cue from Barnes Healthcare — the Valdosta pharmacy that created a new policy for chronic opioid users, including a conversation, education, and a naloxone prescription.

Remember: In Georgia, people do not need a prescription for you to give them naloxone!

Amazon continues pharmacy push

Amazon has filed trademark applications for “Amazon Pharmacy” in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. That is all.

After cancer treatment, silence is golden

When they finish their chemo or radiation therapy, some cancer patients celebrate with a bell-ringing ceremony. Sounds great, right? Turns out it might be a bad idea.

It seems that patients who ring the bell after treatment “remembered treatment as more distressful than those who finished without ringing a bell.”

As one (surprised) researcher said, “Ringing the bell actually made the memory of treatment worse, and those memories grew even more pronounced as time passed.”

Elsewhere: California edition

The headline: “California considers declaring common pain killer carcinogen”

The reality: Because of acetaminophen’s similarity to phenacetin (which does cause cancer and was banned in 1983), the state has made it a high priority to look at the data — it wants to see if acetaminophen has the same risk. But first there’s a public comment period, then a public hearing this spring … you get the idea. It’ll be a while.