Laws — what are they good for?

Absolutely nothing … if they aren’t enforced. And guess what? PBMs have to obey them, too. But in Georgia, well, let’s just say there’s a pattern of large-scale non-compliance. PBMs claim that the federal ERISA law preempts Georgia’s law. But they’re wrong — the Supreme Court said so. Unanimously.

That’s why GPhA, along with the American Pharmacy Cooperative (APCI) and the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology, have teamed up to ask Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King to enforce our laws in a December 13 letter.

[W]e are asking that you (1) provide immediate notice to PBMs of your intent to enforce Georgia’s PBM laws across the commercial market including the fully insured and self-funded markets;

What are (2), (3), (4), and (5)? Click here to read the letter and find out.

UGA’s cancer-cell sorter

When a patient has cancer, tumor cells circulate through the bloodstream. Studying those cells — and how many there are — is important for treatment. Problem: That ain’t easy because you need to sort through a lot of blood, find the tumor cells, and keep them alive for study.

Enter UGA engineers. They’ve developed a technology (”inertial-ferrohydrodynamic cell separation”) that “can quickly sort through more than 60 milliliters of samples at 100,000 cells per second” and “separate cells based on a difference of a mere 1-2 micrometers in diameter.”

“Our technology is optimized in such a way that we can capture all of the CTCs in blood circulation — we don’t let them sneak by. We also catch them in a way that they’re still useful, functional and alive.”

They’ve patented the technology and have already created a company, FCS Technology, to develop and cash in on it.

Hot immunization program

Sure, you know how to give immunizations, but having an APhA certificate helps you differentiate yourself — and makes sure your patients are getting the best treatment. Plus, it looks darned impressive on your wall*.

That’s why GPhA is offering “APhA’s Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery: A Certificate Program for Pharmacists” on Sunday, January 23, 2022, from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm at GPhA’s World Headquarters in Sandy Springs.

This is always one of our hottest courses, so get to GPhA.org/immunization-2021** fast before the class fills!

APhA’s Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery certificate training program prepares pharmacists with comprehensive knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to provide immunization services to patients across the lifespan.

* If framed properly
** Yes, we know the the URL says 2021. We’re so busy coming up with great courses and programs we forgot to change it!

mRNA keeps giving

Now that the mRNA genie is out of the bottle, we’re learning that it’s chock full of magic. The latest: Mayo Clinic researchers found that, when immunotherapy fails for cancer patients, adding mRNA can improve results.

“We found that by introducing mRNA in immune cells, it is possible to produce useful proteins to improve their anti-tumor activity without attempting to change the genome itself.”

Simply put, if a patient’s T cells don’t respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, adding the right mRNA gives those T cells enough of a nudge so they wake up and attack the tumors.

Part D changes a-comin’

As 2020 Part II winds down, that means Medicare changes are on the horizon. “Criminy!” we hear you say, “I wish I knew what those changes were!”

Fear not, as the good folks at NCPA have created a summary of those very changes, including reporting pharmacy measures, star ratings, prior authorization, and more. Huzzah!

(And if, for some reason*, you want to see the full list of changes from the federal government itself … here you go.)

* We don’t judge.

Covid quickie

The omicron variant grows 70 times faster than Delta in bronchial tissue (so it’s more virulent), but 10 times slower in lung tissue (so it’s less severe). That first part seems to be getting all the press, but the second part seems pretty important, doesn’t it?

Teens are cutting back

Is it a pandemic thing? A general trend? Either way, it’s good: Teens (found University of Michigan researchers) used fewer illicit drugs in 2021 compared to 2020 — a decline that was “the largest and most sweeping ever recorded in the past 46 years.”

And teen use of legal or legal-ish drugs — marijuana, alcohol, and vaped nicotine — was also down.

The decline was in the number of teens who said they ever used these drugs. Those who had been using them already had mixed results: Those who vaped nicotine or marijuana, for example, continued to do so at about the same levels, while …

Students reported a drop in use of other drugs, among those who had used them in the past 12 months. These drugs include alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana edibles and nonmedical use of opioids, sedatives, tranquilizers and amphetamines. The results suggest that both cessation and decreased initiation contributed to the 2021 declines in use of these drugs.

Running, air, and your brain

Running — exercise in general — is good for your brain. But there’s a big “but.” That apparently only applies if you’re living where there’s not much pollution. University of Arizona health researchers found that…

…while physical activity benefits brain health in low-pollution areas, physical activity in areas with the most pollution did not confer the same benefits.

The good news is that this apparently only applies to the mental health benefits of running. (Although running where there’s a lot of smog doesn’t sound particularly healthy.)

Cannabis warning

Penn State plant scientists want to point out a danger of cannabis you may not have thought of: heavy metals. The marijuana plant is very good at pulling them out of the soil (useful for cleaning up contaminated sites).

But the plant doesn’t know when it’s in a Superfund site or just a plain ol’ field, which means those heavy metals can make it into products for sale, too — from the friendly guy on the corner, to CBD treatments, to THC oil.

What’s to be done? It’s all on the grower: “[A]void abandoned industrial sites, perform air quality analyses before establishing a farm, and conduct a soil pH test because pH can impact the quantity of heavy metals a plant absorbs.”

Why you should get a dog

Purina researchers have found that, during the pandemic, “pet dog owners were significantly less depressed than non-pet owners […] They are attached and committed to their dogs and they reported more social support available to them.”