News

The American Medical Association has published a set of CPT codes for reporting administration of COVID-19 vaccine. These CPT codes are unique for two SARS-CoV-2 vaccines so far, and administration codes are unique to each vaccine and first and second doses. The codes and descriptions are available in this announcement and will be used for billing Medicare Part B or other payers that require them. The NCPDP Emergency Preparedness task group is expected to publish guidance in December on billing no-cost-product vaccine claims to PBMs when they are the processor a plan is using. Contact lschwartz@ncpa.org for information.

The latest installment in NCPA’s corporate member-sponsored Learning Hour continues Dec. 15 with Patient Care Solutions, sponsored by Cardinal Health. Strained health care systems, reduced resources, and other factors created by the pandemic generate more need than ever for pharmacists to support increased health care access for patients. This webinar will address opportunities for independent pharmacies to provide patient care solutions such as point-of-care testing, including COVID-19 testing, and medical benefit billing. The free, non-CE webinar is at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, Dec. 15. Register here.

Did you miss the Nov. 15 Community Pharmacy-Based Point-of-Care Testing Certificate Course? You’re in luck. Demand was so high that NCPA Innovation Center is offering this course, created by NACDS, again on Dec. 9. Space is limited; reserve your seat today. Registration will close on Dec. 4 or when the class is full, whichever comes first. You’ll do 16 hours of on-demand pre-work you can complete on your schedule, then take a four-hour live (online) program on Dec. 9. You’ll also have a short one-on-one skills assessment with one of the presenters at a time that works for you. The program gives you the tools to establish a thriving community pharmacy-based POCT program that serves your pharmacy long after the pandemic.

Tuesday, Dec. 1, is the last day to enter the NCPA Innovation Center's 2021 NICE Awards, sponsored by QS/1. The annual contest recognizes the best in community pharmacy branding and marketing completed between Dec. 1, 2019, and Dec. 1, 2020. We will recognize the best of the best in the March 2021 issue of America's Pharmacist®.

Five of the nation’s leading pharmacy groups, including NCPA, issued a statement Tuesday expressing disappointment with the Trump administration’s new final rule on prescription drug rebates. The statement read, in part: “While we want our patients to pay less for their prescription drugs, this rule does not accomplish that. It will likely increase their insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs and may limit patients’ access to care by forcing more pharmacies to close.” Read the full statement here. NCPA, along with the American Pharmacists Association, National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, FMI-The Food Industry Association, and the National Grocers Association, also stressed in a July 2020 statement that any rule change needed to address pharmacy DIR fees.