Pharmacy Updates

Pharmacy Owner Convicted of Medicaid Fraud

Last month, a federal jury convicted an Ohio pharmacist Nathanael Thompson, and his operations manager, Salam Ahmad, who was also a pharmacy technician, for conspiring to defraud Ohio’s Medicaid program. Thompson owned four pharmacies in the Columbus, Ohio area and conspired to charge Medicaid for a particular manufacturer’s omeprazole, which was reimbursable at a significantly…

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Pharmacy Outages Triggered by ‘Blackcat’ Ransomware

Hackers from the ‘Blackcat’ ransomeware gang are reportedly behind the February 21st pharmacy outage last month. The pharmacy outage halted prescription deliveries for nearly one week after hackers reportedly gained access to United Health owned Change Healthcare information technology systems which also led to massive disruptions at pharmacies across the country, including CVS, Walgreens, Publix,…

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DEA Sues the Colorado Board of Pharmacy over PDMP Data

Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sued the Colorado Board of Pharmacy (Board) demanding that the Board share its Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) data to assist in an ongoing investigation as to whether two unnamed pharmacies broke the law in dispensing opioids and other drugs. Colorado’s PDMP program tracks opioid and other prescription…

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FDA and NABP Partnership: Information-Sharing for Drug Compounding

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it awarded a cooperative grant to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to create an information-sharing data system to improve the information available to state regulators and the FDA about state-licensed pharmacies that engage in interstate distribution of compounded drugs. The new data system…

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FDA and FTC Issue Joint Warning to Pharmacy Selling Unapproved Products containing CBD

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning letter to Rooted Apothecary LLC (Rooted Apothecary) for illegally marketing and selling unapproved cannabidiol (CBD) products with unsubstantiated claims that these products treat teething and ear pain in infants, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s…

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California Board of Pharmacy Investigates Jurisprudence Exam Cheating Scandal

The California State Board of Pharmacy (Board) administers the California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE), or pharmacy law exam, for pharmacists to ensure each pharmacist possesses the requisite skills necessary to safely practice pharmacy. To become licensed in California, pharmacists must pass the CPJE, along with a national exam that focuses on the clinical…

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California Expands Access to HIV Prevention Drugs

California Senate Bill 159, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this week, allows pharmacies to offer pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) HIV prevention medications without a prescription in a similar manner to birth control and emergency contraceptives provided certain, specific requirements are fulfilled. California pharmacists, after completing a mandatory training program approved by…

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FTC Continues to Issue CBD Warning Letters

Earlier this week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent out warning letters to three unnamed companies that sell cannabidiol (CBD) oils, tinctures, edibles and other products which claim to treat pain and chronic illnesses or cure diseases. In its letters to the companies, the FTC warned that it is illegal to advertise that a CBD…

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