Trent Thiede, president of PAAS National®, said many of the more than 5,000 pharmacies he works with stepped up to offer covid testing and shots and to become an even bigger resource for customers during this health crisis. “With vaccinations in full swing, priorities should be focused on serving patients and our communities, not responding to audit requests,” Thiede said.
Already marred from COVID-19 burnout and years of financial threats, independent pharmacies’ latest woe is pharmacy benefits managers’ shift to virtual audits during the pandemic.
The average audit in 2020 cost pharmacies $23,978, 35% more than the annual average over the previous five years, the PAAS data shows. And the number of prescriptions reviewed in September and October was fourfold over what PAAS members had seen in previous years.
It can be a very stressful time for a pharmacy when they, or an employee, are being investigated by a regulatory body (e.g., Board of Pharmacy, Office of Inspector General (OIG) or Drug Enforcement Agency).
Pharmacy audits continue to morph as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) develop new methods to recoup prescription claims. Understanding the many facets of the audit process, including triggers, trends, and prevention strategies will enable your pharmacy to be more successful in an audit situation.
After many months of hard work and dedication from our team, we are pleased to announce that on June 22, 2021 we launched the new PAAS National® website paasnational.com.
“Our pharmacy was previously in the need of a better way to track the expiration of our licenses, certificates, insurance, contracts, etc. The PAAS vault provided us the ability to have one web-based platform that was able to house the necessary documents needed to maintain compliance as well as track upcoming expiration dates. The trial has been very valuable. It has allowed me to play around with the features of this new service and see first-hand the benefit it provides to our compliance program. The part I like best is that I can attach physical documents as well as enter expiration dates where I can quickly see on the dashboard page upcoming expirations that need to be addressed. I would like to be able to use this service in an expanded way in the future. For example being able to store payer audit documents/findings, board of pharmacy inspection reports, and payer contracts for easy retrieval.”
On June 23, 2021 PAAS National® hosted Thriving Against PBM Audits – Audit Trends and PBM Tactics webinar. PAAS Audit Assistance members have access to the recorded webinar, in addition to many other tools and resources on the PAAS Member Portal.
For 2021, a major PBM updated their provider manual regarding their position on the 340B drug discount program.
PAAS National® is hosting a 340B Contract Pharmacy Considerations for 2021 webinar.
