NEWS BRIEFs
AMAZONS ONL I NE PHARMACY By now you may be already aware that Amazon has moved into the drug-delivery business. Amazon, best known for its Prime service often delivering a vast array of goods in as little as two days to their members has now added drug-delivery to their services. Amazon Pharmacy has joined the U.S. online prescription ordering market, which could pick up as the COVID-19 pandemic finds more people staying at home. Amazon sees Prime customers as the perfect target opportunity and will provide these members with up to an 80% discount on generic drugs and as much as 40% off brand medications when they pay without insurance as well as 2-day delivery. Amazon Pharmacy accepts most major insurance with the ability to manage orders on its website. If members prefer in-per- son shopping over 2-day delivery, they can still enjoy the discounts on non-insurance purchases at more than 50,000 physical phar- macies, including those operated by competitors.
according to ACIP’s standard immunization schedule. • The qualified pharmacy technician or state-au - thorized pharmacy intern must complete a practical training program that is approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). This training program must include hands-on injection technique and the recognition and treatment of emergency reac- tions to vaccines. • The qualified pharmacy technician or state-au - thorized pharmacy intern must have a current certificate in basic CPR. • The qualified pharmacy technician must complete a minimum of 2 hours of ACPE- approved, immunization-related continuing pharmacy education during the relevant state licensing period. • The supervising qualified pharmacist must comply with recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the jurisdiction in which they administer vaccines, including informing the patient’s primary care provider when available and submitting the required immunization information to the state or local immunization information system—for example, a vaccine registry. • The supervising qualified pharmacist is respon - sible for complying with requirements related to reporting adverse events. • The supervising qualified pharmacist must review the vaccine registry or other vaccination records prior to ordering the vaccination to be administered by the qualified pharmacy techni - cian or state-authorized pharmacy intern. • The qualified pharmacy technician and state-authorized pharmacy intern must, if the patient is 18 years of age or younger, inform the patient and the adult caregiver accompa- nying the patient of the importance of a well- child visit with a pediatrician or other licensed primary-care provider and refer patients as appropriate. • The supervising qualified pharmacist must comply with any applicable requirements or conditions of use as set forth in CDC’s COVID- 19 vaccination provider agreement and any other federal requirements that apply to the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The guidance applies to all states, even those where state and local laws prohibit or effectively prohibit pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians to administer tests and vaccines. States and local laws that permit health care provid- ers beyond pharmacists, state-licensed pharmacy interns, and qualified pharmacy technicians are not preempted. HHS guidance’s do not affect such laws.
HHS REQU I REMENTS ALLOW PHARMACY TECHN I C I ANS TO ADMI N I STER VACC I NES The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released guidance that expands the immunization authorities of state-licensed pharmacy interns and “qualified” pharmacy tech - nicians during the public health emergency. Interns and techs who meet HHS conditions will not only be allowed to administer ACIP-recommended childhood vaccines (ages 3 to 18) and FDA- authorized or licensed COVID-19 vaccines and tests (ages 3 and older), including serology tests, but they will also be granted liability coverage for these duties during the public health emergency. According to the new guidance, to be deemed a “qualified person” under federal law, is someone who is authorized and granted liability coverage to administer the above-mentioned vaccines to the above-mentioned age groups. Qualified technicians and state-authorized pharmacy interns must sat- isfy and practice under the following requirements: • The pharmacy intern must be authorized by the state or board of pharmacy in the state in which the practical pharmacy internship occurs, but this authorization need not take the form of a license from, or registration with, the state board of pharmacy. • To be a “qualified pharmacy technician,” phar - macy technicians working in states with licen- sure and/or registration requirements must be licensed and/or registered in accordance with state requirements; pharmacy technicians working in states without licensure and/or reg- istration requirements must have a CPhT certi- fication from either the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board or National Healthcareer Association. • The vaccination must be ordered by the super- vising qualified pharmacist. • The supervising qualified pharmacist must be readily and immediately available to the immu- nizing qualified pharmacy technicians. • The vaccine must be FDA-authorized or FDA-licensed. • In the case of a COVID-19 vaccine, the vac- cination must be ordered and administered according to ACIP’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. • In the case of a childhood vaccine, the vac- cination must be ordered and administered
One huge advantage to Amazon Pharmacy is that it lets customers price-compare as they buy drugs on the company’s website or app. It also lets customers comparison-shop, toggling at checkout between the cost with co-pay and the non-insured price. The online store is avail- able nationwide but is not yet available in Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Hawaii. The move builds on the web retailer’s 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which Amazon said will remain separate for customers need- ing pre-sorted doses of multiple drugs. Over the past two years, Amazon has worked to secure more state licenses for shipping prescriptions across the country, which had been an obsta- cle to its expansion into the drug supply chain. Source: https://www.pharmacist.com/article/amazon-launches-online-pharmacy https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-pharmacy/amazon-launches- online-pharmacy-in-new-contest-with-drug-retail-idUSKBN27X170 https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/business/amazon-pharmacy-launch/index. html
Source: https://www.pharmacist.com/article/pharmacy-interns-and-techs-who- meet-hhs-requirements-can-administer-childhood-covid-19
CPhT CONNECT www.pharmacy technician.org
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