CAPITOL PHARMACY ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE AND NEWSLETTER
March 2010
Download The March 2010 Newsletter - Word Document (24kb)
Dr. Wechsler and our Patients need Your Help
House Bill (HB 534) upgrades the Generic Substitution/DAW Rule to include notification of the Practitioner
when another generic product is substituted (i.e. Akma’s for Mylan’s).
Please read our favorite Epileptoligist’s, Dr. Rob Wechsler, attached letter.
You may support this legislation (which, personally, I think is the right thing to do for our patients.
This legislation should not be opposed by any logical thinking or pharmacy group) by:
- Going to the Capitol Building on Wednesday, April 17, 2010 to Room 54 (Lower Level of West Wing) and testifying on differences you know of between generics.
OR
- Call any or all of the members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee (listed below) and simply say:
“I am a pharmacist and I support HB 534”…personal comments may be added if you so desire.
| Patti Anne Lodge, Chairman | 332-1319 |
Joyce Broadsword, Vice-Chairman | 332-1338 |
Denton Darrington | 332-1317 |
James Hammond | 332-1344 |
Charles Coiner | 332-1347 |
John McGee | 332-1332 |
From: Robert T. Wechsler M.D., Ph.D.
Dear Colleague,
A quick note to help you stay in the loop.
I run the Idaho Epilepsy Center, at St Luke’s Hospital, am in private practice, and have dedicated my life to treating patients with epilepsy in Idaho regardless of insurance. I see a lot of Medicaid patients without quotas or restrictions because it is the right thing to do.
HB534, The Idaho Epilepsy Bill, will improve safety and quality of life for patients with epilepsy and will likely reduce health care cost. It is a bill before the Idaho Legislature this year that has had much input by pharmacists wanting to make a difference.
FDA rules on generic drugs are fine for most diseases but not for epilepsy. The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), American Epilepsy Society (AES), and Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA) have been pushing for tighter standards for epilepsy drugs and the FDA has recently agreed to revisit the issue – but it will take years for this to yield results.
Generic drugs save people money but frequent switching between generic manufacturers can be dangerous for people with epilepsy and can lead to emergencies and increased medical cost, as proven in a growing body of scientific literature that I would be happy to discuss in person.
HB534 does not dispute the value of generics or the fact that substitutions between manufacturers of a given product sometimes have to happen for the patient to stay on their medicine.
HB534 simply requires that when a prescriber has specified that the drug is for the treatment of epilepsy that the patient and their physician be notified when such a change is made. This allows the patient and the physician to make the transition as safely as possible. When the patient and their doctor are informed of the change, they can take steps to avoid the loss of seizure control. For example, checking blood levels, getting extra rest, or temporarily restricting driving.
HB534 respects that pharmacists are very busy and does not require that they obtain patient or physician consent. It simply encourages communication at point of sale and the physician office – only unidirectional communication is required. It fixes a tremendous problem in the medical community. We worked with IBoP on the language with lots of input from Mark Johnston. As written, HB524 does a far, far better job of this than the “dispense as written” (DAW) rule , which more commonly just addresses using brand name vs generic medications. The DAW rule does not assure the safe utilization of generic to generic switches in the control of seizures.
Loss of seizure control is serious and devastating. It is an issue that my office grapples with every day. I am personally aware of numerous cases where patients have had emergencies and run up emergency medical bills to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars simply from being subjected to medication substitutions without the knowledge or approval of their physician.
Please help me do my best in treating patients with epilepsy by supporting HB534.
Robert T. Wechsler M.D., Ph.D.
Private Practice & Medical Director, Idaho Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at St. Luke’s
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