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Press Releases
DUBLIN, Ohio – June 30, 2014 – Cardinal Health announced today the introduction of a legislative toolkit that makes it easy for community pharmacists to share their views about policies affecting the pharmacy industry.
The toolkit is available online, at www.LegislativeToolkit.com, and gives community pharmacists crucial knowledge that makes it easier for them to ensure elected officials understand the concerns of local pharmacists.
“Community pharmacists must raise their voices and participate in the legislative process,” says Steve Lawrence, senior vice president of Retail Independent Sales at Cardinal Health. His message to community pharmacists: Get involved! “You can make a difference on the issues that affect our industry,” he says.
The toolkit provides:
- A database to learn which elected officials to contact;
- Guides on how to make communications with elected officials effective, whether by phone call, letter or by hosting a pharmacy tour;
- An explanation of key legislative language; and
- An overview of key pharmacy issues identified by state associations and by the National Community Pharmacist Association.
According to Lawrence, just some of the issues that affect the more than 8,000 independent pharmacies that Cardinal Health serves include:
- The need for pharmacists to receive ‘provider status,’ so they can be reimbursed for delivering certain healthcare services to patients;
- The impact that narrow insurance networks have on patient access to pharmacy care;
- The need for community pharmacies to be fairly reimbursed for dispensing prescriptions; and the link fair reimbursement has to ensuring patients have reliable access to community pharmacies.
The Legislative Toolkit is one of many resources that Cardinal Health will share with community pharmacists who attend its annual Retail Business Conference (RBC) taking place July 23-26 in Washington, D.C. Other RBC business builders will include best practice guides, continuing education and programs to support women pharmacists, franchise owners and other groups.
About the Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference (RBC)
The Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference (RBC), held July 23-26 in Washington D.C., provides independent pharmacists and pharmacy franchise owners with the opportunity to network with and learn from thousands of their peers from across the nation, while gaining new insights to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their businesses. The annual event provides independent pharmacy owners, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy industry professionals across the United States with access to pharmaceutical manufacturers, buying opportunities, continuing education sessions and programs to help pharmacists reduce costs and improve patient care and efficiency. For more information, visit www.CardinalHealth.com/RBC.
About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $101 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products and services to more than 100,000 locations each day and is also the industry-leading direct-to-home medical supplies distributor. The company is a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company operates the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #22 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs 33,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at www.cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.
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