Description
When Medicare beneficiaries are looking for information
on the new Medicare benefit, the most likely source they will turn
to is their community pharmacist. This was very evident in the Medicare
drug discount card phase. It is estimated that as many as 25% of
non-autoenrolled Medicare beneficiaries were brought into the Medicare
drug discount card program by their community pharmacists.
Pharmacists will return to this role as early as this Fall. On a
daily basis, pharmacists will encounter questions from beneficiaries
such as: How do I sign up for a plan? What are the benefits of this
program? Is it a good deal for me? While it is important that pharmacists
be knowledgeable about the overall Medicare program, they will also
need to know the key concerns of Medicare beneficiaries. Many Medicare
beneficiaries will benefit substantially from this new program.
Pharmacists will need to know how to identify these beneficiaries
and proactively recommend a Part D sponsor who will fit their needs
in 2006. This program will assist pharmacists to stay within federal
marketing rules while maintaining their customer base during the
Part D initial enrollment period.
Learning
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this activity, the pharmacist should be better able
to:
- Discuss the implications of the Medicare Part D Marketing Guidelines
on patients, providers and Part D plans.
- List key marketing dates applicable to Medicare beneficiaries and
community pharmacies.
- Outline what the pharmacist can and cannot say to a patient regarding
signing up for a Medicare D prescription drug program.
Target
Audience
Pharmacists
and Pharmacy Technicians
CE
Credit
A score of 70 percent is required to successfully complete
the CE quiz. You will have two opportunities to achieve a passing score.
The
Statement of Credit should be printed upon receipt; a duplicate copy
will be available in the participant's online transcript for further
viewing. Individuals must complete this program by October 17, 2008
to receive credit.
NCPA
is approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy
Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
This program will provide 1.5 contact hour(s) (.15 CEUs)
of continuing pharmacy education credit under the number
207-000-05-124-H03.
Faculty
Information
Cheryl Hoffer
Cheryl Hoffer has a 20-year history with Medicine Shoppe International,
Inc., part of the Cardinal Health family since 1995. She currently holds
the position of director of administration and program development.
It is within this role that she became active with the current Medicare
initiatives.
Cheryl has held multiple positions with MSI, starting as a regional
public relations coordinator in the marketing department in 1985. That
position was then followed by: supervisor of national healthcare screening
programs, promotions manager, and manager of field marketing.
She then applied her skill-set to managed healthcare and took on the
role of area sales manager in MSI's managed healthcare department, then
senior area manager, followed by her current position.
Cheryl is an active participant with the National Community Pharmacists
Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the NACDS
Policy Council. She is a member of the National Council for Prescription
Drug Programs.
Dan Koski
Dan Koski has worked in the community pharmacy setting for 23 years,
the last 11 as the owner of the Medicine Shoppe in West St. Paul, Minnesota.
With nearly 90 percent of customer base being over 65 years old, the
focus of is pharmacy business is obviously serving the needs of the
seniors in his community. Dan has piloted some innovative programs for
communicating effectively regarding Medicare with his patient population.
Faculty
Disclosure Statements
NCPA has a conflict of interest policy that requires course
faculty to disclose any real or apparent commercial financial affiliations
related to the content of their presentations/materials.
Commercial
Support
This program is supported by an educational grant from Community
Care RxSM. |
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Software
Requirements
