Texas Pharmacy Today - Texas Pharmacy Association

In the News

THIS SUNDAY • OCTOBER 23!
Help End Texas’ Opioid Addiction Crisis!

Not a day goes by without hearing dire statistics regarding the escalating opioid crisis…But you, as pharmacists are in a unique position to help. TPA has responded, and is offering a live seminar to help you: Learn how to identify patients at risk for opioid overdose; select an appropriate naloxone formulation based on patient-specific factors; educate patients and caregivers regarding naloxone administration; recognize the signs and symptoms of an acute opioid overdose; administer naloxone to a patient experiencing an acute opioid overdose and more...!

Don't Miss This Important and Timely Seminar! REGISTER ONSITE
The Pharmacist’s Role in the Opioid Abuse Epidemic

When: 10/23/2016 at 9:00 AM
Where: Renaissance Austin Hotel, 9721 Arboretum Boulevard • Austin, Texas 78759
Agenda:

7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Naloxone Harm Reduction for Texas Pharmacists
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Signs and Symptoms of Abuse
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Motivational Interviewing in Substance Abuse
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch with Exhibitors
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Using the Prescription Monitoring Program
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. How to Protect Yourself:
The Pharmacist’s Rights in Abuse Prevention

Questions? Contact: Lisa Goerlitz at lgoerlitz@texaspharmacy.org or 512-615-9169

Texas Pharmacy Association Launches Vaccination Information Newsletter & Website

Last Friday, TPA launched a vaccination information newsletter and website on October 14. This new no-cost service provides peer reviewed articles with the latest vaccination news. In addition to a broad search feature, articles are categorized into common search areas, including a “Zika” category for quick access to articles about Zika virus news. The website contains a “Subscribe” feature where consumers and healthcare professionals can subscribe to a weekly newsletter of the latest vaccination news. Two versions of the newsletters are available - a consumer version or a healthcare provider version.

This free service was developed to help practicing pharmacists stay abreast of vaccination related information and provides an information source that pharmacists can refer interested patients to for further and continuing information.

To sign up for the newsletter, visit www.texas.precisionvaccinations.com and click on “Subscribe”.

Political ArenaCalls to Us During American Pharmacy Month
By Joe A. DaSilva, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Pharmacy Association
As we pass the midway point of American Pharmacists Month, we also draw to within a few days of one of the nation’s most important elections in many years – an election that has become one of the more divisive and bitter political events that I ever have witnessed.

I realize that the tenor of this November election saddens all of us regardless of party affiliation, but as a result, our votes and trust in the democratic system have become even more critical.

Remember that the goal of American Pharmacists Month is to raise awareness of the value of the profession. The access to health care that pharmacists provide to consumers and the well-deserved respect and trust the profession has earned, make pharmacists’ involvement in the political process even more compelling.

We all know of the challenges our country faces in the national elections; however, it’s not just about the difficult choice of a new President and which party has control of Congress in Washington, D.C. It also is about your professional expectations of those who represent you in Austin. READ THE ARTICLE

Vote Nowor Later, but Vote
Prepare to vote early. This is a critical election, and every vote counts!Many Texans vote early. Texas enables residents to vote in the days and weeks before

an election to make the voting process more convenient and accessible. There are two ways to vote early: by showing up in person during the prescribed early voting period or by voting by mail.
SEE THE DETAILS HERE

Don’t Forget TPA's Naloxone Standing Order
As you know, the Association is offering a free one-hour electronic continuing education course – a requirement for pharmacists to utilize TPA’s physician-authorized “standing order” to dispense Naloxone/Narcan — a fast-acting antidote that can be administered to someone who is actively overdosing on opioids.

Click here for the Texas Pharmacist Naloxone Standing Order Application to take the continuing education course. More than two hundred of your colleagues already have!

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Important Deadline Approaching
Texas Pharmacy Association Accepting Nominations for Board of Directors

President-Elect
Vice President
Treasurer-Elect
Director(3 year term)
Director (3 year term)
Director- Pharmacy Technician (1 year term)

Interested candidates should submit the application indicating the office(s) or position(s) of interest along with a curriculum vitae or resume by November 4, 2016. Applications must be received by the November 4 deadline and include all requested materials to be eligible for consideration.

Association members also may nominate fellow members. When nominating someone, please confirm that the individual is interested in being nominated, will provide you with the necessary information and willing to go through the election process. The Nominating Committee will meet in Austin on December 9, 2016. Potential candidates will be invited to meet with the Committee during that time. Click Here for Nomination Form

October CE Free to Members

What's New in Lipid Lowering Therapy?

Apply the AHA/ACC Cholesterol guidelines to patient cases; Educate a patient on the safety and efficacy of statin therapy; and Assess the efficacy and safety of PCSK9 antibodies in adults with hypercholesterolemia...

Proposed changes to the TPA Bylaws
TPA members are encouraged to view proposed changes to the TPA Bylaws.

Based on the current TPA Bylaws, House Speaker Robert Mayes has posted on the TPA website two versions of the Bylaws for your review - one highlights the proposed changes while the other is a clean version with the proposed amendments incorporated.

The delegates certified at the March 21, 2016 House of Delegates meeting will be voting electronically on December 12, 2016.

To see the highlights, and to view the proposed changes, please click here.

In Memoriam
Longtime TPA member Joe Kenneth Weaver of Hideaway, TX passed away Oct 4, 2016 in Tyler, TX after a brief illness.

Joe, who was an active TPA supporter, graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University School of Pharmacy in 1974 and moved to Sulphur Springs for his first pharmacy job with True Quality Pharmacy. In 1976 Joe opened his first pharmacy in Sulphur Springs. Over the next 35 years Joe opened many more stores with the help of his wonderful staff and business partners.

Joe retired from the daily operations of Medicine Chest at the age of 60 to pursue his unbridled passion for golf. Joe chased this obsession up until the day he fell ill.

Joe lived life to the fullest from playing golf with Cat, Judder, and his son Jade to traveling around the world to see all the sights he learned of in all the books he read. Joe worked hard and played harder.

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National News

American Society for Pharmacy Law Seminar set for Nov. 10-13

The American Society for Pharmacy Law is holding their annual seminar in Austin Texas, November 10-13 at the Hilton Austin. FIND OUT MORE

New Federal Overtime Rules May Impact Pharmacy Professionals
New federal rules could raise pharmacy residents’ salary as pharmacy resident programs must comply with a final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DoL) that takes effect December 1, 2016.

Employers must increase minimum salary for certain employees to keep them exempt from wage regulations, such as those related to overtime pay. According to APhA, the final rule does not exempt pharmacy residents, leaving them among the millions of health care workers who will soon see a bigger paycheck.

Under the final rule, the initial increase to the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum salary level to qualify for an exemption is from $455 to $913 per week (i.e., from $23,660 to $47,476 annually). Future automatic updates to the thresholds will occur every 3 years, starting on January 1, 2020.

Survey Shows Three-Quarters of Americans Would Seek Out a Pharmacy Where Pharmacy Technicians are Certified
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) has released the findings of a 2016 public perception survey, revealing that 85% of the public believes it is very important for pharmacy technicians to be certified. Consumers feel so strongly about certification that 76% say that they would seek out a different pharmacy if they knew technicians working in their current pharmacy were not certified. The survey shows that among consumers, frequent pharmacy visitors are even more likely (79%) to seek a pharmacy where technicians are certified, and adults with children at home are most likely (82%) to look elsewhere. READ THE ARTICLE

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I AM TPA!

Member Spotlight: Sonia Albuquerque Muppidi H-E-B Pharmacy
If there’s one thing that pharmacist Sonia Muppidi believes in, it’s that, “You have to follow your passion.”

“Sometimes it’s difficult, and it takes courage, but it is worth it,” says Muppidi, who grew up in Mumbai, India.
Muppidi earned her Pharmacy degree from The Bombay College of Pharmacy in 1991, and worked for Merck for a brief time. But a scholarship beckoned, and she headed to

The University of Texas at Austin for a PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology. “While I felt the PhD would be the next logical step, I wasn’t necessarily interested in pursuing academia. I ended up taking business classes at McCombs School of Business. Pharmacy was in the back of my mind all along,” says Muppidi, who later earned an MBA at Texas State in 2000. READ THE ARTICLE

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