SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McKesson
Corporation, a leading distributor of life-saving medications and
medical surgical supplies, applauded President Trump’s signing of the
Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and
Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (H.R.
6).
The sweeping bipartisan legislation, signed into law today, contains
measures to prevent and treat opioid use disorder (OUD). The SUPPORT for
Patients and Communities Act will help in overall efforts to advance
treatment and recovery initiatives, improve prevention, protect
communities, and bolster efforts to fight deadly illicit synthetic drugs
like fentanyl.
“With the passage and signature of this bill, Congress and the
Administration took important action on addressing the needs of patients
and communities hit hard by the nation’s crisis of drug
abuse,” said Peter Slone, senior vice-president of Public Affairs,
McKesson Corporation. “Expanded access to treatment and recovery
services and efforts to limit the over-prescription of opioids are
important parts of a long-term solution. While much remains to be done,
this legislation represents an important next step in the fight to turn
back this public health scourge.”
A year ago, McKesson called on Congress to fast track forward-looking
solutions to this public health crisis by making resources available in
new ways and with a greater sense of urgency. The company is encouraged
by the following provisions of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities
Act:
-
Electronic prescribing of controlled substances
Requires
that prescriptions for covered Part D drugs under a prescription drug
plan for a schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substance be
transmitted by a health care practitioner electronically.
-
Standardizing electronic prior authorization
Requires
Medicare prescription drug plans to establish drug management programs
for at-risk beneficiaries. It also requires electronic prior
authorization for covered Part D drugs.
-
Using data to prevent opioid diversion
Requires the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to make anonymized information
available to registrants with access to ARCOS, including the total
number of distributors serving a single pharmacy or practitioner, and
the total number of opioid pills distributed to a single pharmacy or
practitioner.
-
Opioid quota reform
Sets mandatory factors for the
DEA to consider when setting annual opioid production quotas,
including diversion, abuse, overdose deaths, and public health
impacts. It also requires the DEA to elaborate on health benefits in
order to approve any increase in the annual opioid quota.
“But, there is still more work to be done,” Slone continued. “The next
Congress must consider additional initiatives such as the leveraging of
technology and data analytics to better identify at-risk patients
earlier. That’s why McKesson has called for establishing a national
prescription safety alert system, which would help pharmacists identify
and work with at-risk patients.”
McKesson strongly supports H.R. 6688, the Analyzing and Leveraging
Existing Rx Transactions (ALERT) Act, recently introduced by Congressman
Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and Congresswoman Ann Kuster (D-NH). The ALERT Act
would empower the Food and Drug Administration to establish a
prescription safety alert system, which would provide real-time,
in-workflow alerts to pharmacists when they encounter a potentially
at-risk patient.
McKesson also recommends that Congress leverage the expertise and
experience of pharmacists to address substance abuse disorder by enacting
policies that make it easier for pharmacists to provide
medication-assisted treatment (MAT), the use of medication alongside
counseling and behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders.
The expansion of MAT treatment provisions for qualifying physicians,
nurse practitioners and physician assistants is a good start, but
pharmacists, who are highly skilled, medically-trained professionals,
should also be included.
McKesson is deeply concerned by the impact substance abuse is having on
families and communities across the nation and is committed to being
part of the solution. The company formed an independent foundation, the
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE), dedicated to addressing
the crisis, to which McKesson contributed $100 million. The company is
also advancing
initiatives
aimed at preventing substance abuse and has offered additional
public
policy recommendations
.
To learn more about McKesson’s comprehensive efforts to address the
opioid epidemic, please visit: www.McKesson.com/FightingOpioidAbuse.
About McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 6th on the FORTUNE
500, is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions,
retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare
information technology. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical
manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other
organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical
products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right
time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared
principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver
opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful — all
for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named the “Most
Admired Company” in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a
“Best
Place to Work” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly
company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com
