Good Timing For This Thread: Sandoz Gets HPG Contract!
I'm off for 5-more days but I'm in a daily habit of clearing my e-mails so I'm not overwhelmed with them when I go back on duty. This one, a good surprise indeed, was the only one of the 42 worth mentioning.
To my knowledge very few GPOs have contracts with Sandoz. HPG is one of, if not the biggest, GPOs out there.
There's several hospital versus retail issues to consider when looking at sales. The vast majority of Lovenox use in the hospital, in terms of numbers of Lovenox patients, is for DVT prophylaxis. These are patients who are at risk for blood clots because they cannot ambulate adequately and the blood is not returned to the heart adequately. It also tends to pool. Since people are discharged with an ambulatory status of some degree, for the most part, then there's no need to continue it once they're at home (with some obvious exceptions).
For active treatment of DVT, PE, AMI, and total knee post-op surgeries, to name the most important few, the dosing is 1mg/kg and it's twice a day. Patients are not discharged with diagnoses as severe as these so the dosing eventually drops to nil or once a day when that happens. These high doses are not only given twice as often as the once-a-day prophylactic doses, but they cost more as well, resulting in a sales "double-whammy" (My apologies to the Wharton School of Business).
The retail setting for Lovenox is for those who need to continue x 30 days, for instance, so the number of them is fairly limited. Those who are discharged to institutionalized settings may be on Lovenox for protracted periods as well.
Good news follows, sorry it took me until so late in the day to post it. Because some on another board, one that is in the gutter, has accused me of being less than genuine when I posted that SNY was keeping its contract this Summer, I've only redacted identifying information. The remainder is the full extent of the e-mail.
Bill
From: HealthTrust Communications Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 6:39 AM Subject: Your HealthTrust Response Pharmacy Edition for February 4, 2010
» PHARMACY NEWS
Enoxaparin Update Based on the recommendation of the Pharmacy Advisory Board and by unanimous vote, HealthTrust has issued a 30-day notice to Sanofi Aventis (#2328) that it will be terminating all presentations of Lovenox®, effective February 28, 2011.
Beginning March 1, HealthTrust will award Sandoz (#2445) a sole product status for their AP rated enoxaparin products. This brand-to-generic conversion will save members 10 percent of the current spend, for a total savings of over $15M. Please monitor SCRUBS for pricing and rebate information. It is important to note that Lovenox® pricing will go to WAC, effective March 1, so product conversions should be completed by this date in order to maximize the savings potential of this agreement.
HealthTrust, along with Sandoz, has developed an FAQ document that will assist members in transitioning to the Sandoz brand of enoxaparin. In addition, Sandoz has made available Patient Discharge Kits which contain a sharps container and instructional booklet. These can be ordered via phone, email or fax by using the order form attached. Please contact HealthTrust Customer Support for any questions regarding this change. They can be reached via email at or via phone at from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.
:: FAQ :: :: Welcome Kit Order Form :: (SCRUBS login ID required for all attachments)
Triad Group Alcohol Swab Recall & Lovenox® Patient Discharge Kit Triad Group, a manufacturer of many over-the-counter products, recently announced a recall of all lots of alcohol prep pads, swabs and swabsticks. This recall is due to potential microbial contamination. These swabs were included in recent "At Home with Lovenox®" Patient Discharge Kits.
Sanofi Aventis has issued a letter requesting that facilities remove the alcohol swabs in discharge kits prior to providing the kits to patients, and also contact any patients who have received a kit in the past month to inform them to dispose of and not use any alcohol swabs included in the Patient Discharge Kit. Please see the FDA Recall Notice and Sanofi Aventis Letter included below.
:: FDA Recall Notice :: :: Sanofi Aventis Letter :: (SCRUBS login ID required)
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Pneumococcal Vaccine Program Resources Merck provides online training and strategy development for inpatient reduction of pneumococcal disease. As HealthTrust's sole supplier of pneumococcal vaccine (Pneumovax 23), Merck reports membership purchases have fallen flat over the last few years. If you are interested in learning how you may enhance current vaccination programs within your institution, visit their website and view their resources here.
Drug Shortage Updates: Pending launch of STAT:MD Program In 2010, over 180 medications were placed on the FDA drug shortages alert list. In response to this need, the Pharmacy Services Group has developed a drug shortage response program for essential drugs that directly impact critical medical practices. This pilot program, termed STAT:MD (Strategies for Alternative Therapies: Mission Critical Drugs), provides members with medication shortage awareness, recommendations for medication restrictions, assessment of impact on current stock, direction on procurement and clinical guidance for alternative products. The first STAT:MD guidance response to the norepinephrine shortage can be viewed here.
This document will be updated as new information becomes available. The purpose of this document is to provide additional information to make the most informed decisions during a critical medication shortage. It is not meant to preclude any clinical judgment or individual facility decisions.
Pharmacy Buyer's Network Pharmacy Technicians! It's not too late to get CE credit if you weren't able to make it to the January Meeting, "A Buyer's Guide to Drug Shortages." All previous CE webinars are available on-demand in the HealthTrust University (HTU) portion of SCRUBS, which members can access by going here.
Our February meeting will be the first meeting dedicated solely to your questions. In an effort to make the most of our hour together, we will be taking questions via email prior to the meeting. Questions for discussion will be selected based on the overall applicability to the entire group (not facility specific).
Please submit your questions to RxBuyers@healthtrustpg.com no later than February 8th for consideration.
Deadline for enrolling in ESA REMS program fast approaching At only six weeks away, the deadline for enrolling in the REMS program for Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESA) is fast approaching. After February 16, there will be a controlled distribution for ESA orders, and only registered sites will be able to receive these products. Please log in to the ESA APPRISE site for more information.
New Calendar Is Your Comprehensive Source for All Things Education Your exclusive source for all HealthTrust University education events is the new education calendar. The calendar offers you a quick look at all of the continuing education, vendor-sponsored and discipline-specific webcasts we offer each month. The webcasts are open to employees at any HealthTrust member facility, so please let your colleagues know about programs that may be of interest to them. You may view the calendar on SCRUBS or on the education registration site.
You can forward the registration site link to anyone at your facility - they do not need a SCRUBS account to access our education programs. Go here to read about and register for the programs happening in February.
New CE Webinar Opportunity! HealthTrust Pharmacy Services Group will be offering a new live CE webinar on Tuesday, from 12 to 1 p.m. CST, on Antimicrobial Dose Optimization Opportunities. A review of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles will be presented, along with strategies for the development and implementation of a dose optimization program in various patient populations.
Members can join the webinar by visiting the link below or pasting the link into their browser five to 10 minutes before the start time and choosing "enter as a guest" with their full first and last name. The dial-in number for the audio portion of the presentation is also included below. Members will need to call in and provide the operator with their name, facility and the number of attendees at their location.
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Evaluation of Current Treatment Strategies' Now Available as On-Demand CE This presentation was a review of the most recent clinical guidelines on the treatment of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the impact on hospitals. In addition, an overview of resources necessary for the provision of an effective vancomycin dosing program and processes hospitals can utilize to both guide clinical practice and optimize resource management for the treatment of patients with MRSA are presented. Members can click here to be taken to this ASP Continuing Education program.
Antimicrobial Stewardship Program As part of the HealthTrust Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) Initiative, the IV to PO and Renal Dose Program Subcommittees have completed tool kits on the scope, criteria, metrics and policy and procedures to formulate guidelines and implementation support for these two clinical pharmacy service supplemental strategies. Education and competencies are being developed to assist clinicians at any stage of entry into these programs at their facilities. Stay tuned for these guidance tools to be loaded on SCRUBS shortly.
Sanofi Pasteur Announces Customer Transition Program Sanofi Pasteur (#401234) is currently holding their Customer Transition Program. The new offer will reduce the price of Adacel® (Tetanus Toxoid, Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed) to $30.06 per dose and Pentacel® (Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Adsorbed, Inactivated Poliovirus and Haemophilus b Conjugate [Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate]) Vaccine to $71.58 per dose for HealthTrust members through March 31, 2011.
GSK 2011 Flu Vaccine Ordering Available GlaxoSmithKline (#2295) has released information on 2011 orders of FLUARIX and FLULAVAL flu vaccines. Please see the attached document for details.
:: GlaxoSmithKline 2011 Flu Vaccine Information :: (SCRUBS login ID required)
Hospira Supply Update Hospira (#1119) is providing a weekly status update on specific items currently in backorder status. Please go here for a listing of affected items, their projected next delivery date and the current anticipated recovery date (when Hospira expects their inventory to be back to normal). This spreadsheet will be updated on a weekly basis until no longer needed.
Direct Pricing Reduction for Piramal's Sevoflurane 250 ML HealthTrust has negotiated a temporary reduction in direct pricing for Rx Elite/Piramal's (#2478) sevoflurane (NDC 66794-0012-25). Effective February 1 through March 31, 2011, pricing will be $93.50 per bottle or $561.11 per case of 6. This represents a 15 percent reduction from Piramal's base access price. This is a direct shipment price only. To place a direct order, members may email their order request to orders@piramal.com, fax their order request to 800.390.4138, or call their request in to 800.414.1901.
TNF-Inhibitors represent a large expense for facilities within the HealthTrust membership, and reimbursements for these agents are extremely variable, which may impact product selection. HealthTrust has contacted manufacturers of products in this class and completed Clinical Discovery of therapeutic options in this area and will be presenting findings to the Pharmacy Boards.
The long awaited MRSA Guidelines have finally been released! You can see them before they are published in the February 1 CID edition here. MRSA has significant impact on clinical and financial issues within HealthTrust member facilities. Continued concerns regarding resistance, cost and controversy with current treatment options exist in the medical community as this market space continues to grow and new treatments are introduced. The HealthTrust Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee's MRSA Ad Hoc Group will be reviewing these guidelines and providing an educational update and practice guidance in a future webcast. Currently, HealthTrust is evaluating feedback from the Clinical Executive Group and the Clinical Advisory Group for opportunities within the MRSA therapy medication classes.
To see a list of each available form in iCommit, go to the Pharmacy Catalog Information page on SCRUBS, or go here.
1. Contract #401156 - Eisai has removed the following eLOC from iCommit: Aloxi Oncology NCCN-NCI Program. The Aloxi Accelerated Transition Member Commitment Form has been updated to the following form: Aloxi Transition Pricing Program Member Commitment Agreement.
2. Contract #401107 - Allergan has transitioned from contract #401107 to contract #2302. The Allergan Teaching Hospital LOC will also transition to contract #2302. Those facilities that previously submitted the LOC do not need to resubmit.
3. Contract #2326 - Salix has modified the available tiers for the MOVIPREP LOC. The Tier 2 option of the MOVIPREP LOC program has come to an end. HealthTrust members are not required to resubmit the LOC. All HealthTrust members who previously signed up for Tier 2 pricing will automatically be enrolled into Tier 1 pricing (50 percent discount off WAC).
4. Contract #401156 - Eisai has updated the Fragmin® Program and Fragmin® INH eLOCs. Members who created a previous version of these eLOCs do NOT need to resubmit the eLOC.
5. Contract #401198 - King's Formulary Exclusivity Thrombin JMI LOC and Thrombin JMI Family of Hemostatic Products LOC expired, effective December 31, 2010. Contract #401198 has now transitioned to contract number #2323. Contract #2323 requires no eLOCs at this time.
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