As 340B stakeholders gathered to celebrate 25 years of the 340B program at this year’s 340B Coalition Summer Conference, attendees were provided with a wealth of knowledge. My time at the conference was largely focused on gathering information related to 340B compliance guidelines for Covered Entities.
As a 340B Compliance Specialist, it is my responsibility to facilitate data collection for Covered Entity audits. We actively support and ensure continuous program compliance, and we are proud to say that Curant Health is 340B done right.
Below are my three main takeaways from this year’s conference:
Captain Pedley’s updates: Improvements to the OPA website
Captain Krista Pedley, Director of the Office of Pharmacy Affairs, officially announced the roll out of the new OPA Site; new features of the OPA site include a dashboard beneficial to a Covered Entity’s Authorizing Official and Primary Contact. The Authorizing Official is any individual authorized to legally bind a 340B Covered Entity into a relationship with the federal government and who have knowledge of the practices and eligible programs at that site. The goal of the dashboard is to ensure that Authorized Officials are up to date with requests and changes made to their Covered Entity’s OPA registration record. This functionality will guarantee a more secure registration site for all 340B Covered Entities.
Be Aware of Third Party Payer Challenges
There is a growing concern that third party payers have tried to contract with 340B pharmacies differently than non-340B pharmacies. The Third Part Payer Challenges session, which consisted of attorney panelists Alan Arville, Frank Messina and Greg Doggett, addressed some of these concerns. Some providers have informed payers that they will not accept their insurance for medical services if they lock out the patient on the pharmacy side. The panel suggested that all pharmacies review their contracts with third party payers and be sure that Group Purchasing Organizations make pharmacies aware of the terms and conditions in the pharmacy arrangements so that the pharmacy is operating under the terms of the contract.
Curant Health’s Compliance Support Program Receives Strong Reviews
With all the talk about audits at this year’s 340B Coalition Summer Conference, some of our 340B partners on the ground expressed positive feedback concerning Curant Health’s audit support services. We received positive reviews about our robust audit services program designed to provide superior compliance support.
For example, in August 2016, one of our 340B partner clinics underwent an inventory drug review, followed by a third-party routine audit in March 2017. The auditor commented that, “the relationship between the Covered Entity and Curant Health is unique and reflects what a true partnership should be,” while our clinic partner stated, “there was never a time that we felt that we were in this audit alone.”
Are you looking for audit support and guidance? Let’s talk! Contact Vee Hammonds, Curant Health 340B Compliance Specialist at vhammonds@curanthealth.com.