After almost a year of receiving and analyzing public comments on proposed rules which would have required nursing homes to utilize ONLY consultant pharmacists who HAD NO affiliations with the
facility's pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, or any
affiliates of these entities, CMS has decided to continue searching for a more comprehensive approach to eliminate
over-prescribing and the use of chemical restraints in LTC.
In the meantime, however, CMS is
strongly encouraging the LTC industry to
voluntarily adopt the following
changes to increase transparency:
- Separate
LTC consultant contracting for dispensing and other pharmacy services;
- Pay
fair market rates for consultant pharmacist services;
- Disclose
to LTC facilities any affiliations of consultant pharmacists that pose
potential conflicts of interest (this may include the execution of consultant
pharmacist integrity agreements.
CMS urges LTC practices and stakeholders
to implement changes to address these concerns which will result in a decrease
in inappropriate prescribing, stating "If improvements in inappropriate utilization do
not occur, we will use a future notice and comment rulemaking to propose
requirements to comprehensively address
these concerns.”
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