12/27/2018
An open letter to all WV pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students (PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE)
Colleagues:
This has been a tough year for all pharmacists in West Virginia and nationwide. Change is difficult, but one of the toughest changes to cope with is the change in our livelihood and lifestyle that that some of you have seen with a reduction in workforce, salary, or with independents in margin, all of which are a direct result from continuing PBM reduction in payments, claw backs, and other fiscal challenges. We are being asked to do more with less, both at work and at home.
WV Legislature adjourned on March 18th, and another year has gone by where vital reforms have not been passed. We have made some positive steps in some areas though. I attended my first Pharmacy Legislative Day on February 5th – something I should have done while I was a student in Charleston. It was an amazing experience talking with those who have the ability to impact change on a state-wide level, but this year the WV teachers showcased how Charleston takes notice when people band together.
West Virginia Pharmacists Association has become a strong patient advocate over the years to help ensure the public receives appropriate and quality pharmaceutical care. WVPA is very active in legislative and governmental issues, initiating major advances in the Pharmacy Practice Act, bringing an antiquated law up to today’s standards. WVPA also actively represents pharmacy before state agencies. However, the progress and accomplishments of WVPA depend upon the strength of our members. WVPA strives to keep pharmacists informed of news important to their profession and how one might most effectively help us lead change.
We have served and continue to serve on the executive board for WVPA. In the past two years, we have seen the impact that WVPA has had advocating for our profession. We have closely followed similar battles in Arkansas that have proven successful, and now that precedents have been set elsewhere, it is time for us to fight even harder for our profession. It is getting harder to provide quality care and secure our livelihood as we are being asked to do more with less time and staffing to do it. Independent, retail, and hospital pharmacists need to come together to protect all our jobs!
We have the chance to have our voice heard in the halls of Charleston again on January 25th, and West Virginia Pharmacists Association needs your help to ensure continued advocacy for our profession! We are seeing progress in achieving provider status, collaborative practice agreements, expansion of practice, but yet face challenges on reimbursement from government and PBMs. There is strength in numbers, and currently the battles we are fighting have us outnumbered. We write you to ask for the contribution of your membership in order to help us to fight for change for you. Your membership dues allow WVPA to fight for you without requiring you to take a day off work or spend your day off fighting for those changes we all want. Now more than ever, we need to expand our efforts to fight for our professional livelihood!
Whether you are a student looking to join the profession, a technician contributing to the profession, or a pharmacist active or retired, it’s time to come together. Everyone has much to lose, including our patients, but we must stand together as stewards of our profession and patient care. Please share with your colleagues, classmates, coworkers, and friends in pharmacy.
An application for membership at all levels can be found at www.wvpharmacy.org/mdocuments-library/. With your membership, we can work towards change together. Being a member is imperative to WVPA continuing to advocate for our profession. Please continue your membership…or become a member if you currently are not one… and participate in our advocacy efforts.
Professionally,
Matthew M. Rafa, Pharm.D.
Employed Pharmacy Director, WVPA
Pharmacy Manager, Kroger #202
[email protected]
Michael C. LeMasters, PharmD
Independent Pharmacy Director, WVPA
[email protected]
Steve Carter, PharmD BCPS
Institutional Pharmacy Director, WVPA
Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Cabell-Huntington Hospital
[email protected]
Ken Reed, RPh
President, WV Pharmacists Association
Richard Stevens, Executive Director
WV Pharmacists Association
