Congress urged to adopt clear definition of LTC pharmacies

Published by American Pharmacists Association

The Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) on September 6 released a new policy brief warning how differing, conflicting regulations from federal agencies with jurisdiction over long-term care (LTC) pharmacies can threaten older adults’ care during their progression across multiple settings. The policy brief says the conflicting regulations disrupt the clinical and consultative services and care coordination necessary to improve clinical outcomes, reduce errors, sustain quality improvements, reduce waste and, control costs. It emphasizes the need for and “benefit of a statutory, legislative definition of ‘long term care pharmacy’ that will compel consistency across the relevant regulatory agencies and better enable LTC pharmacies to follow geriatric and chronic care populations across settings.” Alan Rosenbloom, president and CEO of SCPC, said educating Congress and regulatory authorities about the urgent need for consistent, updated, and streamlined oversight is a major SCPC public policy priority, and that the policy brief will be followed later this year by offering for consideration a specific, new federal definition of LTC pharmacy.

Click here to see the original article on the American Pharmacists Association website.