On Sunday, August 26, during the Total Store Expo (TSE) Business Program, Chris Lane, NACDS chairman and executive vice president of Wakefern Food Corp./ShopRite, summarized the meeting’s role in helping retailers and suppliers meet the needs of American patients and consumers while reinforcing the organization’s key role in combating direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees and the persisting opioid-abuse crisis.

Reflecting on the many changes that pharmacy has undergone in the past several decades, Lane said, “Back in 1989 when I graduated from pharmacy school, life as a retail pharmacist seemed simple compared to today’s reality. I filled prescriptions, checked for drug interactions, and I compounded an occasional prescription.”

In contrast, today, Lane said, “Pharmacists are administering vaccines, educating patients on chronic medical conditions, and managing medication therapy. For many of our customers, a pharmacist can be one of the most trusted healthcare professionals they engage with. They are often the face of healthcare to many communities throughout the U.S.”

Lane echoed Anderson’s views about the importance of DIR relief and opioid-abuse prevention, observing, “DIR fees, these phantom fees, do not discriminate.” Concerning the opioid crisis, Lane added, “Those using the opioid issue to sensationalize rather than to help solve the problem do not discriminate. These issues also present common bonds among NACDS chain and supplier members: a health pharmacy profession and industry essential for the unified work of stores and suppliers to meet the health and wellness needs of our customers. The stakes are so high on these issues; we have to get them right for the good of the American people. This is a critical time.”
 
Lane also described a new resource to help members contribute to the conversation regarding key issues such as DIR fees and opioid-abuse solutions: the Policy Partners Portal (www.nacds.org/policypartners). The portal, Lane said, provides resources to help advance these issues, with “clear and concise descriptions of the DIR fees issue and our opioid-abuse prevention work; a tool that you can use to write to your members of Congress, which is critically important; content that you can use on your internal communication platforms to inform your teams; our advertising materials, which we hope you will help extend through your reach on social media; information about how you can get speakers at your events; and mechanisms you can use to share your ideas with NACDS. It would be great to see suppliers writing to members of Congress,” he added.

“We have big issues. We have big ideas. So thank you for your role in addressing and advancing them at TSE,” Lane said.

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