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In This Issue:
MPA CEO Perspective
Member Updates
- It's Time to Renew Your Membership
- MPA Career Center- Featured Job Opportunities
- MPA Welcomes Student Pharmacist
CE Events
- Register Today: MPA Annual Convention & Exposition
Legislative and Regulatory News
- Gov. Whitmer Celebrates FDA’s Decision to Reduce Barrier to Medication Abortion
- Electronic Prescribing Enforcement Started Jan. 1
COVID-19 Update
- FDA Authorizes Updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Down to Six Months of Age
Professional Practice
- Update to Mifepristone REMS Program
- CDC FDA Now Says It Plainly: Morning-after Drugs Are not Abortion Drugs
- CDC Health Advisory: Guidance to Prioritize Antiviral Treatment of Influenza in Reduced Availability
- Become a Michigan Vaccination Partners Provider
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I hope you’ve all enjoyed a happy holiday season!
We’re kicking off the new year with a number of our section boards, committees and local associations getting started early. New in 2023 is MPA Committee Day January 19. All MPA committees will meet virtually either from 9:45 a.m.-12 p.m. or 12:45-3 p.m. New MPA President Hope Broxterman will welcome committee members and introduce MPA staff liaisons for each of the committees. I’m really looking forward to “popping in” to each of the committee meetings during the day to see the planning being done for 2023.
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MSHP holds its longstanding Committee Day on January 5. Committees meet virtually 9 a.m.-1 p.m. followed by a virtual MSHP Board meeting 2-5 p.m. MPA holds its next Executive Board meeting January 23, 1-5:30 p.m., with an orientation for new members 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Both MPA events are virtual.
If you haven’t already, please take a moment to renew your 2023 MPA membership. You’ll find that’s especially important when you register for our 2023 Annual Convention & Exposition (ACE) because you need to be a member to receive special member pricing. Renew your MPA membership and register for ACE today!
Looking forward to a great 2023!
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MPA Has Made It Easier to Renew Your Membership | |
With the launch of the new Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA) website, renewing your membership is simple and easy to do. First, visit the MPA website and log in to the website with your email address and password. Once you are logged in, visit your profile by clicking on "Profile" in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
In your profile, click on "My Invoices." In this area of your profile, you will see any open or to be paid invoices with MPA as well as past invoices for registrations or other products and services you have purchased from MPA. If you have not yet renewed your membership for 2023, you may do it here in your profile.
Click on the credit card image corresponding to your membership invoice. Enter your debit/card information and click on "Process Payment." Once the transaction has been authorized, your membership for 2023 is complete.
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MPA Welcomes Student Pharmacist | |
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Erica Foote joins Michigan Pharmacists Association for a three-week elective rotation. She is a fourth-year pharmacy student at Ferris State University, graduating in May 2023. As a third-generation Ferris student, she is following in the footsteps of her grandfather, who worked in and owned a pharmacy in Flint for many years. After graduation, Foote plans to remain an active member of the pharmacy community in Michigan for years to come and hopes to continue following her passion for patient-centered care. In her free time, she enjoys reading, bowling, and training with her dog, Pancake, in dock diving.
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Legislative & Regulatory News | |
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Gov. Whitmer Celebrates FDA’s Decision to
Reduce Barrier to Medication Abortion
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Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer celebrated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to make medication abortion available at pharmacies with a prescription, cutting red tape that prevents women from accessing reproductive health care. In July 2022, she sent a letter calling on the FDA to reduce burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, a safe, effective medication abortion pill. She followed up in August, and now it is getting done, building on the governor’s leadership at the state and federal level to protect and expand reproductive freedom.
“We need to use every tool in our toolbox at the state and federal levels to ensure people have control over their own bodies and access to reproductive health care no matter where they live or who they are,” said Governor Whitmer. “Last year, I called on the FDA multiple times to remove burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, abortion medication that is safer than Tylenol, Viagra, and many other widely used medications. Today, I am proud to see the FDA take action. As some state governments take steps to control women’s bodies, enacting extreme laws and restrictions, we must keep finding creative ways to protect reproductive freedom including cutting red tape so women can access the care they need.”
The letter can be viewed here.
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Electronic Prescribing Enforcement Started Jan. 1 | |
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Michigan prescribers had until Jan. 1, 2023, to comply with MCL 333.17754a, which requires the electronic transmission of all prescriptions for controlled and non-controlled substances.
The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has updated its FAQ to help prescribers and dispensers understand the requirement change.
Note, this law does not require pharmacists to police whether a prescriber is complying with this law. A pharmacist who receives a prescription not transmitted electronically to the pharmacy may dispense the prescription without determining whether an exception under MCL 333.17754a(5) applies.
If you have any questions regarding this change, please send to Farah Jalloul, MPA director of professional development.
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FDA Authorizes Updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Down to Six Months of Age | |
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the updated (bivalent) Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to include use in children down to 6 months of age.
“More children now have the opportunity to update their protection against COVID-19 with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, and we encourage parents and caregivers of those eligible to consider doing so – especially as we head into the holidays and winter months where more time will be spent indoors,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. “As this virus has changed, and immunity from previous COVID-19 vaccination wanes, the more people who keep up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, the more benefit there will be for individuals, families and public health by helping prevent severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths.”
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Update to Mifepristone REMS Program | |
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The Mifepristone REMS Program was modified on January 3, 2023. Under the Mifepristone REMS Program:
- Mifepristone must be prescribed by a health care provider that meets certain qualifications and is certified under the Mifepristone REMS Program.
- In order to become certified to prescribe mifepristone, healthcare providers must complete a Prescriber Agreement Form.
- The Patient Agreement Form must be reviewed with and signed by the patient and the health care provider, and the risks of the mifepristone treatment regimen must be fully explained to the patient before mifepristone is prescribed.
- The patient must be provided with a copy of the Patient Agreement Form and mifepristone Medication Guide (FDA-approved information for patients).
- Mifepristone may only be dispensed by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber, or by a certified pharmacy on a prescription issued by a certified prescriber.
- To become certified to dispense mifepristone, pharmacies must complete a Pharmacy Agreement Form.
- Certified pharmacies must be able to ship mifepristone using a shipping service that provides tracking information.
- Certified pharmacies must ensure mifepristone is dispensed to the patient in a timely manner.
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CDC FDA Now Says It Plainly: Morning-after
Drugs Are not Abortion Drugs
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday significantly changed the information that will be in every box of the most widely used emergency contraceptive drugs to make clear that they do not prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb. The agency explained in an accompanying document that the products cannot be described as abortion drugs. Up to now, packages of the brand-name drug, Plan B One-Step, as well as generic versions of it have said that it might work by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb — language that scientific evidence did not support. That wording led some abortion opponents and politicians who equate a fertilized egg with a person to say that taking the morning-after drug could be the equivalent of having an abortion. FDA revised the leaflets inserted in packages of drugs to say that the medication "works before release of an egg from the ovary," meaning that it acts before fertilization, not after. Since the Supreme Court overturned the ruling that ensured the national right to abortion, advocates of abortion rights have warned that some states may outlaw or restrict morning-after drugs on the erroneous grounds that they might cause abortions. Some states allow pharmacists or pharmacies to refuse to carry Plan B, which was approved in 1999 and is available without a prescription. But scientific evidence has never shown that Plan B affects a fertilized egg’s ability to attach to the uterus. (Read More) - May Require Paid Subscription | |
CDC Health Advisory: Guidance to Prioritize
Antiviral Treatment of Influenza in Reduced Availability
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Seasonal influenza activity is high across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in the 2022-2023 season to date, there have been at least 13 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 7,300 deaths from influenza (Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report). While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not indicated shortages of oseltamivir (generic or Tamiflu) in any of its forms (capsules, oral suspension), CDC has received numerous anecdotal reports of availability issues for generic oseltamivir in some locations This may continue to occur in some communities as influenza activity continues.
This Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory provides clinicians and public health officials with guidance for prioritizing oseltamivir for treatment and information on other influenza antivirals that are recommended for treating influenza in areas where oseltamivir is temporarily unavailable.
Recommendations for healthcare providers and public health jurisdictions can be found in the full Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory 00482.
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Become a Michigan Vaccination Partners Provider | |
The Michigan Vaccination Partners (MVP) project is looking to expand its reach to include pharmacies across Michigan as MVP providers. MVP aims to ensure greater equity and access to vaccination for people disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. MVP has developed a list of criteria to become an MVP provider.
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