President signs $2 Trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)

President Trump signed the third legislative package (Phase 3) H.R. 748 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020 in response to COVID-19 aimed at mitigating the economic effects of the pandemic. Unfortunately, this legislation does not include language on payment for pharmacist services.

Pharmacy organizations representing the interests of all pharmacists in the United States have released a joint set of policy recommendations critical to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

As I write this letter, the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic is absorbing virtually all our time and attention. At this point no one knows what the true impact of the virus will be here in the United States or across the world. Certainly there are lessons to glean from those countries that saw the infection earlier than others, but incomplete scientific and public health information—along with too much misinformation—compromises our best efforts to prevent the spread, identify cases in a timely and reliable way and treat those whose health has been seriously affected.

Pharmacy schools are focused on providing accessible healthcare to underserved populations. How do most Americans receive healthcare? The answer used to be fairly straightforward: people would see a physician for checkups, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions and visit the hospital only in the event of an emergency or major procedure such as surgery.

Vaping and e-cigarettes, widely used as a substitute for traditional tobacco cigarettes, made headlines in 2019 in an outbreak of respiratory illness and lung injury across the United States. By Sept. 6, there were more than 450 cases of lung illness potentially associated with e-cigarette use reported nationally, with six related fatalities confirmed.

Talk to academics involved in The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology & Education (NIPTE) and they will tell you it’s about striving and thriving in innovation—inside and outside the walls of academia. NIPTE has collaborated with industry, academia and government, particularly the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to identify and help solve the world’s pharmaceutical challenges, which are far-reaching and keep growing.