National Pharmacy Policy During Covid-19

Overview

NationalPolicyOrg* focuses on advocating for pro-patient and pro-pharmacy public policy; communicating the value of community pharmacy as the face of neighborhood healthcare; and fostering business community and solutions through effective meetings and other member programs.

NationalPolicyOrg* represents traditional drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchants with pharmacies. Chains operate nearly 40,000 pharmacies, and the 80 chain member companies include regional chains, with a minimum of four stores, and national companies. Chains employ nearly 3 million individuals, including 155,000 pharmacists. They fill over 3 billion prescriptions yearly, and help patients use medicines correctly and safely, while offering innovative services that improve patient health and healthcare affordability.

NationalPolicyOrg* was seeking a strategic thinker who could bring a wide-variety of expertise in pharmacy to help architect policy change and deliver insightful analytics. We were selected to that position just prior to Covid-19 and were initially tasked with several high-impact initiatives. As the pandemic began, our focus shifted to federal policy and collaboration with the White House and other government bodies.

Process

Our strategic approach began with a thorough analysis of the pharmacy landscape and the regulatory environment. We worked closely with the leadership team to identify the highest-impact areas where policy change could drive meaningful improvement for pharmacies and pharmacists across the country.

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, we quickly pivoted to support urgent policy needs, including federal and state reimbursement analysis for pharmacist-administered immunizations and other Covid-19 related initiatives.

Results

Our work ultimately drove industry-wide change across policy and reimbursement for pharmacies and pharmacists both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.