COMPOUNDING ACADEMY REPORT
Brooks Rogers, Pharm.D. Compounding Academy President
Proud to be an Arkansas Pharmacist
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eflecting on the past few weeks and all that the pharmacy profession has endured is remarkable. Technically this section should be compounding-related, but I feel the need to give Arkansas Pharmacy a shout out. As I write this, we are in a waiting period to hear the results of the Rutledge vs. PCMA case that was heard before the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 6th. (UPDATE: We won!) The core issue being argued is whether states have the authority to regulate essential aspects of drug pricing or does federal law (specifically the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) preempt state law. The Supreme Court’s decision will hopefully bring some consistency to an otherwise broad ERISA law. By the time this issue is published, we may or may not know the outcome of the Rutledge vs. PCMA case. The decision does not have to be released until June 2021 at the latest. You can’t rush a good thing, right?
(twice), read and watched all of the post-event discussions, and my immediate thought was ‘we have a chance.’ After watching the pre-events, listening to the case discussions, and watching the post-events, I am still beaming with pride for our State and for our industry. As pharmacists, we put the patient first in everything we do, even if it means missing something that could directly impact our future. I want to thank the APA staff and its members for working tirelessly on this case. It has been a long road to get to this point, but we got there. No matter the outcome, there is still work to be done. We are slowly but surely pulling back the Rx curtain and I can’t wait to see what’s behind it. When I look back on the past few weeks, I feel the need to borrow a quote from Razorback football head coach, Sam Pittman. “We’re a proud damn state” and I couldn’t be prouder to be an Arkansas Pharmacist. §
Confession: I did not get to listen to the oral arguments live. As a pharmacy junkie, this really pained me. I liken this to a die-hard Razorback fan not being able to watch the Hogs play in the SEC championship, for instance. And just as if the Razorbacks were to play in the SEC championship game, it would be a long and grueling road to get there. But once you’re there, anything can happen! That’s how I feel about this case. It has taken years, with many peaks and valleys. But now that we are there, we have a chance. As much as I would have loved to listen live to the oral arguments, I had a flu vaccine clinic in Little Rock to attend to. Our patients come before all else. This is what pharmacists do. I’m sure many of you were in the same boat. I’m sure many of you were even facing the issues that Rutledge vs. PCMA addresses at your own stores at the same time the case was being argued. A huge decision was being debated in front of the United States Supreme Court that could have implications on our careers but patient care trumps all of that. I wanted to listen to it live more than anyone, but our job as pharmacists is patient care. No matter the timing, the patient comes first. That being said, when I got home that night, I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I listened to the arguments
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