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| Thursday, 6 October 2011, 20:39 HKT/SGT | |
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Source: Omnicare | |
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| Omnicare Comments on Potential CMS Changes Related to Consultant Pharmacists |
COVINGTON, Ky., Oct 6, 2011 - (ACN Newswire) - Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE:OCR) today commented on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) request for comments regarding its consideration of changes to the Conditions of Participation for Long Term Care Facilities released on October 3, 2011.
Omnicare noted that it is in the process of reviewing the potential change requiring the independence of consultant pharmacists with its regulatory and legal advisors. Although Omnicare's review is not yet complete, at this time the Company believes that the potential change would not have any material adverse effects on Omnicare's business.
Omnicare noted that there is a 60-day comment period, and the Company looks forward to providing CMS with accurate information concerning the role of Omnicare consultant pharmacists and the beneficial effects its consultant pharmacists have in lowering costs and ensuring patient safety.
Omnicare believes that regulators need to pursue a thoughtful and evidence-based evaluation of the role of consultant pharmacists. Omnicare's payors and customers and their residents currently benefit from the consultant pharmacists' expertise in the areas of geriatric drug therapy and long-term care pharmacy regulations. Omnicare's concern remains that payors and customers and their residents may be denied these benefits or forced to pay more for them if CMS were to mandate the change it is considering. Omnicare believes that rather than reducing costs, the CMS proposal is likely to add costs.
Omnicare charges market rates for its consultant pharmacist services. In addition, Omnicare's consultant pharmacists do not prescribe pharmaceuticals but may recommend a drug if it is clinically equivalent and at a lower cost to the payor, or recommend another therapy option in accordance with published CMS guidance. For example, Omnicare's consultant pharmacists over the past five years have made more than 700,000 recommendations to prescribers regarding antipsychotic use, 99.7% of which were to reduce a dose; discontinue the drug; question the reason the drugs are used; or monitor for potential, known side effects.
Omnicare believes its expertise in geriatric pharmaceutical care and its commitment to programs that provide the most appropriate medication cost-effectively for its customers and the residents they serve are consistent with the CMS's efforts to lower overall healthcare costs while helping Omnicare's customers manage and respond to the ongoing industry cost pressures.
Omnicare is looking forward to working with CMS on this issue for industry standards that improve quality and decrease cost.
About Omnicare
Omnicare, Inc., a Fortune 400 company based in Covington, Kentucky, provides comprehensive pharmaceutical services to patients and providers across North America. As the market-leader in professional pharmacy, related consulting and data management services for skilled nursing, assisted living and other chronic care institutions, Omnicare leverages its unparalleled clinical insight into the geriatric market along with some of the industry's most innovative technological capabilities to the benefit of its long-term care customers. Omnicare also provides key commercialization services for the bio-pharmaceutical industry and end-of-life disease management through its Specialty Care Group. For more information, visit www.omnicare.com .
Forward-looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this communication contains certain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations regarding the matters discussed or incorporated by reference in this communication (including, but not limited to, statements as to "beliefs," "expectations," "anticipations," "intentions" or similar words) and all statements which are not statements of historical fact. Such forward-looking statements, together with other statements that are not historical, are based on management's current expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that could cause results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those stated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that Omnicare will not pursue a transaction with PharMerica, the timing to consummate a potential transaction between Omnicare and PharMerica, the ability and timing to obtain required regulatory approvals, Omnicare's ability to realize the synergies contemplated by a potential transaction, Omnicare's ability to promptly and effectively integrate the businesses of PharMerica and Omnicare, the performance of Omnicare's institutional pharmacy business, business conditions in the institutional pharmacy industry generally, the inability to expand geographically as anticipated, the inability to leverage services and capabilities among Omnicare's network of institutional pharmacies as anticipated, the effectiveness of Omnicare's strategy in the institutional pharmacy business, the ability of the PharMerica acquisition to strengthen relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and the risks and uncertainties described in Omnicare's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports filed with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, Omnicare's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, Omnicare does not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Contact:
Patrick C. Lee
+1(859) 392-3444
patrick.lee@omnicare.com
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Omnicare via Thomson Reuters ONE
Copyright (c) Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved.
Topic: Press release summary
Source: Omnicare
https://www.acnnewswire.com
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