Seeking research and stories supporting pharmacist provider status

OPA's top priority in this General Assembly is enacting state legislation recognizing pharmacists as billable health care providers just like other members of the health care team.

With provider status, pharmacists can begin to offer enhanced services to Medicaid patients, and we can further push open the door with private health plans as well.

OPA is in the midst of meetings with lawmakers to solicit possible sponsors and to refine and highlight language for a bill to be introduced within the next few weeks.

For now, we need your help building the case.

1. If you have studies, research, news articles, or white papers that highlight the value of the pharmacist as an actual service provider, please send those to Antonio Ciaccia at aciaccia@ohiopharmacists.org. 
2. If you have a program, or used to have a program, that had to be destroyed or cut down due to the lack of reimbursement for pharmacist-provided services, please send a brief overview of how a lack of provider status set back your practice, and more importantly the health of your patients. Please send those stories to aciaccia@ohiopharmacists.org. 
3. In that vein, please begin soliciting support from doctors, nurses, administrators, patients, etc. for the concept of allowing pharmacists to be billable providers. If you have people that might be willing to provide letters of support or even testify in committee in support of the legislation, please email aciaccia@ohiopharmacists.org. 

Thanks for your help!