ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores made its voice heard this week on two key pharmacy matters: importation of prescription drugs and prescription refill reminders.

NACDS said an amendment calling for personal importation of prescription drugs from Canada was withdrawn amid debate in the U.S. Senate on budget reconciliation legislation on Thursday.  The association expressed opposition to the measure in a letter to all senators earlier this week, noting that personal importation of prescriptions can jeopardize consumer safety.

Steve Anderson

The personal importation amendment was originally filed by Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) during debate on H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. H.R. 3762 then passed the Senate by a vote of 52-47 without the importation amendment.

“Given that patient safety cannot be ensured under a personal prescription drug importation system, and that such a system would reduce patients’ access to professional services of their local licensed pharmacists, the Senate made the right decision today,” NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson said in a statement.

In the letter to senators, NACDS cited the differences in active ingredients in drugs from other nations, as well as different shapes, sizes and colors, which can cause confusion for patients and health professionals.

“The United States has an extensive safety net of federal and state laws to ensure that prescription drugs are manufactured, stored, shipped, dispensed and used in a safe manner,” NACDS wrote in its letter. “That safety net is eliminated when prescription drugs are imported from foreign suppliers and greatly contributes to the potential for counterfeit drugs being imported into the U.S.”

In addition, NACDS emphasized that people who obtain prescription medications via personal importation don’t have the benefit of a licensed pharmacist to consult with them before using the medications. “We applaud the efforts of Congress to expand access to prescription medications and are committed to working with you to advance policies that do so in a safe, affordable and effective way,” the letter stated.

Also this week, NACDS filed an amicus brief in support of the right of pharmacies to send prescription refill reminders and other health care text messages and to make calls to patients’ cell phones to help improve medication adherence. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The brief filed by NACDS opposes an order by the Federal Communications Commission that imposes strict limits on automated or recorded calls and texts to cell phones.  In the brief, NACDS stressed that pharmacy text and voice messages are key to improving patient health, as well as lowering overall health care costs related to patients’ failure to adhere to their prescriptions.

“Failure to take medications as prescribed harms patient health,” according to Anderson.  “As Americans increasingly rely on mobile technology, it makes sense that reminders to refill their prescription medications be made available on their cell phones to help keep them on track with their medication regimen, as well as receive other information to help them manage their health.”

Pharmacies provide patients with several types of important health care communications, which arguably fall within the FCC category of “prescription notifications.” These notifications include reminding patients to pick up prescriptions they previously asked their pharmacist to fill or pursuant to their doctors’ orders, reminding patients that it is time to get their annual flu shots, and informing patients about potential safety issues associated with their medications such as drug recalls.

“These prescription notifications rapidly and conveniently alert patients to important and time-sensitive information that is critical to the medically appropriate use of their prescribed medications,” NACDS stated in the brief.

NACDS said additional briefs challenging the FCC order restricting automated and recorded calls and texts to cell phones have been filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Litigation Center and others.