CONTACT: Frank Fortin
202.223.7189; ffortin@aphanet.org

WASHINGTON, DC – The NBC News story, “Overworked, understaffed: Pharmacists say industry in crisis puts patient safety at risk,” is a compelling demonstration of the need for fundamental payment reform in pharmacy, according to Scott J. Knoer, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).

“The answer is payment reform,” said Dr. Knoer, who was chief pharmacy officer at the Cleveland Clinic for 11 years before joining APhA as CEO in 2020. “The pharmacy payment model of paying for the filling of prescriptions is broken, leading to the imposition of productivity and efficiency metrics that take precedence over almost anything else. As the pharmacists in the story state, this creates a set of conditions where patient safety being terribly compromised.

“Patients deserve better. Pharmacists deserve better. That is why APhA is fighting so hard for fundamental payment reform at the federal level, and why we’re working with our pharmacy partners across the country for payment reform at the state level,” Dr. Knoer said.