Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

Drug Discount Program: Improvements Needed in Federal Oversight of Compliance at 340B Contract Pharmacies
Details an evaluation of HRSA's oversight of contract pharmacies participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Discusses rates of compliance by contract pharmacies and HRSA's enforcement efforts.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Mapping Pharmacy Deserts and Determining Accessibility to Community Pharmacy Services for Elderly Enrolled in a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program
Identifies pharmacy deserts, and examines the availability and accessibility of community pharmacies, and their services provided to the elderly receiving assistance from the State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP) in rural and urban Pennsylvania.
Author(s): Priti Pednekar, Andrew Peterson
Citation: PLoS One, 13(6)
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
view details
Drug Discount Program: Federal Oversight of Compliance at 340B Contract Pharmacies Needs Improvement
Focuses on the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which allows certain facilities such as Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSHs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to purchase prescription and non-prescription medications at reduced cost. Describes financial arrangements participating facilities have with contract pharmacies, the extent to which they provide discounts on 340B drugs dispensed by contract pharmacies to low-income, uninsured patients, and examines the Health Resources and Services Administration's efforts to ensure compliance with 340B Program requirements at contract pharmacies.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2018
Provides an in-depth examination of and makes recommendations on two critical issues, the high cost of prescription drugs and the opioid epidemic, as they relate to Medicaid. The opioid section includes discussion of rural access to treatment for substance use disorder. Also discusses Medicaid's role as the nation's largest payer for long-term services and supports.
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
view details
SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
Provides strategies for healthcare providers, communities, and local governments to help prevent opioid-related overdoses and deaths. Includes facts for community members, essential steps for first responders, information for prescribers, safety advice for patients and family members, and resources for overdose survivors and their families.
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
view details
Prescribing Practices of Rural Physicians Waivered to Prescribe Buprenorphine
Highlights a study on the prescribing practices of rural physicians with buprenorphine waivers, which allowed them to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid used disorder. Findings are based on surveys of all rural physicians with a Drug Enforcement Administration prescription waiver. Breaks down data by physician specialty, practice type, and waiver type, among other factors.
Author(s): Holly A. Andrilla, Cynthia Coulthard, Davis G. Patterson
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(6) S3, S208-S214
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
view details
Drug Discount Program: Status of Agency Efforts to Improve 340B Program Oversight
Testimony before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate, describing the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) actions in response to the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recommendations to improve the 340B program oversight. Covers GAO's ongoing work related to the 340B program and HRSA's efforts to implement the GAO's recommendations. includes information on 340B program participants, program structure, operation, and key requirements.
Additional links: Examining Oversight Reports on the 340B Drug Pricing Program, Full Report
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
The "M" of MAT: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
A brief overview of medications used to treat opioid use disorder, as part of whole-patient treatment which includes counseling and behavioral therapies.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2018
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, telehealth, payment incentive programs, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Additional links: Chapter 14 Online-Only Appendixes: The Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D): Status Report (March 2018 Report, Revised June 25, 2018), Chapter 16 Online-Only Appendixes: Mandated Report: Telehealth Services and the Medicare Program (March 2018 report), Errata Sheet: Table 9-7, Page 255 (March 2018 Report, Revised May 30, 2018)
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Evaluation of an Academic-Community Partnership to Implement MTM Services in Rural Communities to Improve Pharmaceutical Care for Patients with Diabetes and/or Hypertension
Evaluates a pilot project in Arizona where community health center and independent retail pharmacies offered medication therapy management (MTM) services on site and by phone to rural, underserved Arizonans with diabetes or high blood pressure.
Author(s): Melissa Johnson, Rebecca Jastrzab, Jared Tate, et al.
Citation: Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 24(2), 132-141
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details