SENIORS MISLED BY DRUG CARDS

Many independent and specialty pharmacists contend they have lost business from seniors who thought they had to go to the stores listed on their membership cards.
“Absolutely, positively,” said Nicholas Saraniti, owner CommCare Pharmacy in Fort Lauderdale, which specializes in HIV/AIDS medicine. “I hear that time and time again.”

Drugstores’ dilemma is Walgreens opportunity

Nicholas Saraniti, director of operations at ComCare Pharmacy in Fort Lauderdale, got Walgreens’ scouting letter through a fellow independent pharmacist. He said they were both incensed by its opening sentence, which refers to “today’s challenging pharmacy environment of Medicare and Medicaid changes, pharmacist shortages and shrinking margins.”

These three R.Ph.s say Walgreens adds insult to injury

“I love how WHI controls our cash flow and reimbursement rates,” Saraniti said. “Now that they have both been effectively killed, they are interested in purchasing independent pharmacies. These people really have some nerve!”

Future of specialty pharmacy discussed at Drug Store News’ Specialty Pharmacy Roundtable

Added Nick Saraniti, COO of Commcare Pharmacy, “I think that most Medicaid states will not only be under-funded but will be pushing more Medicaid patients into those programs than we ever had before because part of healthcare reform changes the federal poverty level guidelines of eligibility into those programs.”

Questions raised about promising HIV vaccine trial results

Nick Saraniti, CEO and director of operations of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based specialty pharmacy Commcare Pharmacy, is also skeptical. He noted that the results indicate patients who took the vaccine contracted HIV 31.2% less than those who didn’t, but the question remained as to whether they were also 31.2% less exposed to the virus

Clinical trial results boost possibility of HIV vaccine

“Realistically, it doesn’t put them much closer to a vaccine than they were two years ago,” said Nick Saraniti, CEO and director of operations of Commcare Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It gives us the hope to keep trying.”

Promoting Independence

Nick Saraniti, Commcare Pharmacy, Fort Lauderdale. This group has worked to finalize the mission, vision and goals of the Florida Independent Pharmacy Alliance and I thank them for all of their efforts.

Annual DSN roundtables draw record crowd

Specialty pharmacy provider panelists included Jeanne Ann Stasny of Walmart Specialty Pharmacy, Nick Calla of Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, Tim Kaplan of Amber Pharmacy, Anthony Davino of Armada Healthcare, Sharon Ferrer of BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy, Robert Roose of Bioscrip, Nick Saraniti of Commcare Pharmacy, Albert Thigpen of CVS Caremark, Phil Hagerman of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, John Musil of The Apothecary Shops, Burt Zweigenhaft of OncoMed and Lee Merritt of MedfusionRx.

Specialty Pharmacy News Roundtable

NICK SARANITI, COMMCARE: I come from probably the worst- paying Medicaid state and … especially in that HIV space, on drugs like Selzentry or Fuzeon, we’ve seen the state put prior authorization and other hurdles in place across the Medicaid program mandating that genetic testing be conducted and the requirements of the PI be met.

South Florida Business Leader

South Florida Business Leader Commcare Pharmacy #10, Nicholas Saraniti Top Executive