PBM Coverages February Specials Gift Cards Exceptional Difference Makers Employee Birthdays EPC in Arizona Marty’s Corner Repeat Deliveries 1095C Tax Form Respiratory Dept Sale Animal Insulin

February 2016

Mandatory questionnaire

available to fill out online. Look for link in Synergy

column on www.KohllsStaff.com

Location with the

greatest % participation will win

a pizza party.

David Kohll

Reviewing PBM Coverages Kohll's Pharmacy & Homecare participates in all Part D plans. Just like any phar-macy, with some we are a preferred pharmacy and some we are not a preferred pharmacy. It is common for many customers to get their prescriptions from us when we are not a preferred pharmacy. A preferred pharmacy means the patient MAY pay less of a co-pay for their prescription, but not always. Non-Part D plans (commercial plans): We are a participating provider with most of these non-part D plans. There are a few for which we are not a participating provider. I have run into a handful of pa-tients that fall into this category. It is interesting that some of these patients have decided to continue to get their prescriptions from us, using Kohll's discount plan instead of going to the participating pharmacy. This is because of the trust many of you have built with your customers/patients. I It is discouraging when we find we are not a participating pharmacy for a custom-er. It is almost impossible to know which plan we are not participating in until we run the prescription. Sometimes when we thought we weren't participating, we actually were. The staff just wasn't entering the PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manag-er) information correctly into QS1. Please make sure you are entering all information into QS1 correctly and offering the Kohll’s discount plan to patients that carry plans for which we are not a partici-pating provider.

Are you up-to-date on your mandatory training videos? Please don't forget to watch the bi-weekly training videos and complete the quiz on kohllsstaff.com. It is located under the "education" tab- training videos. These are part of our continuing education requirements!

New waiting room at Park Ave. Very Nice!

Attention Employees- New 1095-C tax form!!

You should have received your 1095-C tax form and your W-2 by now. The Affordable Care Act has created new tax requirements for employers and employees. All employees will be receiving W2’s for 2015 as usual. However, in Jan-uary 2016, all full time and part time employees who have worked 130 hours or more in at least one month during 2015 will also receive a new tax form called the 1095-C. NOTE: You will need BOTH the W-2 and the 1095-C forms to file your personal income taxes for 2015! If you worked for more than one employer in 2015, you may receive more than one 1095-C form to file. Like the W-2, the new 1095-C is also sent to the IRS. The document tells the IRS if you were offered health insurance and if you signed up or waived the group health insurance that was offered. The IRS will compare this information to the marketplace insurance information to verify that everyone has appropriate insurance, and to ensure that the correct individuals are receiving the proper tax credits. Questions? Please contact Mary Markel: mmarkel@kohlls.com 402-895-6812 Ext. 107

Essential Pharmacy Compounding of Kohll’s in Arizona by Jacqueline Clemens

 Essential Pharmacy Compounding (EPC) has been beneficial in assisting patients outside of Nebraska for many years. As a representative for the pharmacy in Arizona, one of the most difficult problems doctors here are seeing day-to-day is due to environmental sinusitis. This stems from the dust, pollen, monsoon seasons and high pollution that can lead to a runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, and many other debilitating problems that some patients self diagnose as a cold. However, with 35 million cases of sinus infections in America per year, it is clear that strong ef-fective remedies are a crucial need. EPC launched a nasal program that targets all aspects of a patient’s sinusitis with antibiotics, anti-fungals, and corti-costeroids in order to eradicate all the problems within the patient’s nasal cavity to rid the infection. The largest issue that the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat ) doctors are seeing here is that the patient’s sinus infections keep reoccurring because their prescriptions are not strong enough, or do not have the proper components within the compounds, to make sure these issues do not return. With ten formulations for the doctors to choose from, there is always an option that best fits the patient and will as-sure them that the infection is eliminated. The doctors can choose between two ways of delivering the compounded medication, as most usually have a preferred method. Whether they want their patients to use a Neil Med rinse twice a day, or if they want an even more effective route through our NasoNeb Nebulizer. This nebulizer is the best choice for intra-nasal drug delivery, and can deliver 71 times more medication than a Neil Med rinse or some of the other nebulizers on the market, which leads to a faster recovery. Many physicians writing here in Arizona have explained how many of their patients were on the wrong medication for their sinusitis and once they switched over to one of our nasal therapy compounds, they have had a full recovery. With low copays and inexpensive cash price options, any patient who is a sinusitis sufferer should look into taking advantage of these options no matter where you are located!

New waiting room at Park Ave. Very Nice!

Northern Hemisphere: Mild 2015-16 Influenza Season Expected from Travax

The main influenza season has begun throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Influenza A(H1N1), well-matched to the current vaccine strain, is predominant throughout the Northern

Hemisphere. Circulating A(H3N2) and B/Yamagata are both well matched to the current triva-lent, as well as quadrivalent, vaccine formulation. No significant neuraminidase inhibitor re-sistance has been detected. Epidemic curves to date are flatter than in most seasons, indica-tive of a mild season with the proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness in the U.S. at 2.2%, above the national baseline of 2.1%. Worldwide, The WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System laboratories cur-rently report that 83.3% of circulating viruses are influenza A and 16.7% are influenza B. Of the sub-typed influenza A viruses, 82.7% were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 17.3% were influen-za A(H3N2). Of the characterized influenza B viruses, 75.8% belonged to the B/Yamagata line-age and 24.2% to the B/Victoria lineage. No new seasonal influenza virus variants appear to be circulating that if introduced into the Northern Hemisphere late in the season might cause increased morbidity due to a vaccine mismatch.

Payments on a Patient Account by Joyce Jones There seems to be some confusion regarding what happens when you take a payment, do a received on account, and don't charge anything to the patient's account. What happens is NRX shows a credit balance and right now, company wide, we're showing a credit balance of $57,614.33. That's almost $60,000 dollars in credits we can't track. If a person comes in and wants to buy an item and wants to pay cash, do NOT hit the ROA (Received on Account) key. You haven't charged his/her account for anything so it's not an ROA. If a person is paying for something that you've entered in HME, manipulate the price review screen to reflect the portion the person is

paying. Put that amount under patient and then it will transfer to NRX and you can use the ROA key on the register. If it's NRX, scan your items and use "charge to AR account" and then you can do an ROA. If you don't charge it to them, then don't do an ROA. If a person is paying ahead for something, put a note in HME or NRX as to why the credit is in the account. This is the time of year when you're collecting more money for deductibles, so be sure you have your charges in line with your payments. Thanks. If you have any questions, please call Joyce at 402-895-6812 x104 or email jjones@kohlls.com

Respiratory Department Sale! By Matt Fenn The new year is here and Kohll's Respiratory Department is liquidating our entire stock of used equipment! We are offering a sale on LifeChoice portable oxygen concentrators with an extended external battery for only $500. We are also offering a sale on Respironics portable oxygen concentrator batteries for both the Simplygo and Evergo systems. Simplygo batteries are on sale for $100 each and a pair of Evergo batteries are only $50. With up to 80% off the normal asking price, these interchangeable batteries can provide patients with twice as much battery length as they currently have. There is no limit on how many batteries a patient can purchase, however this is only while supplies last. Insurance will not cover used equipment so these items are private-pay only. Please inform any patient with an Evergo or a Simplygo portable oxygen concentrator of this limited time offer as they will not find a better deal anywhere else. Kohll's Respiratory is also selling used CPAP machines starting as low as $100 for select Respironics, and $250 for the ResMed S9 Auto/CPAP. These are great to have for a backup machine or for patients who are often traveling. Please refer questions and patients to: Matt Fenn at Kohll's Respiratory Department (402) 342-5886 opt. 2.

Happy Anniversary To You

Cal/Mag 2001 Three tablets supply 750mg of Calcium and 375mg of Magnesium, a 2:1 ratio of Calci-

um : Magnesium. Calcium and Magnesium play an important role in bone formation. Cal/Mag also includes Vitamin D which is the key regulatory hormone for calcium ab-sorption and bone metabolism. Would recommend an additional Vitamin D supplement. Divided doses of Calcium is key. The body is only able to absorb 500mg at a time.

1 year Jennifer Fee

Allyssia Metzler Shae McMaster

Sherry Roof

10 years +

Laurie Dondelinger—13 years Leanne Knoell—11 years

Christen McCauley—10 years

5 years Andrew Curtis

Rebecca Johnson Shawn Lebrato

Robin Sheldrake Jacob Toben

34 Repeat Deliveries for the week of 12/28/15

Nice Work Everyone! Keep up the great work.

Please view the following videos on how to activate and how to redeem Kohll’s Gift Cards. Each location received a stack of gift cards and holders which should be at your front register. It only takes 2 minutes! Redeem - https://youtu.be/sdtAGe1-3dM

Activate - https://youtu.be/2bhD6tpMrjo

Mark Ferrell, Kohll’s Delivery Driver, uses the Rush Foot and “Lives Life AMPLIFIED!”

We are proud to have you on our team, Mark!

Congratulations Amanda Brittain (Millard Employee) and Jeremy Bothwell (114th Employee) on

the birth of their new baby BOY! They were actually expecting a baby girl!

Happy Birthday To You

All nine of our Midwest locations are tremendously benefitted by Difference Makers and especially by Exceptional Difference Makers.

Difference Makers: Becoming very efficient in both HME and RX

Efficient Rx means: 1. You can or have quickly entered numerous RXs in QS1 2. The RXs are entered accurately. 3. Any adjudication issues are efficiently resolved

Efficient in HME means: 1. You can or have quickly entered numerous TXs in QS1 2. The TXs are entered accuarately 3. You understand and follow Medicare/Medicaid regulations 4. You are good at identifying beneficial HME products for patients and physicians.

*Those in bold print are Exceptional Difference Makers*

To be an Exceptional Difference Maker, one must earn

significant bonuses each month.

Lincoln won the pizza party last month— They were the location to turn in the most employee quizzes before the deadline. Congrats!

February March

Emil Kozel *Christen McCauley, Pharm D*

Vinh Nguyen *Jason Nicola*

*Candace Partee* Ann Price

*Maura Rippe* Miriam Rodriguez

Christa Hester *Vera Huckeby*

*Rebecca Johnson* *Gavin Jorn* *David Koch*

*Melissa Koester* Huong Le

*Elizabeth Rodriguez* Amanda Scholtes, Pharm D.

Gary Shyken Dianne Staiert

*Melody Stephens* Anthony Teal Nick Tiwald Julie Vanek

*Alison Bivens* *Nick Bockoven* Lisa Bucksbee, RP

*Lindsay Coleman* Kevin Cortes

*Jessica Ern* Marty Feltner, Pharm D.

Dori Estee-Morong, 3/4 Allyssia Metzler, 3/5 Candace Engel, 3/6 Samantha Schreck, 3/9 Diamond Briggs, 3/13 Kevin Strong, 3/13 Jeffrey Yau, 3/13 Melody Peterson, 3/14 Dale Ludemann, 3/15 Amanda Pires, 3/16

Allison Aikman, 2/2 Julie Vanek, 2/2 Eileen Boevree, 2/3 Wayne Walls, 2/3 Justin Kohll, 2/5 Anthony Teal, 2/8 Taylor Woodward, 2/8 Amber Heim, 2/9 Charles Zaugg Jr. 2/9 Lindsay Sevener, 2/10

Jennifer Fee, 2/11 Alexis Shaw, 2/11 Bryan Parker, 2/13 Amanda Brittain, 2/14 CJ Casey, 2/14 Robin Sheldrake, 2/15 Kristal Rydberg, 2/16 Maura Rippe, 2/18 John Streit, 2/18 Mark Ferrell, 2/19

Derrick Irakiza, 2/19 Jeannie Brown, 2/21 Melody Stephens, 2/21 Vince Albertson, 2/23 James Fergerson, 2/23 Stacy Niemi, 2/26 Eric Moroz, 2/27 Lisa Pinkes, 2/28 Jacquelin Stoddard, 2/28 Matthew Tran, 2/29

Madelinne Ecker, 3/18 Sean Crawford, 3/19 Katie Kerl, 3/21 Rebekah Franck, 3/22 Michelle Wickstrom, 3/23 Allen Kurland, 3/24 Amanda Lohr, 3/24 Miriam Rodriguez, 3/25 Pamela Rihanek, 3/27 Vinh Nguyen, 3/28

Animal Insulin Explained from your very own Dr. Drew I am always here to help. If you have any questions, you can contact me at : Email at dolson@kohlls.com or Call if emergency my cell # 402-290-0036 We need to make sure the veterinarian is always in the loop when dealing with animal prescriptions. For what its worth, this situation hits very close to home for me. I have personally lost an animal’s life due to confusion with insulin syringe units when they came in on a late night emergency - In the end it comes back on the veterinarian, so it was my fault, but it definitely would have helped to know that the pre-scription that I had wrote was actually different than what the animal owners were doing. Hence the cordial request from Bellevue Animal Hospital to be kept in the loop I recommend reading the below information if you are going to provide recommendations on insulin & syringes I will provide a summary on animal drugs in a upcoming online lecture

Insulin Syringes: Syringes are designed for use with a specific strength of insulin, with the needle covers color-coded according to strength. U-40 syringes have a red top, while U-100 syringes have an orange top. U-40 syringes contain 1/2 cc (equivalent to 0.5 mL) and have 20 unit marks. Measuring U-40 insulin to the one unit mark in a U-40 syringe will contain 1U of insulin. U-100 syringes are avail-able in 0.3 mL, 0.5 mL, and 1 mL size. Measuring U-100 insulin to one mark in a U-100 syringe will contain 1 Unit of insulin.

Tuberculin syringes can also be used, but are not generally recommended because the potential for confusion is substantial. If using 100 Units/mL or TB syringes to measure 40 Units/mL insulin doses:

* Determine the required dose in units. * If using U-100 insulin syringes (orange top), multiply the required Units of U-40 insu- lin by 2.5 ( e.g. If required dose is 10 units, 10 x 2.5 = 25 units). * If using TB syringes, multiply the required Units of U-40 insulin x 0.025 ( e.g ., If the required dose is 10 Units, 10 x 0.025 = 0.25 mL).

Congratulations Malvern Staff for earning new group home medi-cation business in Clarinda, Iowa! Do you have any leads on group homes or elderly facilities that may benefit from our medication packaging services? Please contact Kelsey Grenier at Westgate (402) 393-1404 or Kgrenier@kohlls.com with any information!