September 27, 2017
Director of Pharmacy
Dear Sir/Madame:
Enclosed you will find a copy of an “open letter” to the CEO of CVS CareMart. As you may know, he is proposing that as of January, 2018, CVS will, for certain patients, only fill a 7-day supply of opioids.
If you wish to review the enclosed letter in a manner where all of the hyperlinks work, you can go to www.jameslhollymd.com/inthenews/letters. There you will fine 296 letters written by SETMA about important matters. The letter to CVS’ CVA is letter number 1. The following is the link to it: CVS Plans to Change Prescriptions without Physician Approval - An Open Letter to CVS’ CEO.
This letter details SETMA’s steps toward contributing to the solution for resolving the opioid abuse in this country. It is not THE only solution but it is a large part of it.
I am hopeful that the CVS CEO will enter into a dialogue with us an others about how really to solve this problem. As my letter states, I think his proposal is illegal in many states.
I and SETMA has the highest regard for our pharmacist colleagues and we value their input to patient care. This is not a discussion about “turf,” but about how to effectively unite our efforts to solve this problem.
If you would be interested in participating in a public discussion about this problem, please let me know at jholly@jameslhollymd.com.
Please distribute a copy of this letter to all of your staff pharmacists, to your corporate offices and to any other participant in this process.
Thank you,
James (Larry) Holly, M.D.
C.E.O. SETMA
www.jameslhollymd.com
Adjunct Professor
Family & Community Medicine
University of Texas Health San Antonio
The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center
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