PLANO, Texas, July 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG), a leading pharmacy consulting firm for health systems and employers, announced today that Intelligent Compliance Solutions (ICS) has been added as the newest member of the PSG family of companies. ICS was formed to address 340B program audit and compliance challenges faced by health care organizations.
ICS will be based in Plano, Texas and will provide a wide range of consulting services and comprehensive compliance solutions designed for Covered Entities participating in the 340B program. These services will range from audit preparation and policy review to complete and ongoing compliance reviews. ICS will also offer an ongoing 340B Advisory Service, intended to minimize Covered Entities' risk and protect their status in the program.
With a 20-year legacy, PSG brings extensive expertise in pharmacy benefit consulting, including auditing, analytics and compliance solutions. Always striving to anticipate needs within the health care market, PSG entered the 340B administration market providing an innovative suite of services for contract pharmacy, split-billing, and uninsured patient programs for health systems in 2011.
PSG recently recognized an increased need for an unbiased party to assist hospitals, health systems, and other Covered Entities in navigating the complexities of 340B guidelines. "Establishing a separate entity to provide compliance services for Covered Entities participating in the 340B program was paramount in our decision to form ICS," said Dave Borden, CEO of PSG. "We believe it is our responsibility to serve as a trusted partner to guide health systems through the complexities that make it difficult to carry out their mission – providing quality care to their patients."
PSG's staff holds extensive expertise in 340B policy and operations and this experience is the foundation of the newly formed entity. With more than 25 years of experience in a diverse range of pharmacy and health care management services, Bruce Boelter, RPh, MBA, Vice President, ICS, will be leading the team of experts. Mr. Boelter joined PSG in 2012 from Apexus, the 340B prime vendor. Mr. Boelter's role of Director at Apexus included oversight of operations and analytics, leading the Disproportionate Share Hospital Advisory Council, and responsibility for the distributor and 340B solution vendor contracting and compliance initiatives. Mr. Boelter played a key role in the development of the 340B University; he was also on the faculty.
"The changing landscape and increased scrutiny of the 340B program is leading to an increased number of audits, and we've seen requests for review of policies and procedures or audit readiness reviews growing exponentially in the market," said Mr. Boelter. "Audit data requests are extremely comprehensive; an incomplete response to an HRSA audit could lead to poor results and ultimately impact a health system's ability to remain in the program, therefore it's important for us to serve as an advisor to help them."
Within the Affordable Care Act (ACA), revisions were made to the 340B program, including the expansion of the number of entities eligible to participate in the drug discount program. Children's hospitals, critical access hospitals, sole community hospitals, rural referral centers, and free-standing cancer hospitals could now qualify as Covered Entities. The number of locations participating in the 340B program has more than doubled since inception.
As a Covered Entity participating in the 340B program, an organization must comply with various statutory requirements. As a result of the expansion of eligible organizations, HRSA has been under pressure to document that only parties eligible for the program's benefits receive them. Furthermore, OPA has stated that compliance and auditing will be a key focus going forward. Therefore the demand is ever-increasing for an experienced and independent firm to help provide guidance about 340B guidelines and ensure audit readiness for hospitals.
About Intelligent Compliance Solutions
Intelligent Compliance Solutions (ICS) is the newest member of the Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG) family of companies. ICS was established as a separate company to serve as an independent 340B audit and compliance consulting firm. ICS works with hospitals, health systems and other covered entities to simplify the complexity of 340B compliance. For more information, please visit www.intelligentcompliancesolutions.com
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