Dr. Charles Daniels, UC San Diego Health’s Pharmacist-In-Chief and Associate Dean at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, has received an invitation from the American Hospital Association (AHA) to be a key participant in the AHA’s unveiling of hospital-wide 340B program integrity standard on September 18th at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Dr. Daniels’ serves on the AHA's 340B Board Task Force (13-member group). Dr. Daniels, along with two other Task Force members, will participate in the National Press Club event which will largely be covered by the health policy press.
Background: For the past few months, the AHA’s 340B Board Task Force has been devising a program integrity standard for 340B hospitals that’s workable. The hope is to present this standard voluntarily to members of Congress and have the AHA hospitals and others in the hospital community agree to abide by it. Along with Dr. Daniels, Julie Clements (Director of Health & Clinical Affairs, UC Federal Governmental Relations), and UC Health Principal Counsel, Margia Corner, have been instrumental in participating in the Task Force and developing program integrity principles that will allow good stewardship of the 340B Program without being burdensome or ineffective. Dr. Daniels’ Congressional testimony earlier this year made a significant impact — he is highly regarded and respected. His participation also further enhances the profile and visibility of UC San Diego in critical, significant, & impactful health care policy venues.
The goal of devising a program integrity standard that is supported by all types of 340B hospitals (DSH, Critical Access, Sole Community, etc.) is that we proactively inform Members of Congress that we’re open to showcasing how we’re using the 340B discount to benefit underserved patients, and that we have a standard formula for calculating the costs our hospitals avoid paying for outpatient drugs due to the discount along with capturing revenue they receive from their contracts with participating 340B contract pharmacies.