340B Insight Podcast
Episode Sixty-Two: Managing 340B in a Rural Hospital
November 14, 2022
Nov. 17 is National Rural Health Day, which is an opportunity to celebrate the importance of rural hospitals to patients living in remote communities. We are joined by Karen McCombs, 340B program manager for Wills Memorial Hospital in Georgia. Karen shares her tips for managing her critical access hospital’s 340B program in a compliant and efficient manner to support patient care initiatives. Before the interview, we provide updates on the 2023 Medicare payment rate for 340B drugs and on the status of 340B contract pharmacy litigation pending in federal appeals courts. (Transcript)
Show Notes
- Where Everyone Knows Your Name Karen provides her perspective on the unique elements of working in a rural hospital and discusses her hospital’s extensive history in its community.
- Filling in the Gaps Karen explains how 340B savings help her hospital offset its costs to help ensure the hospital remains open for the community. She describes one of Wills Memorial’s greatest 340B success stories and shares how the hospital has used 340B to support all its patients.
- Advice for Rural Hospitals Rural hospitals often have smaller staffs. Karen discusses how she is the only employee at her hospital whose sole focus is 340B. She shares her framework, “Build, Research, Audit, Ask” as a model professionals can deploy to operate a successful 340B program.
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