Pharmacy Networks Eyed as Way to Fight Doctor Dispensing, Compounds

Pharmacy benefit networks, a seemingly obscure tool to control workers’ comp pharmacy costs in California, are receiving more attention as payers look for ways to limit physician dispensing and use of compounded medications. Under the networks, which are authorized by California Labor Code Section 4600.2 (a), payers or employers that contract with pharmacies are not required to pay for prescriptions dispensed outside of the network. And the networks can be designed to exclude drugs dispensed at a physician’s office or by a questionable compounding pharmacy, according to Phil Walls...