Walmart eases rules for e-prescriptions
Although Walmart Inc. had set a Jan. 1 deadline to begin requiring electronic prescriptions for controlled substances at Walmart and Sam's Club pharmacies, the retailer says it will continue accepting nonelectronic prescriptions while encouraging providers to adopt the new technology.
The American Medical Association's executive vice president, Dr. James Madara, wrote a letter on Nov. 26 to Walmart's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Thomas Van Gilder, expressing concern that many physicians weren't prepared to meet the Jan. 1 deadline. Madara notes the Drug Enforcement Administration has set a Jan. 1, 2021, deadline for e-prescribing of certain drugs for patients with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.
The AMA feared Walmart's stated earlier deadline would disrupt patient care "given the fact that only about 44% of physicians currently have the technology, hardware and certifications required" for e-prescribing.
But the Bentonville-based retailer has already amended its policy, a Walmart spokeswoman said Tuesday. According to the opioid policy on the company's website, "We will continue to work collaboratively with prescribers to encourage their use of e-prescribing for controlled substances."
-- Serenah McKay
Apartment properties in LR sold for $70M
A limited liability company linked to MAA, a real-estate trust based in Germantown, Tenn., recently sold three west Little Rock apartment complexes for a total price of a little more than $70 million.
MAA Arkansas REIT, LLC, sold Westside Creek apartments, a 308-unit complex at 4710 Sam Peck Road, for $29.8 million, and two apartment complexes on Napa Valley Drive: The 260-unit Calais Forest apartments for $20.5 million and the 240-unit Napa Valley apartments for $19.76 million.
The buyers were three separate limited liability companies organized by National Property Management Associates of Orchard Park, N.Y.
The sales came about two weeks after MAA Arkansas REIT LLC sold another west Little Rock apartment property, The Ridge at Chenal Valley, a 312-unit complex at 5400 Chenonceau Blvd. for $45.5 million.
The buyer was Chenal Valley Partners LLC, which was organized by Covenant Capital Group, an investment managed company based in Nashville, Tenn.
-- Noel Oman
State index dips 2.01 to close at 466.22
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Tuesday at 466.22, down 2.01.
Only four index stocks rose on a day when the major stock indexes fell slightly.
PAM Transportation shares rose 2.01%. Dillard's rose 1.82%.
America's Car-Mart fell 2.01%.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 12/11/2019