Envision Health is on a winning streak! Our latest achievement is landing the 2022 Blog of the Year award from the Healthcare and IT Marketing Community, or HITMC, on behalf of our client, Sentry Data Systems, part of The Craneware Group.

The award is for the 340Buzz, a monthly series that tracks developments in the federal 340B drug discount program for safety net hospitals and other organizations. The Buzz won in the Health IT category. The award was announced at the HITMC annual conference recently in Foxborough, Mass.

It’s been a highly eventful time in the 340B program, which requires drug manufacturers to extend discounts on outpatient drugs to provider organizations that serve a high proportion of indigent patients in exchange for participating in Medicaid and Medicare Part B.

Since 2020, a growing number of drug companies have been restricting access to 340B pricing at contracted retail pharmacies and demanding that hospitals hand over claims data. That has sparked waves of enforcement actions from the federal government and subsequent lawsuits from the drugmakers. It’s also inflicted considerable financial pain on 340B covered entities, who turn to the Buzz to keep up on the latest developments and for insight into what’s next.

The 340Buzz is the brainchild of Lisa Scholz, Sentry/Craneware’s Senior Vice President of Industry Relations and an expert in all things 340B, and it reflects her voice and deep expertise.

Scholz, PharmD, MBA, FACHE, has been with Sentry since 2015 and previously served as COO and senior vice president at 340B Health, a nonprofit advocacy organization. She also worked in leadership roles at the American Pharmacists Association, where she worked closely with the federal agency that oversees 340B, and she has worked as both a retail pharmacist and as director of pharmacy operations for a large health system in her native Houston.

In her current role, Scholz frequently speaks at industry conferences and meets with federal officials, members of Congress and state lawmakers to discuss the importance of 340B. Additionally, she educates The Craneware Group and its partners on how customers are affected by current events.

“I’m proud of this award and grateful for Envision Health’s support in being recognized for the 340Buzz,” Scholz said. “The blog is another way I’m able to give back to my profession and help safety net providers stay ahead of the curve at a time when the program faces unprecedented challenges from the pharmaceutical industry and its allies.”

While the idea for a monthly blog series came from Scholz, Envision hatched the idea for the name, 340Buzz, and helped launch it nearly five years ago.

“We’ve been privileged to partner with Sentry Data Systems and Craneware for the past seven years and are strong advocates of the 340B program,” said Kelley Smith, RN, MPH, Chief Clinical Officer at Envision Health. “I am proud of our efforts to help Craneware’s customers maintain compliance, provide real-time education about the program and ensure their voices are heard by key decision-makers.”

Today, the Buzz is published near the end of each month.