New 340B Integrity Provisions in the Affordable Care Act Could Result in Substantial Financial Penalties

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sentry Data Systems, Inc., a healthcare business intelligence technology solutions company, is poised to help hospitals and entities that may come under review due to the Affordable Care Act. Recently, the 340B drug pricing program has had heavy scrutiny from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Sentry offers hospitals 340B solutions that maintain compliance and produce an audit trail of transactions.

"Today we support hundreds of hospitals across the US," Travis Leonardi, President and CEO of Sentry said. "These hospitals trust Sentry because of our extensive 340B experience. Our solutions not only give hospitals and health systems the confidence that their entity is in compliance, but they also provide a maximum capture rate and improve financial performance."

When utilizing a 340B Contract Pharmacy to extend the benefits of 340B to your patients, the technology needed to maintain compliance is significantly more complex than the requirements needed for a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or Community Health Center (CHC). Sentry has hundreds of contract pharmacies using its systems today, and it has the experience and infrastructure in place to provide both a comprehensive and fast deployment for new clients. As the 340B program continues to be further scrutinized by various agencies, it is critical that hospitals and contract pharmacies reevaluate their current 340B accounting procedures and are fully prepared for an audit. "Our mission is to constantly demonstrate and deploy 340B 'Best Practices,' as well as to educate and provide the proper tools to maintain compliance and stay within the intended use of the invaluable 340B drug pricing program. With the proper tracking and auditing tools, there is no need to increase the costs associated with increased regulation," said Travis Leonardi.

"As drug manufacturers attempt to redefine the definition of a patient, inquiry letters are being sent to covered entities every month about their current 340B utilization," Leonardi said. "We are positioned to help these entities respond to those inquiries with confidence that they are using the 340B program in compliance with regulations."

Sentry's solutions are user-friendly and include a range of features, such as real-time point of sale eligibility, execution on entity's specific policies and procedures, automated utilization of charges to entity's specific 11 digit NDC purchases, "just in time" inventory tracking, and much more.

About Sentry Data Systems

Located in Deerfield Beach, FL, Sentry Data Systems, Inc. is a healthcare intelligence company offering technology solutions that address a wide variety of workflow, compliance, technical and financial challenges. Sentry's products serve hundreds of hospitals and pharmacies across the country and have saved clients millions of dollars to date. Sentry processes millions of eligibility, financial, clinical, and pharmacy transactions per day on over 15 million patients.

For additional information on Sentry's industry-leading technology solutions, go to www.SentryDS.com or call 800.411.4566.

SOURCE Sentry Data Systems, Inc.