Guide: Is DIR Relief Actually Within Reach?

Current Insights on the Fees Plaguing our Profession

Any independent pharmacy operating today is painfully familiar with DIR fees—and by this point, most pharmacy owners have a visceral reaction when they hear the term.

DIR, which stands for “direct and indirect remuneration,” is the result of a loophole in Medicare regulations which has payers recouping dollars from pharmacies sometimes up to a year after a Medicare prescription has been filled. The reason cited? Pharmacy performance; though, the quality measures used to determine that performance are often unknown, inconsistent, vague, or even outside the pharmacy’s control.

In its early stages, DIR had a fairly simple concept and structure. But has transformed over time into a complex and confusing model with the majority of DIR fees being collected six to nine months after the point of sale, causing significant implications to a pharmacy’s profit and cash flow.

Grab this guide to learn:

• The state of DIR

• DIR fees: at-a-glance

• Changes in legislation

• What can pharmacies do?

• Looking ahead