Specialty pharmacy might be the next big thing for independent community pharmacies, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges.
Specialty pharmacy spending is projected to quadruple by 2020 reaching about $400 billion, according to The Evolving World of Specialty Pharmacy Providers: Past, Present, and Future. This report published by Delta Marketing Dynamics (DMD) Healthcare Research, a market research firm focused on creating a comprehensive understanding of the pharmacy channel, highlights key challenges facing the specialty pharmacy industry.
To claim your pharmacy’s piece of this spending growth, you need to start incorporating specialty into your business now. But before you do, take a look at the challenges facing specialty pharmacy and find out why independent community pharmacies are uniquely suited to address them.
1. Fear and anxiety of patients and caregivers
Specialty medication usually involves complex medication regimens, which can cause fear and anxiety for patients and their caregivers. If these concerns aren’t adequately addressed, the report notes that patient confusion and misunderstanding can lead to other medication issues, such as non-adherence.
Quelling these worries requires extensive counseling and a high-touch patient approach, which many independent pharmacies are already used to providing. The report cites several issues patients and caregivers need to be educated about, including disease or condition state, medication cost and financial assistance options, dose administration, medication procurement, side effects and adverse event monitoring, and therapy goals.
This counseling is imperative to making the specialty medication worth the expense to payers, and the report notes that independent pharmacies’ high-touch approach and personal connection with patients makes them the ideal providers to deliver this education.
2. Costs of non-adherence
Non-adherence already costs the U.S. health care system hundreds of billions of dollars each year, according to the report, and non-adherence carries a significantly more expensive risk when using expensive specialty medication.
According to the report, five main factors spur non-adherence for specialty medication. These include lack of efficacy, side effects inherent to the therapy, cost, comorbidities and quitting once symptoms subside.
As the medication experts and dispensers, pharmacists can help mitigate the lack of efficacy and negative side effects of specialty medications by collaborating with physicians. And, according to the 2015 NCPA Digest produced by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), pharmacists are working with physicians regularly. Collaborations are even on the rise, with pharmacists averaging 10 consultations per day with other health care professionals in 2014.
When pharmacists counsel patients and provide personalized education, these actions encourage adherence even after symptoms subside. Medication adherence and synchronization services can also improve adherence, and 76 percent of independent pharmacies already offer these services to their patients, according to the 2015 NCPA Digest.
3. Reducing readmissions
Medication misuse and mismanagement are the primary causes of readmission, according to the report. Not only do readmissions due to medication misuse and mismanagement drive up health care costs, but they’re also preventable.
Medication therapy management services and managed care can cut down on readmission rates, according to the report, and 81 percent of independent community pharmacies already offer medication therapy management services, according to the 2015 NCPA Digest.
4. Data management
Effectively managing extensive patient data is more important than ever when treating patients who use specialty drugs.
According to the report, data management challenges associated with specialty medication include:
- Accurate tracking
- Information sharing among the patient care team
- Consistently reporting results for specific patients
Some pharmacies are already prepared for the data management requirements with specialty drugs. According to the 2015 NCPA Digest, 23 percent of high performing independent community pharmacies have access to electronic medical records.
The report predicts patient outcomes for specialty medication will improve as more pharmacies incorporate new technology. Technology will complement pharmacists’ rigorous patient administration, training and thorough understanding of each patient’s clinical condition.
5. Increased competition
Due to the projected growth of specialty drugs, competition for dispensing specialty medications is expected to grow well beyond the current estimated 150 dedicated specialty pharmacy providers, according to the report.
Independent pharmacies are uniquely suited to offer specialty services because many specialty medications require special handling and distribution that mail order pharmacies can’t offer, according to the report. Stay ahead of the growing competition, by incorporating specialty medications and care into your service offering soon.
Learn how an independent pharmacy in St. Louis, Mo., became known for specializing in HIV care.
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