Expert Interviews

Drug Topics sat down with Sandra Canally, RN, founder and CEO of The Compliance Team, and Kara Benson, PharmD, long-term care director of Lewis Drug Inc, to discuss the future of LTC pharmacy.

The specialty drug market has exploded in the last few decades.

As medication experts, pharmacists can advocate to organizational decision makers around the benefits of biosimilars.

Data from 2024 are being used as a way to predict what changes may be on the way for 2025.

The market is sensitive to both upstream and downstream pressures that impact drug pricing.

The specialty drug market has exploded, and will continue to grow across sectors such as oncology and neurology.

A lack of clarity around certain provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act has presented challenges to payers.

A siloed approach to care can worsen patient outcomes, but collaboration between one health system specialty pharmacy and a manufacturer led to better patient care.

Understanding the goals of each party is the first step to a successful collaboration.

Collaboration between health system specialty pharmacies and manufacturers can benefit patients in the long run.

Addressing requirements around FDA interchangeability designations can increase the adoption of biosimilar substitutions at the pharmacy level.

A recent bill introduced to Congress is intended to prevent product hopping, a practice that extends exclusivity and hinders the adoption of biosimilar therapies.

Distributors can help manufacturers create patient access programs that reduce costs, copays, and co-insurance.

One notable incentive includes the launch of biosimilars at both low- and high wholesale acquisition costs.

Pharmacists can help financial decision makers understand the value of biosimilar therapies.

Savings associated with biosimilar uptake are projected to reach $181 billion through 2027.

The role of health care specialty pharmacies has expanded.

The expertise of health system specialty pharmacists, combined with better adherence and better affordability, leads to better patient outcomes.

Paying for these new therapies, that may be curative for patients, remains a challenge.

From medication adherence to patient counseling, clinical pharmacists at health system specialty pharmacies can play a role in reducing health care costs.

At AAP 2024, Kathy Campbell, PharmD, discussed obstacles that pharmacies may face when transitioning to a wellness-focused approach.

According to Scott Soefje, PharmD, understanding nuances across sites of care can help health care providers optimize patient care delivery while ensuring financial viability across all settings.

Karen Fancher, PharmD, addresses how hearing the perspectives of colleagues can offer invaluable support to shape individualized approaches to ethical dilemmas in oncology pharmacy.

While prioritizing either cost or margin may be necessary at a site of care, big picture items, such as societal responsibility and long-term health care affordability, should guide financial analyses, said Scott Soefje, PharmD.

When AI is incorporated into pharmacy workflows, the technology can help pharmacists demonstrate the value of their profession.

According to Kirollos Hanna, PharmD, although similarities exist between bispecific therapies in the myeloma space, health care providers should take special note of practical differences and nuances associated with each when operationalizing them at their site of care.

As the potential grows to use emerging bispecifics in earlier lines of myeloma therapy, so does the potential to induce better patient outcomes, said Kirollos Hanna, PharmD.

Eric Fromhart, co-founder and chief growth officer at Aventi Health, discusses how pharmacies can use 340B to increase profits and how they can avoid any potential risks when participating in the program.