The study finds specialty pharmacy teams managing oral oncolytics can help oncology groups discover significant savings and drive meaningful patient impact.
June 2024
Congratulations are in order again for our specialty pharmacy team!
The clinical outcomes study and poster, “Maximizing Cost Savings: The Impact of Specialty Pharmacist Interventions at a Community Oncology Center,” won the Gold Award for best poster at the 2024 Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) Annual Meeting. The four-year observational study found that health-system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) teams drive significant cost savings for individuals taking oral oncolytics.
Lead author and presenter Casey Fitzpatrick, PharmD, BCPS says the findings demonstrate the financial benefit of integrating HSSP pharmacists into care teams.
“As healthcare shifts to value-based care, these types of studies help show the value of pharmacist-provided care.”
The poster placed first out of nearly two dozen research projects about healthcare quality improvement showcased at PQA. A panel of judges representing PQA’s member base selected the poster for the show’s top award after deeming it had the best abstract and presentation components of the show.
This award is the second time this study has earned a top honor. Last year, it earned the “Best Poster” award at the 2023 National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) Annual Meeting.
About the study: HSSP teams drive oncology cost savings
Dr. Fitzpatrick presented the research at PQA, showing attendees how HSSP teams can help reduce the cost of care for individuals taking oral oncolytics.
He says the idea for the study came about during the team's routine clinic work.
“We weren’t trying to seek results for results’ sake,” Dr. Fitzpatrick said of the research. "We found cost improvement results as we retrospectively evaluated our pharmacists' daily interventions to improve medication adherence and safety."
The authors reviewed the impact of an HSSP team's interventions and patient management in a community oncology center during the study. The HSSP pharmacists were embedded directly into care teams, giving them routine communication with providers and patients.
"The fact that we were able to show medication adherence, safety, and cost improvement outcomes is impressive.”
They assisted with support like patient assessment, therapy selection, medication education, and adverse drug reaction management for patients taking oral oncolytics. These therapies require delicate and ongoing care management to maintain adherence and ensure appropriate use—something HSSP teams are well positioned to do.
The findings: HSSP patient management drives $700k in cost savings
The study showed a valuable relationship between HSSP patient management and cost containment within a community oncology center.
The authors found pharmacist interventions saved a total of $700,503 from 2019 to 2023. Meanwhile, the average cost savings amounted to $12,508 per intervention.
What's the impact of the research? The study's authors, Dr. Fitzpatrick, Carly Giavatto, PharmD, Ana Lopez Medina, PharmD, and Jessica Mourani, PharmD, say:
"As value-based healthcare delivery models become more of the norm, interventions like these will be vital for showing the value of the HSSP."
They hope oncology clinics can reference the research and learnings to justify the need for FTE pharmacists on staff integrated into care teams. Importantly, they encourage the industry to embrace the value of HSSP pharmacists and their ability to drive high-quality care.
To learn more about the impact of the findings, download the poster.