Specialty Pharmacy Continuum interviews CPS trade relations expert, Amber Skrtic, PharmD, CSP, AAHIVP, about the benefits specialty pharmacy teams bring to rare disease management.

February 2024

Nearly 300 million people worldwide are affected by rare diseases. While breakthrough therapies are promising, most patients face challenges that can make the diagnosis and treatment journey difficult. Health system specialty pharmacy teams are well-positioned to fill the gaps, according to a recent Specialty Pharmacy Continuum article featuring trade relations expert, Amber Skrtic, PharmD, CSP, AAHIVP.

"Health system specialty pharmacy teams improve the diagnosis and treatment journey for individuals living with rare conditions."

"It can be challenging for health systems to wrap around and identify patients [living with rare conditions] when we're seeing them in all of these different clinics," she told Specialty Pharmacy Continuum. "This variable presentation then can lead to delays in diagnosis or misdiagnosis."

The interview featured remarks from Dr. Skrtic's panel discussion at NASP 2023 Annual Meeting & Expo. There, she discussed how health system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) teams can improve the diagnosis and care journey for patients living with rare conditions, highlighting CPS's work to support those affected by hereditary transthyretin amylodidosis.

"CPS has been working across multiple health-system partner specialty pharmacies looking for ways to strengthen patient care and early recognition of patients with rare diseases."

Specialty Pharmacy Continuum continued: "CPS takes a 'multipronged approach' to address [care] gaps. Targeted education efforts have focused on updates to guideline recommendations for oncology patients and other rare disease areas. CPS established an outcomes research initiative using data and technology that evaluates the impact of specialty pharmacy-driven linkage to care, and initiatives to identify patients earlier and support accurate patient diagnosis."