Background

• High costs, insurance coverage restrictions, prior authorizations, and drug availability are some common barriers that patients experience for initial and continued access to specialty medications.
• Medication access difficulties can lead to increased out of pocket costs for patients as well as worsening of disease or death.
• Pharmacists positively impact medication adherence by providing patient counseling, monitoring the safety and efficacy of therapies, and assisting patients with medical assistance program enrollment.
• With the health system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) model, pharmacists are integrated within a health system where they can access electronic health records, assess therapies, and expedite communication with health care providers, leading to more timely care, higher quality of care, improved patient safety, and cost savings.
• For the purposes of this study, a pharmacy miss was defined as any medication access difficulty that resulted in a delay or interruption in therapy and not documented as one of the following:
  • Change in prescriber
  • Drug shortage
  • Limited distribution drug
  • Patient unreachable
  • Proactive pharmacist intervention
  • Natural disaster
  • Patient or provider oversight
  • Hospitalization/facility admission
    

Objectives

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the impact HSSP plays in alleviating medication access difficulties in patients requiring specialty medications.

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