Specialty pharmacies were established to focus exclusively on high-cost, high-touch medication therapies for patients with complex, chronic conditions. In addition to ensuring access to the specialty medications these patients need, they provide essential education, financial assistance, and ongoing support services required to manage and adhere to these therapies effectively.
Specialty pharmacies manage a broad range of medications, from oral therapies to innovative injectable and biologic treatments, supporting patients across diverse disease states such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and rare genetic conditions.
Specialty Pharmacists & Practice Areas
Specialty pharmacists work in a variety of practice settings. Some are employed in pharmacies dedicated exclusively to specialty medications, where their responsibilities may include dispensing, medication therapy management, patient advocacy, and supporting therapy adherence.
Others practice in institutional or health system environments, participating in patient care across the continuum—from inpatient settings to ambulatory care sites. Still, some specialty pharmacists choose more traditional retail settings, where they may focus on specific specialty disease states or collaborate with affiliated specialty pharmacy providers to dispense and manage these complex therapies.
Specialty practice areas include:
Why is a Specialty Pharmacy needed?
Retail pharmacies are the source for all your usual prescriptions. These establishments allow you to purchase over-the-counter medications such as pain relief, allergy care, cough medicines and they provide the public with general healthcare advice.
Specialty pharmacies are intended to carry specific medications for highly complicated cases, such as those with chronic and rare conditions. Non-specialty drugs are much easier to create, typically made into a pressed pill or filled in a capsule. On the other hand, specialty medications are complex to administer, usually taken by mouth, injected, inhaled, or infused, characterizing them as high-cost drugs.
High-cost drugs are also more complex to handle, often needing special shipping and storage requirements such as temperature control. Due to severe side effects of specialty medications, they require advanced special handling and patient support, because of the impact the medications could have on their health.
Due to the precise administration, monitoring, and ongoing care required for specialty medications, their distribution is often limited to designated specialty pharmacies. These pharmacies are uniquely equipped to manage the complexities of specialty therapies and ensure patients receive the appropriate support throughout treatment.
Since 2012, we have been proud members of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP), the only non-profit trade organization representing all stakeholders in the specialty pharmacy industry. Senderra attends the NASP Annual Conference each year, where collaboration, innovation, and new ideas help shape the future of specialty patient care. NASP also offers a wide range of educational resources, including articles, webinars, podcasts, and a YouTube video library, such as the informative video below that explains how a specialty pharmacy works: