What is a Specialty Pharmacy?
Specialty pharmacies were created to strictly focus on high cost, high touch medication therapy for patients with complex, chronic disease states. Not only are they able to connect patients with chronic conditions with the specialty medications they need, but they also provide assistance, education, financial and support services that are required when taking these costly medications.
The medications in specialty pharmacy can range from oral medicine to cutting edge injectable and biologic products. The disease states treated range from cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis to rare genetic conditions.
Specialty Pharmacists & Practice Areas
There are a variety of practice settings where a specialty pharmacist may work in. Some specialty pharmacists work in pharmacies that are dedicated only to specialty medications. This entails a variety of areas including dispensing, medication therapy management, patient advocacy and therapy compliance.
Other pharmacists choose to work in institutional or health system settings where they are involved with the patients therapy, from in-patient to ambulatory care sites. Some pharmacists prefer to work in more traditional retail settings and can either focus on certain specialty disease states at their practice sites or work with an affiliated specialty pharmacy provider to dispense these complex medications.
Specialty practice areas include:
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Immunization allows pharmacists to make a difference in public health due to the accessibility of these health care professionals.
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Medication therapy management (MTM) describes a broad range of health care services that are provided by pharmacists.
Why is a Specialty Pharmacy needed?
Retail pharmacies are the source for all of 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 is 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.
Regarding the precise administering and care that comes with specialty medications, specialty pharmacies are needed because the distribution of specialty medications often is limited to specific specialty pharmacies.
How It Works
Patients
Specialty pharmacies help educate their patients not only on the specific medications and therapies they will be administering, but also on their diagnosed condition, like for prurigo nodularis.
High touch therapy experts are usually available 24 hours a day for their patients and help them with financial assistance or to find foundations that are available to suit their needs.
Consultations, assistance and delivery of medications is provided to patients when needed.
>> Jump to: Benefits to Patients
Prescribers
The partnership between a physician and a specialty pharmacy is an effective collaboration to improve patient outcomes.
Specialty pharmacies help health systems and doctors by providing them visibility into their patients' medication and therapy status.
The pharmacy also handles any investigation of the patients' health coverage and will
follow up with them to document their outcomes to share with the prescriber.
>> Jump to: Benefits to Prescribers
Partners
Partnerships enable pharmaceutical companies to gain expertise, leverage more resources, and reduce risk. Partners, Pharma and Payer, are benefited by the support of specialty pharmacies.
Pharma partners are supported by specialty pharmacies by helping them to improve medication compliance and therapy success. They help to prevent disruption in their patient's therapy and reduce medication errors and any drug related issues by providing them with real time data on the adherence and success of specialty pharmaceuticals.
Payers are supported by specialty pharmacies throughout the prescription process, making sure that financial responsibility is promoted by working with prescribers and patients. It helps Payers with the improvement of the population's health, reduce unnecessary costs and helps with risk avoidance.
>> Jump to: Benefits to Partners
Therapeutic Areas
Immunology
Immunology is the study of the immune system. Our adaptive immune system helps protect and fight against disease and infection. If our immune system isn't functioning properly, it can result in disease, such as autoimmunity, allergy, dermatology and cancer.
In cases where people experience immune system over activity, the body attacks and damages itself, which is known as an autoimmune disease. Immune deficiency decreases the body's ability to fight infections, like with multiple sclerosis. In response to an unknown trigger, the adaptive immune system may begin producing antibodies that instead of fighting infections, attack the body’s own tissues.
Treatment for autoimmune diseases generally focus on reducing immune system activity and immune responses. Examples of autoimmune diseases or autoimmune disorders include:
- Asthma & Respiratory conditions
- Alopecia areata
- Chronic Asthma
- CRSwNP
- Dermatologic disorders
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Lupus nephritis
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Infantile Spasms
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Psoriasis
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Rheumatologic disorders
- Sarcoidosis
Gastroenterology
The Gastroenterology medical specialty is devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of digestive disorders involving the gastrointestinal tract and the liver. Gastroenterology involves a detailed understanding of the physiology (normalcy) of the gastrointestinal organs including motility (movement of material), the digestion and absorption of nutrients, removal of waste, and the function of the liver as a digestive organ.
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) is a series of hollow organs that form a long continuous passage from our mouth to our rectum. The organs that make up our GI tract are our mouth, esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and liver. Our GI tract, together with our liver, pancreas, and gallbladder, make up our digestive system.
A number of different conditions or diseases can affect the GI tract and have an impact on digestion:
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Celiac Disease
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Diverticulitis
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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Neurology
Neurology is the branch of medicine (like Functional Medicine) concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system.
Our nervous system helps regulate and coordinate our body's activities. There are two major divisions: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
- The central nervous system is made up of the brain and the spinal cord.
- The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves that branch from our brain and spinal cord. The nervers serve as a communication network between the central nervous system and our body parts.
Neurological disorders are diseases of the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripheral nerves, nerve roots, autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscles.
Examples of neurological conditions and disorders include:
- Brain injury or spinal cord injury
- Concussion
- Headaches
- Epilepsy and Seizures
- ALS: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
- Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
- Meningitis
- Parkinson's Disease
- Sleep disorders
- Stroke
- Tremor
- Tumors of the brain, spine and nerves
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