A path for healthier patients: Integrated specialty pharmacy model

Health System Owned Specialty Pharmacy Alliance (HOSP) newly named president offers insights that will affect prescription availability in the coming years.

In recent years, large health systems have increasingly developed their own integrated specialty pharmacy services. This trend, which began about 7-10 years ago, has seen almost every health system with $5 billion or more in revenue either exploring, developing, or already operating an internal specialty pharmacy.

Against that background, the Health System Owned Specialty Pharmacy Alliance (HOSP) formed with the intent of positively impacting patient outcomes directly within their care wheelhouse.

Tim Affeldt, PharmD, vice president, Specialty/Infusion Operations for Fairview Pharmacy Services, and new HOSP president told Access Insider, "We believe that when patients receive specialty medications within an integrated health system pharmacy, they experience improved coordination of care and better outcomes.”

This philosophy extends into the current challenges at the retail pharmacy level, including pharmacy location closures creating “pharmacy deserts;” prescriptions sent from a PCP to a retail pharmacy has a 10% chance of being filled; and the current average retail pharmacy abandonment rate of 50%.

Affeldt explains, "Our priority is always the patient’s well-being. Within a health system pharmacy, care teams work together to ensure patients receive the medications they need, even when profitability isn’t the driving factor. Our focus is on keeping patients healthy, preventing complications, and reducing hospital and emergency room visits by ensuring seamless access to essential treatments."

Tim Affeldt, PharmD, vice president, Specialty/Infusion Operations for Fairview Pharmacy Services and HOSP president.

HOSP activities

HOSP emerged about four years ago to represent and advocate for this integrated model, and focuses on the following key areas:

• Demonstrating value: Through its HERO Committee, HOSP works on "proving and showing the value of an integrated specialty pharmacy" within health systems, which Affeldt says focuses on white paper development and assesses other needs for project development.
• Advocacy Committee: HOSP engages in both national and local advocacy efforts. The Advocacy Committee focuses on information sharing, especially on topics or legislation that comes in the local level. Affeldt explains, “How can we share information about what's going on across different states? And then nationally, how can we make sure we're educating our membership and making sure that HOSP comes to the table when appropriate or signs on to different legislation when appropriate.”
• Best Practices Committee: HOSP facilitates information sharing and collaboration among member health systems through webinars, listservs, and other platforms. “Places where they can share ideas and information on a particular topic,” described Affeldt.
  

Points for market access professionals

HOSP also offers a partner membership, which is open to drug manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and other organizations within the specialty pharmacy ecosystem that support the HOSP member model. Eligible organizations can join the alliance under its partnership agreement.

“The partnership agreement is broad and inclusive,” explained Affeldt. “HOSP acknowledges that industry stakeholders may have different perspectives, but we welcome open dialogue to ensure equitable and sustainable access to affordable medications for patients.”

Affeldt also explained another challenge. “…is protecting system-owned specialty pharmacies from attempts to reduce or eliminate our access to savings generated by 340B discounts. These savings are important to our systems, allowing us to provide critical services to the most underserved patients in our communities.”

Affeldt added: “We know that our partners are supportive of our model, even though we may not be aligned on an issue like the federal 340B program. Having pharma partners be a part of HOSP gives us the opportunity to discuss issues where we may not have alignment and look for common ground in the industry.”

Learn more about specialty pharmacy at our upcoming conference.

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