Day 2: Wednesday, March 24th, 2026 - EST/EDT (Eastern Daylight, GMT-4)
Navigate the complex landscape of demonstrating program value and securing leadership support for your patient services initiatives. Learn effective strategies to measure success, manage change and align goals across your organization.
Establish meaningful metrics that showcase the true value of your patient services program
Master the art of managing up to secure additional resources and executive support
Implement change management strategies that drive adoption and alignment across departments
Connect patient services goals with broader organizational objectives to demonstrate strategic value
Address the dual challenges of data accuracy and infrastructure management that manufacturers face when working with specialty pharmacies and internal teams. Explore comprehensive strategies for creating a data ecosystem that drives operational efficiency while ensuring integrity across the patient journey.
Identify best practices to ensure data accuracy from specialty pharmacy partners and overcome system lags
Design robust data governance frameworks that define appropriate access levels across commercial, medical and analytics teams
Establish a solid data strategy foundation with effective data sources and dedicated management resources
Develop balanced approaches to data interpretation and segmentation that maintain quality while enabling timely insights and action
Sweeping federal policy changes and demonstrations (IRA, MFN, DTP, O3BA) are set to increase the cost burden US patients will soon face for specialty and biologic therapies. In addition to policy changes, health plan designs (e.g., copay adjustment programs) as well as unexpected pharmacy practices (e.g., improper claims) may negatively impact biopharmaceutical brands’ gross to net (GTN) performance and patient support programs.
In this session, you will learn how to strengthen your patient support program design to better meet patient needs, all while protecting gross-to-net. We’ll discuss:
The expected impact of federal policy changes and demonstrations on GTN performance for specialty and biologic therapies
Strategies to identify and address unprofitable claims
Approaches to better determine patient needs at the time of enrollment
AI-driven methods for monitoring and improving pharmacy practices
In 2025, the gap between pharmaceutical manufacturers and patients narrowed significantly with the rise of direct-to-patient (DTP) programs and increasing regulatory pressures. In 2026, industry-leading DTP programs are evolving beyond regulatory safety nets into strategic assets for patient outcome optimization. When done right, DTP is more than an operational channel, it’s a win-win for patients and pharma – these programs can be data-driven growth engines with the power to solve the industry’s most persistent friction points and maximize access, affordability, adherence, and trust. Join seasoned leaders as they discuss the next generation of DTP models to drive exceptional experiences and measurable impact for patients.
- Navigating today’s complex regulatory pressures, competitive landscape and market dynamics effectively to build next-generation DTP programs that are the optimal fit for patients and brands
- Building customized DTP programs – determining whether a cash, coverage or hybrid model is best – to create a modern patient experience designed to maximize access, affordability, adherence and trust
- Elevating data and analytics frameworks to accurately measure and optimize the success of DTP programs on patient outcomes and brand performance
Evaluate the strategic considerations of bringing your hub operations in-house for greater control over the patient experience. This session explores the benefits, challenges and implementation strategies for internal/hybrid hub models.
Assess the business case for insourcing versus outsourcing hub operations
Develop the infrastructure needed to support internal hub operations
Build the right team with specialized skills for patient support excellence
Create hybrid models that balance control with external expertise
Manufacturers invest heavily in patient support, yet access delays, treatment abandonment and inconsistent patient experiences persist. The issue is not program design or effort: it is a growing system design gap inside health systems. In this session, we explore how forward-thinking health systems are moving from access chaos to orchestration by building centralized patient access and affordability operating models. Attendees will gain visibility into what is actually changing downstream, how these models improve predictability for patients and providers and why manufacturer programs land more effectively when access is coordinated rather than fragmented.
Why access challenges persist despite strong manufacturer hub and patient support investments
What “centralized patient access and affordability” looks like inside modern health systems
How fragmented access environments create hidden friction for manufacturer programs
Why orchestration (not more programs) is becoming the missing layer in specialty access that could unlock full value
How manufacturers can better align with health systems that are building access infrastructure to improve patient experience and program effectiveness
Join fellow industry leaders for breakout discussions on the topics that will help your program elevate patient impact in 2026:
Designing Scalable Direct-to-Patient Models for Today’s Market
Navigating Ongoing Payer and Policy Shifts Impacting Patient Access
Reimagining Patient Support Programs with End-to-End AI
Advancing Patient-Centric Support through Connected Stakeholder Experiences
Optimizing Program Effectiveness Across the Product Lifecycle
In patient services, timing, access and coordination are everything. Patients depend on care teams who can move quickly, educate compassionately and navigate complex reimbursement pathways with confidence. This session explores the value of relaunch and how to apply new thinking to old problems in patient services.
Mounting a rapid response team to get patients on treatment immediately
Adapting a clinical navigator program to improve adherence through high-touch education
Using data to anticipate barriers and drive faster payor approval
Discover untapped opportunities to engage patients through pharmacy partnerships. Learn how specialty pharmacies can extend your hub capabilities and enhance the patient experience.
Leverage pharmacy touchpoints to drive patient program enrollment and engagement
Develop collaborative models with specialty pharmacies for patient education
Create "hub-lite" solutions through pharmacy partnerships for products with limited services
Measure the impact of pharmacy-based patient engagement initiatives
Access has become faster, more digital and more automated than ever. Yet despite this innovation, early patient drop-off in complex therapies remains stubbornly high.
The challenge is no longer just getting patients approved – it’s stabilizing them once therapy begins. This session explores a hybrid nursing support model that pairs centralized nurse case managers with dedicated field nurse educators to deliver coordinated, risk-aligned support from day one. Attendees will examine how predictive risk stratification, live education and integrated field and virtual nursing can improve persistence, strengthen provider confidence and redefine what meaningful patient support looks like beyond enrollment metrics.
Gain insights into current enforcement priorities for patient support programs. Hear from DOJ directly to discuss actions and trends that are shaping patient access.
Understand current enforcement actions and their implications for program design
Anticipate shifts in enforcement priorities under the current administration
Navigate compliance considerations for newer patient support models
Implement best practices for program documentation and oversight
Unlock the next evolution of your patient support strategy with an interactive, data driven solution summit designed for leaders overseeing PAP and hub program performance. The Cardinal Health Sonexus Access and Patient Support team will debut findings from our second Industry Hub Evolution Survey – a two year check in from 200 biopharmaceutical manufacturers that reveals how hub and PAP models have shifted, where organizations are accelerating, and where critical capability gaps remain. Attendees will see how their own programs benchmark against peers across operations, technology and risk management maturity.
Through interactive polling and facilitated roundtable discussions, participants will examine:
What the new industry data signals about the future of patient support services strategies
How high performing organizations are evolving strategy across operations, technology, risk governance, etc.
How hybrid operational models deliver new efficiencies
Attendees will walk away with actionable strategic considerations and benchmarking insights for evolving patient support services strategies.
In this session, we’ll explore how leading biopharma teams are re-architecting access, support and cross-functional coordination across the patient journey to set a new standard for 2026. Attendees will get an exclusive preview of insights from the 2026 State of Patient-Centricity in Biopharma report, featuring candid perspectives from commercial and patient access innovators.
Across specialty programs, 15-30% of enrollment forms arrive with missing information, absent consent or incorrect data. Each one triggers a multi-day correction cycle – fax-backs, phone calls, follow-ups – that delays therapy and consumes resources that should be going elsewhere. A missing checkbox shouldn't cost a patient weeks. This session breaks down why incomplete enrollments persist despite portal investments and headcount increases, and what it actually takes to resolve most of them automatically.