Significant Role of Specialty Pharmacies in Cancer Care
Specialty pharmacies connect patients who are severely ill with the medications that are prescribed for their conditions, provide the patient care services required for these medications and support patients who are facing insurance coverage and affordability reimbursement challenge
Specialty pharmacies provide medication and customized patient support to patients that are having complex health conditions, such as cancer. Patients with cancer often collaborate with specialty pharmacies to receive medication and other clinical assistance they require for treatment. Many specialty pharmacies provide with additional support program to help cancer patients staying medication adherent and achieve the best possible results.
This article best explains how specialty pharmacies can play a significant role in helping patients fighting with cancer.
Assisting Patients Stay Medication Adherent
Most of the cancer patients prefer oral chemotherapy. However, this rises the concern regarding medication adherence when cancer patients get chemotherapy outside the clinic. Cancer patients usually have a hard time to manage medication’s side effects and often feel they are becoming burden on others, thus leading towards being non-adherent. Here comes the role of specialty pharmacies, they address these aspects and improve adherence for oral chemotherapy medications.
Specialty pharmacies continuously develop new strategies for cancer patients in order to improve compliance.
Expert Medication for Cancer Patients
Due to high expertise and trainings on medications allows specialty pharmacies to manager complex, cancer like treatments. Therefore, it allows pharmacists to become familiar with cancer medications and the complete treatment journey.
Since specialty pharmacies have complete profile of patient’s medication, which helps them to look for potential drug interactions and work with cancer patient’s healthcare team to determine the best suitable treatment.
Predictive Adherence Tools
Specialty pharmacies use tools and systems to identify patients who are at higher risk of non-compliance. Through predictive adherence tools, specialty pharmacies can strategize additional support for patients and keep patients on their medications.
Assistance for Financial Aid Enrollment
Usually specialty pharmacies support regarding financial aspect for cancer care patient, this includes benefit investigations, investigations into financial aid programs and prior authorization (PA). Such services help cancer patients to get treatment without any delay. Billing specialists and benefit coordinators at specialty pharmacies ensure that insurance benefits are applied correctly in order to maximize coverage and minimize out-of-pocket expense.
Exceptional Patient Care to Monitor Adherence
Cancer treatment requires more management and coordination between doctors, patients and pharmacists. Specialty pharmacies provide exceptional and special care.
Some cancer medications require strict regulations as part of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). Such drug safety programs are made in order to keep patients safe. Specialty pharmacies are well equipped to manage REMS programs specifically for cancer patients in order to make sure patients get treatment safely.
Such approaches allow specialty pharmacies to take proactive measures for side effect management.
