Specialty pharmacy is a huge cost concern in the industry, and a new study suggests that using a medically-integrated dispensing model could yield significant savings.
Prime Therapeutics released an analysis of a MID pilot program it launched and found that there is a savings opportunity of $1,800 per medication dose change dispensed at a MID pharmacy compared to a central fill specialty pharmacy. Under a MID model, care providers have access to prescribing history, test results and other patient history in the electronic medical record.
The additional coordination keeps the care team in the loop more quickly and can help lower the number of 30-day prescriptions going to waste.
“Since MID pharmacists and providers are collaborating within the same EMR in real time, the level of care coordination that they can achieve can’t be replicated in the central fill model,” said Joseph Leach, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer for Prime, said in a statement.
“Our study confirms that this translates into better patient care and reduced cost through reduction in drug waste," Leach, the study's lead author and a practicing oncologist, said.
Prime launched its IntegratedRx pilot in early 2021 at three oncology practices. It tracked 627 members across eight months to monitor the effects of MID on spend and use for 26 oral oncolytics.
The study found that overfills occurred in 29% of MID dose changes and 50% of central-filled specialty pharmacy dose changes. For MID dose changes, that represents an average cost of $937 per change compared to $2,733 central-fill pharmacies, savings of nearly $1,800.
Extrapolated across the enter study group, that is savings of $1.1 million.
The researchers also found a lower medication discontinuation rate under MID, as well as better adherence.
“The specialty drug pipeline is bursting with oral oncolytics that will improve the lives of people with cancer. Prime and Blue Plans created our IntegratedRx - Oncology program to enable and encourage oncology practice dispensing with the goal of improving care, enhancing the provider and member experience, and reducing drug waste," Leach said.