Advancing Patient Care through Specialty Pharmacy Services in an Academic Health System

Pharmacists at health system-based specialty pharmacies have the opportunity to improve patient care by providing comprehensive medication management for patients prescribed specialty medication. This manuscript describes how Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy integrated pharmacy services into existing outpatient specialty disease clinics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which improved patient access to therapy and continuity of care.
Download Publication

Converting Prescriptions to 90-day Supply Increases Specialty Pharmacy Technician Efficiency

Pharmacy technicians facilitate medication refills for patients following transplant by conducting phone calls and scheduling medication shipments. Standard prescribing of these medications required calls to be made every 30 days. However technician’s ability to service an increasing number of patients was limited by high call volume workload. In this study, we found that converting medication supply from 30 to 90-days reduced daily call volume and allowed the technician to service more patients

From Natural Disaster to Pandemic: A Health-System Pharmacy Rises to the Challenge

This report describes a health-system pharmacy department’s response to recovering from a natural disaster and preparing for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). By detailing our experience and efforts, we hope to help other institutions who are or will be in a similar crisis-response mode.
Download Publication

Access to Direct Acting Antiviral Therapy for Recipients of Solid Organs from Hepatitis C Viremic Donors

This study's findings indicate that access to DAAs in donor-derived HCV post-transplant is achievable and affordable; however, 35% of patients required an insurance appeal requiring significant administrative efforts. Additionally, patients not able to use the on-site specialty pharmacy and those requiring an insurance appeal were 5.8 and 5 times more likely to experience a delay in treatment initiation.
Download Publication

Development of a Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreement to Improve Efficiency and Management of Prescribing in a Renal Transplant Clinic

Post-transplant patients require complex medication regimens to ensure the survival of the transplanted organ and patient overall well-being. These regimens are frequently adjusted, initiated, or discontinued within soon after transplant. Pharmacist expertise can be utilized to optimize post-transplant medication use. This study describes the creation and corresponding outcomes of a CPPA between pharmacists and physicians within a renal transplant clinic.
Download Publication

Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Health Outcomes and Research Program at an Integrated Health-System Specialty Pharmacy

This descriptive report details the development and early results of the VSP Health Outcomes and Research Program. Started as an initiative for pharmacists to evaluate and convey the benefits they provide to patients, providers, and the health system, the Program has pioneered outcomes research among HSSPs nationwide and has proven valuable to specialty pharmacists, the health system, and key specialty pharmacy stakeholders.
Download Publication