The specialty medication patient population is growing. Fast. At the most fundamental level, an aging Boomer Generation is driving increased demand for treatments that address a wide array of specific and rare disease states.

With that growing demand has come a significant rise in spending on specialty medications. While they make up only a fraction of prescription volume, they accounted for 37% of US prescription expenses in 2015 — the same year the FDA approved a record 56 new drugs (with nearly 60% being specialty medicines). Moreover, specialty medications are expected to reach 50% of the nation’s total prescription cost by 2018.

R & D budgeting

Given the financial incentive, not to mention the fact that so many “conventional” illnesses already have effective treatment options on the market, it’s no surprise that pharmaceutical manufacturers continue to push new and complex therapies through the FDA pipeline. Worldwide R&D spending on innovative treatments reached $140 billion in 2016.

All of which is why it is increasingly important for pharmacies to have accreditation for accessing and dispensing specialty medications. And why technology is playing such a critical role in positioning pharmacies to earn that accreditation.

“There’s no question that DromosPTM has made a significant difference in the number of patients we serve whose disease states require specialty products,” notes Pharmacy Advantage Director of Clinical and Specialty Services Jonathan Van Lare. In fact, he explains, DromosPTM provides a plug-and-play software solution for patient therapy management that directly enables pharmacies to earn national accreditations related to safety and quality protocols.

Unmatched data collection, robust reporting

“DromosPTM isn’t just operations management software. The system has enabled us to build an extraordinary data warehouse of patient-specific information related to their disease state, therapy, adherence, side effects, lab values, progression of diagnoses, adverse events, interventions, prior authorization status, and financial assistance.

“There’s even valuable info on tracking shipments readily available with a simple click of the mouse. And with DromosPTM, we can take any of those elements and easily generate robust reports detailing our high-touch efforts to provide the best patient care and support resulting in optimal therapeutic outcomes.”

Integral Healthcare Solutions CEO Thomas G. Goddard is a believer. “In my nearly 20 years of working with accreditation applicants, both as a reviewer and as a consultant, I have never seen a more comprehensive specialty pharmacy platform. I’ve recommended to all of our clients searching for a resource that will support their effort to comply with national accreditation standards.”

“I couldn’t have put it better myself!” says Jonathan.