January 2024
Dear Colleagues,
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in 2024!
I am still experiencing the inspirational effect I received from attending the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in Anaheim, seeing old friends and making new ones, and all the stimulating conversation around the practice of pharmacy - especially specialty pharmacy. I am always amazed at all the creative business strategies and innovations in pharmacy. Keeping to the mission statement of our ASHP president, Nish Kasbekar, “Be the Change!” Specialty Pharmacy is in a constant state of change and innovation.
To keep up with the changes, the executive committee for the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners met on the Saturday prior to the meeting; the committee had deep conversations around payer challenges that we are facing or will face in 2024, staffing concerns, how we incorporate infusion strategies into our section, and our increased involvement in advocacy. Another strategy we continued at the December meeting was to meet with key stakeholders within Specialty Pharmacy outside of health system practice, to learn what items are impacting their business or initiatives they are doing that we need to consider in future planning for the section. This meeting always brings great conversation and shows our commitment to collaborating with individuals who influence specialty pharmacy.
We also discussed all the great work being executed by the Section Advisory Groups (SAGs); we are so excited about the work being done and the energy amongst the SAGs! Please keep your eyes out for future podcasts and resources being created for specialty pharmacy practitioners. The executive committee appreciates all the hard work and dedication of the team, and wants to keep the momentum going.
Another exciting event that occurs at the meeting is recognizing a colleague who has made a significant contribution to the practice of health system specialty pharmacy. This year the Section’s annual Distinguished Service Award went to Matthew Rim. Matt’s leadership and involvement in the section have been vital in the growth and expansion of specialty pharmacy in health systems. Congratulations Matt and thank you for all you have done for the section. Please listen to the upcoming ASHPOfficial Podcast where Matt shares stories of his experience with ASHP and the section, truly demonstrating why he is well deserving of this award.
I want to share with the members a glimpse of some of the plans around these topics discussed at the executive committee meeting. I want the members to know your voices are being heard and we are developing plans around the hot topics facing specialty pharmacy. Changes are coming around payer contracts, and we are planning to host a podcast on how to review contracts, and key items to be aware of based on state and federal regulations. The committee is also planning to prioritize advocacy in the coming months, and will be creating opportunities for members to discuss regulatory topics and learn more about advocacy related to specialty pharmacy. The last item is infusion pharmacy, which is a rapidly growing area of pharmacy.
The Section will be launching a new member committee whose purpose will be to identify strategic priorities related to health system infusion services and home infusion-related initiatives, and to lead development of ASHP resources that will enhance members’ ability to create, expand and optimize health-system infusion services. Please keep an eye out for an upcoming call for volunteers.
This is the time of year I like to reflect on the previous year, to identify things that went well, and to think about the items that the pharmacy will be facing in the year to come. One thing I know is that in 2024, specialty pharmacy will continue to have challenges - but this group of specialty leaders always finds creative ways to meet these challenges head-on. Some of the upcoming changes we should all have in mind are changes in payer designs, increase in biosimilars, 340B challenges, new high-cost specialty drugs coming to market, and start planning for the impact of the Inflation Drug Act. In addition, in response to our continued struggles with hiring pharmacists and technicians, we need to work with the pharmacy schools to educate pharmacy students on specialty pharmacy. We encourage all of you to work with your local pharmacy schools to help educate on specialty pharmacy, and offer rotation sites for pharmacy students. Many health-system specialty pharmacies have student interns working within their practice; if you are not yet offering student experiences at your health system specialty pharmacy, this is a great way to develop future pharmacists for specialty pharmacy.
One last item, as we plan for next year's SAGs, we want to keep the momentum of having more Pharmacy technicians involved within the section. If any technicians working in Specialty Pharmacy want to share their knowledge and continue to support the growth of health-system Specialty Pharmacy, please consider submitting your name for one of the SAGs for next year. We also hope each of you currently on a SAG decides to submit your name again to help continue to “Be the Change” that shapes the future of Specialty Pharmacy. The submissions will open Mid-February, and you may apply today.
Wishing You All the Best!
Denise Scarpelli, PharmD, MBA
Chair, Section Of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners (2023-2024)
[email protected]