If you’re trying to figure out why CFOs should care about specialty pharmacy, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a high-level overview:
- Specialty drugs are becoming more common, and their prices are increasing
- Cutting specialty pharmacy budgets can lead to patient leakage, leading to annual revenue loss
- Specialty pharmacy services empowers market growth during challenges like readmissions and patient outcomes
- Health systems with their own specialty pharmacy can realize significant health and financial outcomes
- Enlisting a partner to help manage specialty Rx shipments is crucial to success
This article will focus on why specialty pharmacy is relevant to CFOs, and how their invaluable services can increase revenue.
What we know about specialty pharmacy budgets, costs, and revenue
Often when we talk to pharmacy leaders, saving money doesn’t come up as one of their top priorities. But when we broach the subject, all of them tell us their CFO would be ecstatic if they could improve revenue and protect margins.
We’ve also been told that if their CFO thinks they’re spending too much, their first inclination is to cut the budget. As a result, pharmacists might not be able to get the drugs their physicians want. Which, in turn, can lead to patient leakage if the hospital’s doctors decide to order outside of the system.
According to Becker’s Hospital Review, reducing the budget is not a particularly good idea. The article explains, “As specialty drugs become more common, the types and forms of these drugs are changing, and their costs are increasing.”
Let’s use a high-cost specialty drug, such as cancer medication, as an example. This type of medication can now be taken orally rather than being administered in a hospital via infusion. Clearly it suits hospitals or health systems to be able to fill such prescriptions in-house, both to create continuity for patients and to bring in more revenue for the hospital.
Why CFOs should care about specialty pharmacy
At a workshop sponsored by CPS at the Becker’s 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, a group of hospital and health system leaders discussed the value of specialty pharmacy services, outcomes their organizations have achieved, and their outlook for the future.
They discovered that specialty pharmacy services can empower market growth in the midst of market challenges like reducing readmissions and driving positive outcomes.
In addition, health systems with their own specialty pharmacy can realize significant health and financial outcomes by ensuring faster turnaround times, ability to monitor patient status, and adjust dosages.
According to Nancy Huntington, PharmD, and Director of Pharmacy at Glens Falls Hospital in New York, her specialty pharmacy’s financial return to the health system is about $1.5 million each month. That should be music to a CFO’s ears.
Choosing the right partner to help manage specialty RX shipments is crucial to success
With the right partner to help manage specialty Rx shipments, specialty pharmacies can expect to generate millions in new revenue.
Our pharmacy solutions were created for pharmacists by pharmacists, and can help with:
- Streamlining specialty prescription shipping
- Eliminating operational inefficiencies with enhanced workflows
- Ensuring deliveries via real-time tracking and text alerts for patients
- Improving outcomes of audits and accreditations
Whether you’re a CFO, CEO, PharmD, Pharmacy Manager, or Director of Pharmacy, we’d love to speak with you about your current specialty shipping process.
If you’d like to learn more about our clinically minded solutions, schedule a demo with us today.
