Drug Channels Institute’s (DCI’s) latest analysis finds that participants in the specialty pharmacy market continue to get more diverse—although revenues remain highly concentrated. We have identified nearly 1,800 dispensing sites with specialty pharmacy accreditation—about 40% of which are owned by hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare providers. Alas, specialty pharmacies owned by the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have the most brass in their pocket, as they accounted for two-thirds of prescription revenues from pharmacy-dispensed specialty drugs. Read on ..read more

Today’s guest post comes from Jessica Lens, Chief Patient Experience Officer at CareMetx. Jessica discusses the challenges of patient nonadherence. She then outlines how manufacturers can build adherence into their patient services program to increase patient engagement. To learn more about enhancing patient engagement and adherence, download CareMetx's new report: Driving Brand Success: Minimize Risk and Capture Missed Value from Patient Engagement and Adherence. Read on for Jessica’s insights. Read more » © 2006-2024 HMP Omnimedia, LLC d/b/a Drug Channels Institute, an HMP Global ..read more

Three is still the magic number for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). For 2023, nearly 80% of all equivalent prescription claims were processed by three companies: the Caremark business of CVS Health, the Express Scripts business of Cigna, and the Optum Rx business of UnitedHealth Group. Read on for Drug Channels Institute’s (DCI’s) latest market share figures, along with a preview of the industry changes that will shift these shares over the next few years. Read more » © 2006-2024 HMP Omnimedia, LLC d/b/a Drug Channels Institute, an HMP Global Company. All rights reserved. This Feed is f ..read more

I am pleased to announce the inaugural Drug Channels Leadership Forum! This unique, new event will be held from March 17 to 19, 2025, at the Turnberry Resort and Spa in Miami. The Leadership Forum will be an executive gathering where drug channel leaders can network and discuss key issues and challenges facing the commercial healthcare system. We intend to bring together people from the entire drug channel: pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), health plans, insurers, and plan sponsors, wholesalers and distributors, pharmacies, providers, buying groups, government ..read more

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for today’s live video webinar: Drug Channel Implications of the Inflation Reduction Act. One important update: In the article below, I suggested that the IRA will make high-list/high-rebate products less attractive to Medicare plans. But this appears not be accurate, as I explain in Surprise! Thanks to the IRA, Part D Plans Will Prefer High-List, High-Rebate Drugs. Click here to see the original post from January 2024. It's time for Drug Channels’ annual reality check on U.S. drug pricing. For 2023, brand-name drugs’ list prices ..read more

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for Friday’s live video webinar: Drug Channel Implications of the Inflation Reduction Act. For more on acquisition cost reimbursement for pharmacies, see Sections 8.4. and 12.3.4. of our new 2024 Economic Report on U.S. Pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers. Click here to see the original post from December 2023. Is the world ready for new ways to price pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) services? CVS Health thinks so, as evidenced by two new initiatives that it announced yesterday. Below you'll find details and links t ..read more

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for Friday’s live video webinar: Drug Channel Implications of the Inflation Reduction Act. Click here to see the original post from December 2023. Consider two apparently unrelated drug channel anomalies: In McKesson’s 2023 fiscal year, CVS bought $75 billion in pharmaceuticals from McKesson’s wholesale business—a jump of more than 35% compared with the previous year. Despite skyrocketing sales for anti-obesity GLP-1 drugs, many retail pharmacies are losing money on every prescription. The common factor behind these two disparat ..read more

Today’s guest post comes from Bill Dupere, SVP of Product Development & Partnerships at Mercalis. Bill discusses specialty therapy access barriers, including payer utilization management techniques and “no coverage” policies. Contact Mercalis to learn about their Patient Support Services. Read on for Bill’s insights. Read more » © 2006-2024 HMP Omnimedia, LLC d/b/a Drug Channels Institute, an HMP Global Company. All rights reserved. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only.         ..read more

It’s finally spring in Philadelphia, home of Drug Channels. Along with sunshine and fine weather, the vernal equinox has ushered in a crop of new and noteworthy stories: What the CarelonRx/Kroger specialty pharmacy deal means for CVS Health Provider-owned specialty pharmacies expand in Medicare Payers are not keen on shady alternative funding programs (AFP) Hospitals’ association spreads 340B misinformation Plus, Lilly trolls our nation’s celebrities. P.S. Join my nearly 54,000 LinkedIn followers for daily links to neat stuff. What’s ahead for the drug channel? Find out during Drug ..read more

Today’s guest post comes from Adam Stotts, SVP of Customer Success at AssistRx. Adam discusses how patients seeking to access specialty therapies can benefit from a digital intake approach. He then explains three ways that specialty pharmaceutical companies can use digital intake strategies to speed patient enrollment. To learn about AssistRx’s digital intake solutions, download Digital Intake for Specialty Drug Programs: Q1 2024 Progress Report. Read on for Adam’s insights. Read more » © 2006-2024 HMP Omnimedia, LLC d/b/a Drug Channels Institute, an HMP Global Company. All rights reserv ..read more