Oncology Pharmacy Practice

Conference Correspondent

Specialized oncology pharmacy programs are playing an ever-increasing role in the complex delivery of care. The December 15 session of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) 10th Annual Summit featured a panel discussion moderated by Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, Founder and Executive Director at the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association, which focused on the obstacles and successes of specialized oncology pharmacy programs.

Panelists included Ray Bailey, BPharm, RPh, Pharmacy Director at Florida Cancer Specialists; Stacey McCullough, PharmD, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy at Tennessee Oncology, LLC; Michael Ganio, PharmD, MS, FASHP, Senior Director of Pharmacy Practice and Quality at the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists; Chris Marcum, PharmD, Vice President of Enterprise Pharmacy at Cancer Treatment Centers of America; and Scott Freeswick, MS, PharmD, Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Mr Bailey spoke to the importance of medically integrated oncology pharmacy programs, noting that regular specialty pharmacy programs do not have the same connection to practices, providers, or patients. The connectivity in the electronic medical records creates a true team and more efficient care for the patient.

Dr Marcum said that the biggest challenge is fragmentation of care. When taking patients out of the integrated approach by getting their medications from multiple pharmacies, being infused at different sites of care, or white bagging, it is harder to keep full visibility on the patient because of external factors.

Dr McCullough agreed regarding this challenge, stating that value-based care should take away the fragmentation. She also said that transparency would be the path we would hope for instead of a total overhaul of Direct and Indirect Remuneration fees. Providers want to do the right thing for their patients, but they cannot close out the business models in a timely manner because the reimbursement is unknown. To be able to determine reimbursement at point of sale would be a big improvement.

Other hot topics in this session included financial toxicity, copay issues, and complexities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gain access to these in-depth, expert views on the future of value-based analytics in oncology practices when you register for the AVBCC Summit!

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