A clinical pharmacist from UMass Medical School’s Clinical Pharmacy Services division will present on high-impact specialty pipeline drugs expected to reach the market, with a focus on their budget impact, at the Eastern Medicaid Pharmacy Administrators Association’s 40th annual meeting Nov. 14 at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, N.H.
Specialty drug spend increased by 15 percent to $121 billion in 2015 and will continue to rise, according to all industry projections. To keep up with demand, budget-conscious payers need to implement novel management strategies that anticipate the cost of specialty medications before they’re available.
Nicole Trask, PharmD, clinical consultant pharmacist, will present “Planning For The 2017 Specialty Drug Spend When Costs Are Steep But Pockets Are Not Deep” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Her presentation will summarize efficacy data for high-impact specialty pipeline drugs expected to reach the market, including their place in therapy and budgetary impact. Trask will also discuss strategies to mitigate costs of these cutting-edge medications and compare them to current therapy options.
Trask works on UMass Medical School’s drug utilization review (DUR) team, which provides clients with internal controls to ensure members receive prescription drugs that are safe, medically necessary, and cost-effective. We develop detailed drug reviews and conduct both prospective and retrospective prescription pattern analyses for state Medicaid plans and managed care organizations across the U.S. to optimize treatment regimens, prevent adverse drug reactions, avoid therapeutic duplications, identify abuse/fraud issues, and more.