A clinical pharmacist from UMass Medical School’s Clinical Pharmacy Services division presents on promising specialty medications with the biggest impact on drug spend expected to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the next two years at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s Nexus 2016 conference, being held Oct. 3-6 in National Harbor, Maryland.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy highlighted the presentation as part of its Nexus 2016 coverage. “Specialty pipeline agents may offer important therapeutic, safety advantages,” said Nicole Trask, PharmD, according to AMCP. “Proactive pipeline monitoring and a solid understanding of plan membership are key to anticipating budget impact of new drugs.”
Specialty medications accounted for just 1 percent of all prescriptions in 2015, but consumed nearly 40 percent of the total drug spend. That figure is expected to jump to 50 percent by 2018. Payers need to devise innovative management strategies to prepare for the expense of specialty medications before they hit the market.
Trask, a clinical consultant pharmacist, presents “Bracing for Impact: Preparing for the 2018 Specialty Drug Spend” from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. Oct. 6. Trask gives an evidence-based presentation of high-impact specialty drugs in the 2017-2018 pharmaceutical pipeline, including the efficacy, likely place in therapy, and probable budgetary impact of each of the medications. She presents thorough comparisons of the drugs currently available versus the ones seeking FDA approval.
Trask is an integral part of 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.
Full session information can be found at the AMCP Nexus website.