A clinical pharmacist from UMass Medical School is slated to present the estimated budget impact of gene therapy at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting on April 24 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Other pharmacy leaders will share their work on specialty medications, business trends in managed care, and alternative payment models, and more.
Gene therapies in the pipeline for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), spinal muscular atrophy, hemophilia, and sickle cell anemia may transform patients’ lives by providing cures, but not without huge price tags. Payers are struggling with the prospect of the staggering costs to deliver these potentially life-saving therapies to patients.
Trask’s presentation, “[S2] A Whole New World: Navigating the Gene Therapy Pipeline,” which will be held April 24 from 12:45-2:00 p.m. in room 258, is designed to help attendees prepare for the management and budget impact of high-cost gene therapy agents. It will be moderated by Bonnie Greenwood, PharmD, BCPS, clinical program director of Clinical Pharmacy Services.
Two pharmacists from UMass Medical School’s Office of Clinical Affairs will participate in the session, “Patient Review and Restriction Programs: Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and the Need for Collaboration.” The session, which will be held April 24 from 9:50-11:05 a.m. in room 156, will focus on the results of one health plan’s PRR program as well as PRR and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program best practices. Paul L. Jeffrey, PharmD, director of pharmacy, will moderate this discussion and Kimberly J. Lenz, PharmD, clinical pharmacy manager, will share her expertise as a panelist.
Other members from the UMass Medical School Clinical Pharmacy Services and Office of Clinical Affairs will also be at AMCP to showcase their expertise in two posters on April 25.
One poster about the impact of a drug for patients with cystic fibrosis has been awarded a gold ribbon by AMCP. The poster abstracts were evaluated on relevance, originality, quality, bias and clarity. Only 20 percent of submitted abstracts were honored with awards. The poster, Impact of Lumacaftor/Ivacaftor (LUM/IVA) on Pulmonary Exacerbation Rates in Members with Cystic Fibrosis in a Medicaid Population, gives an overview of pulmonary exacerbation rates pre- and post-initiation of LUM/IVA in one state’s Medicaid program. The UMass Medical School co-authors are:
Mark Tesell, PharmD, BCPS
Karen Stevens, PharmD
Rachel Bacon, PharmD
Bonnie C. Greenwood, PharmD, BCPS
Caroline J. Alper, MD
Kimberly J. Lenz, PharmD
Paul L. Jeffrey, PharmD
The second poster, A Comparison of the Costs Associated with the Administration of Select High-cost Infused Medications in Three Sites of Care for a State Medicaid Population, evaluates the financial impact of high-cost infused medications across three sites of care. The UMass Medical School co-authors are:
Sage Bagwell, PharmD
Pavel Lavitas, PharmD, BCPS
Thomas C. Pomfret, PharmD, MPH, BCPS
Bonnie C. Greenwood, PharmD, BCPS
Nancy Schiff, MPH
Nicole Trask, PharmD
Stephanie Tran, PharmD
Tasmina Hydery, PharmD, MBA, BCGP
Patricia Leto, PharmD
Mylissa Price, MPH, RPh
Caroline Alper, MD
Kimberly Lenz, PharmD
Paul L. Jeffrey, PharmD
To learn more about the annual meeting and for full session information, visit the AMCP annual meeting website.