Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy

🌟 Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy's Exciting February 2025 Highlights! 🌟 In celebration of Rare Disease Day and Rare Disease Month, Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy extends a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated rare disease pharmacists, Dustin Donald, PharmD, CSP and Melissa Metzger, Pharm D, for their incredible work managing our rare disease program. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e8fpbxgu Chelsea Phillips Renfro, PharmD and Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, CSP were featured on the AJHP Voices podcast to discuss our recently published article, “Ultra-complex specialty medications: Meeting the challenges of significant medication requirements through an integrated specialty pharmacy model.” Listen to the full podcast here: https://lnkd.in/e4KkQaXD and check out the article here: https://lnkd.in/eXdZeQwR Check out this Specialty Pharmacy Continuum article on our “Comparing rates of primary medication nonadherence among patients at Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy to external specialty pharmacies” poster, which showcased how health-system specialty pharmacies (HSSPs) can help reduce primary medication nonadherence and improve patient outcomes: https://lnkd.in/ePeuyX5G Another featured article in Specialty Pharmacy Continuum highlights Autumn Zuckerman’s NASP 2024 presentation on how patient-reported outcomes are powerful tools that HSSPs can use to perform research and improve patient care and clinical practice:  https://lnkd.in/eJ89qNNh Our Executive Director, Tara Kelley, PharmD, CSP, MMHC, and Pharmacy Technician Compliance Coordinator, Sheena Illarramendi, CPhT, were panelists on TPA Winter Meeting's “The Impact of Specialty Pharmacy on Patient Outcomes” CE presentation: https://lnkd.in/eMWVYwqB Welcome Jamie Martin, our new Specialty Pharmacy Centralized Operations Technician Manager! Read more about Jamie’s new role here: https://lnkd.in/esYZMvfE Jessica Fann, Miranda Kozlicki, and Kristen Whelchel recently published an article detailing the development and implementation of a standardized appeal letter template within the electronic health record (EHR) to expedite the appeal process: https://lnkd.in/epZ8UQg3

Insurance approvals for biologic medications used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often complex and time-sensitive. Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy’s integrated Clinical Pharmacists Jessica Fann and Miranda Kozlicki, in collaboration with VSP’s Program Director of Patient Care Improvement Kristen Whelchel, developed and implemented a standardized appeal letter template within the electronic health record (EHR) to expedite the appeal process.   In addition to improving internal efficiencies, this approach also presents an opportunity for collaboration with manufacturers. By analyzing trends from standardized appeals, manufacturers could gain deeper insight into payer challengers, optimize patient support programs and advocate for more access solutions. When integrated health-system specialty pharmacies and manufacturers work together, patients benefit from faster, more reliable access to essential therapies.   Read more here! https://lnkd.in/ewJqA2Ey

Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy continues to grow our team as we introduce our new Specialty Pharmacy Centralized Operations Technician Manager, Jamie Martin!    Jamie comes into this new role bringing with her over 20 years of experience as a pharmacy technician, working in various roles as a technician lead in a chain retail pharmacy setting as well as at Vanderbilt in our Vanderbilt Integrated Pharmacy. Jamie more recently served as our specialty pharmacy technician coordinator for our centralized operations team and call center.     When asked about her favorite aspect of being a technician at Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy, Jamie said "It's being a part of a team that really cares about their patients and being able to provide a higher level of patient care to the patients we service."    In this newly created advanced technician role, Jamie will provide leadership for our centralized services team, including our call center operations and centralized financial assistance teams, and help to ensure seamless coordination and exceptional service for our patients at Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy as our team continues to grow. As a Pharmacy Technician Manager, Jamie will play a pivotal role in driving innovation, enhancing operational efficiency, and improving patient care for our patients. We are excited for this new role as it highlights the amazing talent pool we have on our team and the advanced career opportunities available for pharmacy technicians within our organization.   Please join us in congratulating Jamie in this new role! We are confident that her leadership will take our centralized services team to new heights.

We are thrilled to share that Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy recently attended the Tennessee Pharmacists Association's 2025 Winter Meeting! Our Executive Director, Tara Kelley, PharmD, CSP, MMHC, and Pharmacy Technician Compliance Coordinator, Sheena Illarramendi, CPhT, were panelists on a CE presentation titled “The Impact of Specialty Pharmacy on Patient Outcomes.” Highlighting our commitment to education and research, Meredith Edelman, a P4 student at UTHSC College of Pharmacy, presented her “Pharmacist Involvement in Specialty Medicine Discontinuation and Dose Changes” poster, which highlights how HSSP pharmacists are directly responsible for many specialty medication interventions that can also lead to cost savings. We are incredibly proud of our team’s contributions and their dedication to advancing the field of specialty pharmacy!

I’m thrilled to share a publication that Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy recently published in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy evaluating medication outcomes and time requirements to access therapy in patients required to use a step therapy or formulary alternative after being prescribed a specialty medication for psoriasis or atopic dermatitis. This study found that most patients denied specialty medications to treat dermatologic conditions with an insurance requirement to use step therapy or a formulary alternative eventually needed specialty medications or were lost to follow-up. Of the patients required to use step therapy, 60% had a second referral for a specialty medication because of failing step therapy requirements, with a median time to a second referral of 75 days. These results demonstrate the potential impact of step therapy requirements on initiating clinically appropriate treatment for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Managed care stakeholders should consider the impact of cost-containment strategies on patients’ ability to start needed treatment. Thank you to the research team for their hard work on this study Matthew Bowles, PharmD, MBA, CSP Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, CSP Mackenzie Ellis Josh DeClercq and Leena Choi 📖 Read the full manuscript: https://lnkd.in/e_TFfaFA #specialtypharmacy #patientcare #outcomesresearch #dermatology #psoriasis #atopicdermatitis

Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy and our staff had an exciting January 2025! Congratulations to Monica Littlejohn, PharmD, MHA, for being selected to participate in the 2025 PQA Quality Shadowing Program! This program provides individuals from diverse groups the opportunity to participate in formal PQA measure development and stewardship activities. Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, CSP, was featured in a Specialty Pharmacy Continuum article that underscores the value of an integrated delivery network as well as the importance of the inclusion of health-system specialty pharmacies for access to payor restrictions and manufacturer distribution networks: https://lnkd.in/eXhahbDG Check out this Specialty Pharmacy Continuum article detailing our recent study that demonstrated how patient outreach and specialty pharmacists having access to electronic health records can lead to better adverse event management and improved adherence and persistence: https://lnkd.in/eSciM89R Kayla Johnson participated in a Pharmacy Times Peer Exchange video series on “Optimizing Tardive Dyskinesia Care: Strategies to Advance Treatment Approaches,” which can be found on Pharmacy Times’s website at https://lnkd.in/e2p9EbCV Read about the specialty pharmacy dashboards VSP has built to help improve therapy gaps and medication delivery speed: https://lnkd.in/eYZKYP37

I am excited to share that I'll be presenting an encore poster at AMCP 2025 in Houston, TX. The poster is titled "Optimizing Maribavir Management: The Role of Health System Specialty Pharmacies in Access, Monitoring, and Waste Reduction." Our research highlights the significant impact of pharmacist interventions in managing maribavir. By focusing on interventions to reduce medication waste, we were able to demonstrate avoided costs ranging from $119,517 (AWP-20%) to $149,396 (AWP). I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of our research team led by Dustin Donald, PharmD, CSP and look forward to discussing our findings and exploring further opportunities to enhance patient care and reduce medication waste in health system specialty pharmacies. Hope to see you in Houston! #AMCP2025 #healthsystemspecialtypharmacy #outcomesresearch

VSP’s Director of Health Outcomes & Research, Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, CSP was highlighted in a recent Specialty Pharmacy Continuum article "Quantifying the Cost of SP 'Outside' Prescriptions."  Interventions conducted by integrated health-system specialty pharmacists play a crucial role in improving patient outcomes. With timely access to all clinical information and effective collaboration with care teams, they are well positioned to ensure high quality patient care. Their valuable time and resources were collected in a recent study that quantified their time spent on prescriptions filled outside of the health system. Dr. Zuckerman said “the most common pharmacist interventions provided were related to helping patient access therapy, and if our pharmacists were not available to help, these patients might not have been able to obtain or adhere to their prescribed treatments.” This article underscores the value of an integrated delivery network as well as the importance of inclusion of health-system specialty pharmacies for access to payor restrictions and manufacturer distribution networks.  Check out the full article!   https://lnkd.in/edzfiFCh 

Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy leads a Consortium of health-system specialty pharmacies (HSSP) that aims to foster research and educational collaboration and provide networking opportunities for HSSPs and their staff. 2024 was our fifth year as a Consortium and saw us launch 3 new research projects, continue to work on 4 ongoing studies, host journal club and hot topic roundtable meetings with record attendance, and our membership grow to 69 HSSPs spread across the country. As we enter our sixth year as a Consortium, we are excited to see all our researchers continue to participate in the important work of advocating for HSSPs and improving patient care and outcomes! If any HSSPs are interested in joining this Consortium, please email [email protected].

Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy wants to wish everyone a happy new year! As we welcome 2025, we want to call out our incredible pharmacists, technicians, and additional staff for their remarkable effort over the past year. We look forward to continuing to provide optimized care to our patients and showcasing our work at conferences across the country throughout the new year! 🎉✨