What’s Special about Specialty Pharmacy?

Activity description

This activity consists of a recorded presentation from the "31st Annual National Clinical Conference" held in Bloomington, Minn., Oct. 17-19, 2022.

Specialty pharmacies serve the needs of individuals with rare, chronic and complex health issues by providing medications and complex treatment therapies that may not be commonly used or may need special handling, storage, or dosing. The utilization of specialty pharmacy products — along with their costs — has been increasing at a substantially higher rate than that of other pharmaceuticals. This session examines the cost of development and growth of these pharmaceuticals and details the specific role that specialty pharmacy plays in making these products accessible. The high costs of therapies and patient and medication management are also discussed along with the role and value of drug benefit programs.

Provided by
This activity is provided by Optum Health Education.

Commercial support
There was no commercial support for this activity.

Required hardware/software
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Target Audience

This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of case managers, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physicians, psychologists, social workers, dietitians, and other health care professionals who are interested in learning how specialty pharmacies serve the needs of individuals with rare, chronic and complex health issues.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this educational activity, participants should be able to:

  • Define the role of specialty pharmacies, patient services, and programs generally offered, and how specialty pharmacy services are typically structured and monitored.
  • Identify the processes through which newer and niche pharmaceuticals are obtained by specialty pharmacies and the associated costs of development for these drugs.
  • Describe factors that contribute to the high costs of specialty drugs and how specialty pharmacies affect the affordability of specialty medicines.
  • Discuss the value and role of drug benefit programs for specialty pharmaceutical therapies.
Activity summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 ACPE - Pharmacists
  • 1.00 ACPE - Pharmacy Technicians
  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 APA - Psychologists
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 CCMC - General - Case Managers
  • 1.00 CDR - Dietitians
  • 1.00 ASWB - Social Workers
Activity opens: 
01/02/2023
Activity expires: 
01/03/2025
Rating: 
5

Faculty

Sheila Arquette, RPHSheila Arquette, RPh
President & CEO
PAC Assistant Treasurer
National Association of Specialty Pharmacy
Washington, DC

About the presenter

Sheila Arquette, RPh, is the president & CEO of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP). She holds a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Pharmacy. She has extensive practical and leadership experience in retail pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, long-term care consulting and dispensing, in addition to managed care, PBM operations and specialty pharmacy. Sheila has been appointed to the University of Pittsburg’s Master of Science in Pharmacy Business Administration (MSPBA) Executive Steering Board, serves as an Employer Provider Interface Council (EPIC) fellow, is a member of Missouri State University’s Customer Experience Program Advisory Board and is the host of the NASP podcast on the Pharmacy Podcast Network.

Planning Committee

Elizabeth Albert, MD
Clinical Activity Manager
Optum Health Education
Eden Prairie, MN

Rebecca Gleason, RN, CCM
Activity Manager
Optum Health Education
Eden Prairie, MN

Jennifer Malin, MD, PhD
Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Optum Health Solutions
Eden Prairie, MN

Tina Rydland, PharmD
President
ArdentCare Solutions
Denver, CO

Disclosures of relevant financial relationships

In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education's (ACCME) Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, OptumHealth Education (OHE) requires all those in control of educational content to disclose their financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. Ineligible companies are defined by the ACCME as companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care products used by or on patients. Individuals must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies and regardless of their view of the relevance of the relationship to the education. OHE ensures that the content is independent of commercial bias.

The activity faculty and planners have no financial relationships to disclose.

Method for calculating CE credit
CE credit was calculated by the complexity of content.

Accreditation Statement
Joint Accreditation LogoIn support of improving patient care, Optum Health Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the health care team.

 

Credit designation statements
IPCE Credit LogoThis activity was planned by and for the health care team, and learners will receive 1.0 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.

Nurses
The participant will be awarded up to 1.0 contact hour(s) of credit for attendance and completion of supplemental materials.

Nurse practitioners
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.

Pharmacists/Pharmacy technicians
This activity is approved for 1.0 contact hour(s) ([0.10] CEU) in states that recognize ACPE.
Attending the full program will earn 1.0 contact hour(s).
Unique Activity Number(s): JA0007123-0000-23-011-H01-P/T

Physicians
Optum Health Education designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

PAs
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.

Case managers
The Commission for Case Manager Certification has approved this program for a maximum of 1.0 clock hour(s) for Certified Case Managers (CCM).

Dietitians 
Completion of this RD/DTR profession-specific or IPCE activity awards CPEUs (One IPCE credit=One CPEU). 

If the activity is dietetics-related but not targeted to RDs or DTRs, CPEUs may be claimed which are commensurate with participation in contact hours (One 60 minute hour=1 CPEU). 

RD's and DTRs are to select activity type 102 in their Activity Log. Performance indicator selection is at the learner's discretion. 

Psychologists and social workers
Participants must have attended the entire Web-based activity and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate. Partial credit is not available.

Psychologists
Optum Health Education is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to offer continuing education for psychologists. Optum Health Education maintains responsibility for this program. 1.0 CE hour.

Social Workers

ACE Logo

As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Optum Health Education is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Optum Health Education maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 1.0 enduring continuing education credit.

Attendance
A certificate of attendance will be provided to learners upon completion of activity requirements, enabling participants to register with licensing boards or associations that have not been preapproved for credits. To apply for credit types not listed above, participants should use the procedure established by the specific organization with which they wish to obtain credit.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 ACPE - Pharmacists
  • 1.00 ACPE - Pharmacy Technicians
  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 APA - Psychologists
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 CCMC - General - Case Managers
  • 1.00 CDR - Dietitians
  • 1.00 ASWB - Social Workers
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