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By Mat Thompson
I recently read an interview with former Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez where he stated that the healthcare industry is having an “All Hands on Deck” moment. Jimenez explained that we now have the tools and technology to coordinate across all disciplines of care delivery and significantly improve care throughout each individual’s health journey. He explained that it’s time for all stakeholders — including, but not limited to, manufacturers, payers, pharmacists, hospital systems, researchers, and caregivers — to take advantage of this moment.
I couldn’t agree with him more. We do have the technology and now is the time to capitalize on it.
The coordination part? That’s where we need help.
Complimentary Partnerships to Better Support Patients
By now I think it’s common knowledge that pharmaceutical manufacturers are investing tremendous resources in an effort to better support patients and increase the likelihood of clinical trial and commercial program success. To do that, they know they must:
- Improve patient communication without inconveniencing participants
- Capture meaningful data that quantifies medication safety and efficacy in as close to real time as possible
- Implement the right protocols and technologies to engage patients outside of a clinical setting
Offering more comprehensive commercial programs that utilize innovative technology is an effective way of accomplishing all of those things and delivering safe, effective therapies to patients waiting for them.
Sounds easy, right?
Without a strong network of specialty pharmacies — many of whom have close ties within their communities — the critical work of delivering new drug therapies for some of our most challenging health issues won’t happen. Pharmaceutical manufacturers need community pharmacies to support this work. They need pharmacy teams to make new drug therapies a reality.
Pharmacies…The Missing Piece of the Equation
I recently gave a presentation to members of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) where I really tried to drive home how much pharmacists are needed during this critical moment in healthcare. Pharmacy teams must embrace partnerships that will not only provide opportunities to extend their level of care, but that also make it easier for them to deliver exceptional experiences to the patients they serve. Increasing access to innovative therapies for patients who need them is a bonus!
However, I realize that pharmacists are busier than ever, with limited time to explore new partnerships and opportunities, much less time to research and implement new technologies.
Spencer Health Solutions has the answer. We can help pharmacies join healthcare’s “All Hands on Deck” moment.
The Spencer-Certified Pharmacy Partner Network™
Pharmacies can expand their level of service, take advantage of opportunities to participate in commercial pharmaceutical programs, and provide next-level patient support using research-quality data by joining the Spencer-Certified Pharmacy Partner Network™.
Our network allows pharmacies to easily participate in on-going commercial pharmaceutical programs so they receive the financial and logistical support of manufacturers while being able to take advantage of a process that is user-friendly and easy to implement. Our network is comprised of pharmacies across the U.S. that are partnering with pharmaceutical manufacturers on several ongoing programs, and that number is growing by the day!
We are very proud to work closely with commercial pharmaceutical programs that assist populations that typically require additional support and “white glove service,” including patients with:
- Behavioral health conditions
- Central nervous system conditions
- Rare diseases
- Cardiovascular issues
- Pulmonary diseases
- Gastrointestinal diseases
None of these current commercial programs would be possible without our certified pharmacy partners across the country. Working with the SHS Pharmacy On-Boarding Team, pharmacies in the network quickly plug into commercial pharmaceutical programs and easily support those patient populations using the fully integrated, in-home spencer® patient support platform.
spencer is, in part, a medication-dispensing device that lives in the patient’s home and engages with them daily. Sounds simple, right? But spencer is so much more! It is the only fully integrated, user-friendly, patient support platform that:
- Notifies patients when it’s time to take medications, even those with complex dosing schedules
- Dispenses medication and records adherence data
- Captures ePRO information via fully customizable surveys and Bluetooth-enabled biometric devices (e.g., blood pressure cuffs, oximeters, glucose meters)
- Relays, analyzes and conveys that data in near real-time so care teams can take action and provide further patient support
spencer is currently being used in several commercial drug programs and clinical trials, serving patients representing a myriad of different disease states, therapeutic categories, and age ranges. The result?
90 percent of patients remain engaged
with spencer in the long term,
and 97 percent remain adherent
to their medication therapies.*
*As reported in 2022 Spencer Health Solutions commercial pharmaceutical programs.
What’s even better is that spencer’s analytics can determine which patients may be departing from prescribed schedules that will likely lead to non-adherence and send unique alerts to care teams for a quick response.
With the help of our on-staff data scientists, as well as our quality and regulatory team, spencer can collect and provide high-quality, research-grade data. We work very closely with our partners to assign HIPAA-compliant data to appropriate staff members and provide only de-identified patient data to pharmaceutical manufacturers so they can use it as real-world clinical evidence to report on medication efficacy, usage, benefits, and risks.
We Need You!
We need pharmacy teams to embrace partnerships that will not only provide opportunities to extend their level of care, but that also make it easier to deliver exceptional patient experiences.
If you’ve read this far, I hope I’ve made a convincing argument that by participating in commercial pharmacy programs and becoming part of the Spencer-Certified Pharmacy Partner Network, you will be playing a critical role in the effort to bring new drug therapies to patients who need them.
Make the Next Move
- Contact me, Mat Thompson, for more information about joining the Spencer-Certified Pharmacy Partner Network.
- Schedule a time to experience a demo at Booth 510 at the NASP 2022 Annual Meeting & Expo. Or stop by to see our presentation at the Technology Day Innovation Lab on Monday, September 19, at 11:00 a.m.
- Watch spencer in action!
- Click here to view a PDF of the slide presentation from the NASP webinar.
90 percent of patients remain engaged
with spencer in the long term,
and 97 percent remain adherent
to their medication therapies.*
spencer is currently being used in several commercial pharmacy programs and clinical trials, serving patients representing many different disease states, therapeutic categories, and age ranges.
