VerifiedRx Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence

A big part of total national drug spend is the continuing growth of the specialty drug market. Health systems depend on specialty pharmacy to make up margin losses from other areas. Dr. Vinay Eapen, Senior Manager of Specialty Pharmacy at University of Texas Medical Branch, joins Gretchen Brummel, Pharmacy Executive Director in the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence and your program to share a bold approach to starting specialty pharmacy services at an academic medical center.
 
Guest speakers: 
Vinay Eapen, PharmD
UTMB Senior Specialty Pharmacy Manager
Lean Adjunct Faculty
UTMB Department of Pharmacy
 
Host: 
Gretchen Brummel, PharmD, BCPS 
Pharmacy Executive Director 
Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence 
  
Show Notes: 
[00:46-01:09] Dr. Eapen background information 
[01:10-01:52] History of the specialty drug market
[01:53-02:43] Categorizing specialty drugs
[02:44-03:26] When UTMB decided to start a specialty program
[03:27-04:18] Building the program
[04:19-05:25] Benefits of the program
[05:26-06:11] Unexpected issues
[06:12-06:54] Where specialty pharmacy is going
[06:55-07:37] Advice for other starting specialty pharmacy programs
[07:38-08:21] Reasons to start a specialty pharmacy
 
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Health system margins are shrinking making pharmacy spend a growing opportunity target. MultiCare Health System departs from historical methods with an exciting, multifaceted approach to the issue.  Dr. Tyson Frodin, Assistant Vice President Pharmacy Supply Chain, Rev Cycle, Technology MultiCare Health System-Pharmacy Services, joins Gretchen Brummel, Pharmacy Executive Director in the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence and your program host to give his thoughts on this issue.
 
Guest speakers: 
Tyson Frodin, PharmD, MHA, FACHE
Assistant Vice President
Pharmacy Supply Chain, Rev Cycle, Technology
MultiCare Health System-Pharmacy Services
 
Host: 
Gretchen Brummel, PharmD, BCPS 
Pharmacy Executive Director 
Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence 
  
Show Notes: 
[00:46-01:31] Dr. Tyson Frodin background information 
[01:32-02:39] What drove the need for MultiCare’s pharmacy spend initiative
[02:40-08:42] Multi-pronged plan for MultiCare’s pharmacy spend initiative
[08:43-10:20] What surprised MultiCare about the process
[10:21-11:25] Outcomes
[11:26-13:11] Advice they have for other pharmacies who may wanna attempt something like this
[13:12-15:06] What’s in the future for MultiCare
 
Links | Resources: 
Coming soon – New Pharmacy Portal and Pharmacy Analytics platform
We're excited to announce the launch of our new Pharmacy Portal on March 25th, alongside the rebranding of Vizient Savings Actualyzer – Pharmacy (VSAP) to Pharmacy Analytics.
The Pharmacy Portal is designed to be a comprehensive hub, offering a wide range of pharmacy tools and metrics, all accessible in one convenient location. With the rebranding to Pharmacy Analytics, we're introducing upgraded features and functionalities aimed at optimizing contract management, benchmarking spend, evaluating drug shortages and much more.
Join our webinar on March 27, Navigating Vizient Pharmacy Analytics with PMO projections and data, to learn more about the features and benefits of our new Pharmacy Portal and rebranded Pharmacy Analytics platform.
Plus, we will be hosting deeper dive sessions March 18 through April 5 where you can experience the new tools and ask questions of our pharmacy analytics experts. Learn more and sign up for one or multiple sessions.
 
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The 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act codified the 505(b)(2) drug approval pathway and allowed the use of studies from a previously approved drug. To be clear, medications approved via this pathway are not generic molecules of the reference listed drug. They may have similar clinical effects and roles in therapy, but they also bring challenges. Dr. Tyler Wood, System Director of Pharmacy Oncology and Biosimilars, and Pharmacy Executive Director, Carolyn Liptak at Vizient, join Gretchen Brummel, Pharmacy Executive Director in the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence and your program host to give an early look.
 
Guest speakers: Tyler Wood, PharmD, BCBBSSystem Director, Pharmacy Oncology and Biosimilars Providence St. Joseph Health
 
Carolyn Liptak, MBA, BSPharmPharmacy Executive Director Vizient 
 
Host: Gretchen Brummel, PharmD, BCPS Pharmacy Executive Director Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence
 
Show Notes: 
[00:55-01:34] Dr. Tyler Wood background information 
[01:35-03:09] How the 505(b)(2) pathway is intended to work
[03:10-04:32] Comparisons can we draw from the biologics approval process
[04:33-05:53] What the FDA says about which pathway to use
[05:54-07:05] What's changed recently in the approval process
[07:06-08:09] Can a 505(b)(2) product be rated as a generic equivalent?
[08:10 -09:07] How CMS changes are impacting management
[09:08-11:23] What our providers can do to plan and act to address these issues
[11:24-12:27] What’s most concerning moving forward
 
Links | Resources: 
Applications Covered by 505(b)(2)
Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System: January 2024 Update
MLN Matters® Articles Sign-up
CMS.gov ASP Pricing Files
CMS.gov What's a MAC
Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved Drugs
FDA: Overview of the 505(b)(2) Regulatory Pathway for New Drug Applications
HCPCS Level II Coding for 505(b)(2)-Approved Drugs or Biologicals – Frequently Asked Questions
 
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Pneumococcal vaccines have been instrumental in decreasing invasive disease since their introduction in the 1980s. 2021 brought regulatory changes and recent ACIP recommendations were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also known as MMWR. Dr. John Schoen, Senior Clinical Manager of Evidence-Based Medicine and Drug Information shares his insights on these changes with host Gretchen Brummel.
 
Guest speaker:  John Schoen, PharmD, BCPSSenior Clinical Manager of Evidence-Based Medicine and Drug Information Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence    Host:  Gretchen Brummel, PharmD, BCPS  Pharmacy Executive Director  Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence  
 
Show Notes:  
Recorded in the Fall of 2023
[01:00-03:34] What’s new since March 2022 with pneumococcal vaccines 
[03:35-06:51] Changes with the adult recommendations
[06:52-13:10] New recommendations from CDC as well as published recommendations for adults
[13:11-19:05] Recommendations for Pneumococcal vaccines in pediatrics
[19:06-21:46] The area of biggest risk moving forward
[21:47-24:07] What we are looking at for the future
 
Links | Resources:  
Vizient pneumococcal vaccine side-by-side comparison Click Here
ACIP pneumococcal vaccine recommendations Click Here
 
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Vizient publishes our Pharmacy Market Outlook twice a year. The outlook features drug price projections and key market insights to help support members' strategic planning. Drs. Jeni Hayes and Amanda Frick, both Senior Clinical Managers for Market Intelligence, join Gretchen Brummel, Pharmacy Executive Director in the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence and your program host to give an early look.
 
Guest speakers: 
Jeni Hayes, PharmD, MSPharm, BCPS
Senior Clinical Manager, Market Intelligence
Vizient 
 
Amanda Frick, PharmD, BCPS
Senior Clinical Manager, Market Intelligence
Vizient 
 
Host: 
Gretchen Brummel, PharmD, BCPS 
Pharmacy Executive Director 
Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence 
  
Show Notes: 
[00:42-03:08] Areas of focus 2024 highlighted in this Pharmacy Market Outlook 
[03:09-05:35] The table of new and noteworthy approvals and some of the approvals that you were most excited to see
[05:36-07:05] Some drugs that you're looking forward to seeing approved in 2024
[07:06-08:25] What are you hearing from our members on their experiences and challenges with cellular and gene therapies?
[08:26-10:57] What else is going on in the specialty space
[10:58-12:14] Specialty pharmacy sustained growth that we've seen for patients in the acute care space
[12:15 -14:39] What's the projection for this edition
[14:40-14:24] Where listeners go if they want more detailed information on the outlook
 
Links | Resources: 
Vizient Pharmacy Market Outlook provider link: Click Here
Vizient Pharmacy Market Outlook highlights public version: Click Here
 
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Anti-Microbial Stewardship Programs are critical to optimizing utilization, mitigating resistance, and improving patient outcomes. These programs are continuously refined, and recent updates to The Joint Commission standards provide an opportunity to enhance our approach. Dr. Ripal Jariwala, Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist, and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco, and Dr. Ethan A. Smith, Clinical Infectious Diseases Specialist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, join host Gretchen Brummel to discuss the revised standards and implications for pharmacy.
 
Guest speakers: 
Dr. Ripal Jariwala, PharmD, BCIDP, AAHIVP
Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist, and Assistant Clinical Professor UCSF 
 
Dr. Ethan A. Smith, PharmD., BCIDP
Clinical Infectious Diseases Specialist
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
 
Host: 
Gretchen Brummel, PharmD, BCPS 
Pharmacy Executive Director 
Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence
 
Show Notes: 
[01:01-01:47] The guests background 
[01:48-02:58] Brief update of the recent changes to Antimicrobrial Stewardship
[02:59-07:35] Interpreting the new EP-10 Joint Commission standard about financial and IT resources
[07:36-11:23] The current landscape on FTEs to support antimicrobial stewardship
[11:24-15:13] EP15 on evidence-based use of antibiotics considerations
[15:14-18:27] How do you approach meeting the revised standard on data collection analysis and recording for EP20
[18:28 -21:23] Other standards besides the joint commission standards that people need to be aware of
[21:24-23:34] Other related work going on in this space
[23:35-26:54] More information or other resources to find those items about antimicrobial stewardship
 
Links | Resources:
Knowledge on the Go Podcast: Updates for Antimicrobial Stewardship Standards
VHA directive 1031: Click here
CDC Updates on Antibiotic Stewardship and Required Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Reporting – On Demand: CDC Updates OnDemand2023 document and Click here to play recording
 
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