Is 'High Dollar' About to Become the New Normal in Specialty Pharmacy?

In specialty pharmacy, we are used to handling high-cost medications. In fact, a high price point is typically included in the general definition of what constitutes a specialty therapy. However, we are rapidly approaching new heights in terms of what the term “high dollar” could mean in the current and future health care space. As some specialty therapies have cleared the 6-figure mark, manufacturers, payers, specialty pharmacies, and health systems are being forced to reinvent the wheel. The next wave of pharmaceutical products being developed are focused on targeted gene therapies for rare disease states that affect small populations. As the therapies within this pipeline come to market, they will invariably alter the current infrastructure and could be replaced by a system that supports the dispensing, billing, and distribution of these new drugs.