NASP to Develop Pharmacy Practice Parameters for Specialty Pharmacy Therapeutic Categories

The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) announced it will begin developing pharmacy practice parameters in approximately 20 specialty pharmacy therapeutic categories this year.

"Our goal as an organization is to establish practice standards that encompass clinical guidelines, benefit design and management and information technology to measure adherence and outcomes.” Gary M. Cohen, BSPharm, RPh, NASP CEO, said. "We will collaborate with other stakeholders to utilize existing and emerging guidelines, and adapt them to the specific needs of the specialty pharmacy community. Specialty pharmacists are playing a more integral role in the collaborative care model, and will be a key driver of successful patient outcomes. It is important that we develop practices parameters through consensus panels with key opinion leaders and subject matter experts.”

NASP will engage specialty pharmacists, specialty pharmacy executives, payers, reimbursement consultants, disease-specific organizations and patient advocacy groups to develop standards of practice for pharmacists in the targeted therapeutic areas. The parameters will also include information technology, adherence and outcomes metrics, allowing organizations to utilize and embellish a set of baseline standards.

"All the newly approved specialty pharmaceuticals targeted therapies coming on the market today require highly skilled specialized pharmacists who have disease and drug specific training and IT systems to support ongoing concurrent medication treatment management,” Burt Zweigenhaft, CEO Onco360 and NASP board member, said. "NASP is dedicated to providing and driving the healthcare market leadership and standards to ensure we as an industry deliver the promise of improved clinical utility and quality outcomes.”

NASP is recruiting volunteers to work on advisory and consensus groups in different disease categories to support the development of practice parameters. For more information on volunteering, visit www.nasprx.org/?page=Committees.

NASP, founded in 2012, represents specialty pharmacy professionals in all practice settings and highlights the unique value its members bring to patients and the healthcare system by focusing on building collaboration among all industry associations to improve patient outcomes. Specialty pharmacy is the fastest growing segment in the industry today and NASP provides valuable benefits to members by creating a strong, unified voice for all stakeholders. Through the Specialty Pharmacy Education Center (SPEC), NASP will offer more than 300 hours of education specific to specialty pharmacy. SPEC will also provide education needed to earn and maintain professional certification through the Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board (SPCB).

Source: National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (www.nasprx.org)