Specialty Pharmacy Times Partners with National Association of Specialty Pharmacy to Improve Care for Patients

Partnership will inform and educate industry stakeholders and policymakers about the unique demands specialty medicines place on pharmacies pharmacists and patients.

New and more complex medicines offer better treatments but they also require more of manufacturers, payers, pharmacists and patients. Now Specialty Pharmacy Times, the specialty pharmacy field’s premiere journal, is partnering with the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP), the only national trade association dedicated solely to this developing field, to better equip pharmacy businesses and clinicians to fill this growing need.

“This partnership provides a powerful platform for getting important clinical and business information unique to specialty pharmacy into the hands of the practitioners, payers and manufacturers who need it in order to provide high-quality patient care surrounding these medicines,” said Mike J. Hennessy Jr., president, Intellisphere Oncology and Healthcare Specialty Group, a part of Michael J. Hennessy Associates, a Plainsboro, NJ, based family of businesses focusing on healthcare professionals and their patients.

“As a media partner of NASP, Specialty Pharmacy Times will publish editorial content from a NASP leader in each issue, chronicling NASP’s efforts to drive policy and set more comprehensive practice standards for specialty pharmacists,” said Dan Steiber, R.Ph., editor-in-chief at Specialty Pharmacy Times, a full service, fully integrated print and digital media resource dedicated to the business of specialty pharmacy. The journal will also conduct interviews with NASP members and provide coverage of NASP’s annual meeting.

The partners are in talks about additional ways they can collaborate going forward. Both partners provide expertise around specialty drugs that offer specific enhanced professional practices focused on optimizing patient outcomes for complex health conditions and diseases.

Specialty products often have unique properties requiring enhanced services, special equipment and procedures to ship, precise storage conditions, intense patient management and, due to their higher cost, advanced knowledge about what the pharmacy needs to do to get reimbursed for providing them, Steiber said. These high-cost drugs can also be complicated for patients to use, requiring the pharmacy to provide coaching and follow-up care to ensure proper use. Specialty medicines typically treat complex diseases such as cancers, HIV, hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and rare genetic conditions.

Specialty Pharmacy Times is a bi-monthly industry journal focusing on the key areas surrounding specialty pharmaceuticals and the enhanced practice needs of specialty pharmacists. It provides information about how to run a specialty pharmacy and serve patients who use specialty medicines. Articles are authored by specialty pharmacists and leaders from areas including administration, academia, policy, information systems, managed care, clinical practice, business management and nursing. The publication has over 14,000 subscribers and many thousands more who access www.specialtypharmacytimes.com over the web both domestically and internationally. These readers include payers, specialty pharmaceuticals manufacturers, government, allied health care professionals and pharmacists.

“NASP is focused on education, collaboration and advocacy for specialty pharmacy. Our prime partners; payers-providers-and manufacturers must all participate with a focus on patient centered care. NASP has developed the organizational opportunity to make this happen,” stated Jim Smeeding R.Ph. MBA the Executive Director of NASP.

“Our partnership with Specialty Pharmacy Times allows NASP to reach a broader audience and ensure that all stakeholders are informed and included as we ramp up our advocacy and other programs,” said NASP Chief Operating Officer Robert Fulcher. “We are very pleased to have this unique media opportunity.”

NASP is a trade association open to all industry stakeholders in the area of specialty pharmacy. The organization provides networking opportunities, management and clinical education while serving as an industry advocate. Since NASP’s founding in 2012, its membership has grown to nearly 1,200 specialty pharmacy professionals and over 71 corporate members including specialty pharmacies, managed care organizations, distributors, manufacturers and other industry affiliates.

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About Specialty Pharmacy Times

Specialty Pharmacy Times is a leading industry journal serving the business and practice of specialty pharmaceuticals and therapy. Published by Pharmacy Times, the journal focuses on key areas surrounding specialty pharmaceuticals and the enhanced practice needs of pharmacists in this arena. The journal is available at www.SpecialtyPharmacyTimes.com.

About the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy

The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy™ (NASP™) is the national association for all stakeholders in the specialty pharmacy industry. NASP's over 71 corporate members and more than 1,200 professionals represent specialty pharmacies, PBMs, health plans, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, GPOs/wholesalers/distributors, and others allied to the industry. The mission of NASP is to serve as the national voice for the specialty pharmacy industry and to provide education, information and business networking opportunities that advance patient care. Learn more at www.naspnet.org

Media contacts :

For Specialty Pharmacy Times

Becky Taylor, 609.240.6886 or becky@btaylorpa.com

Davy James, 609-716-7777, ext. 191, or djames@pharmacytimes.com

For National Association of Specialty Pharmacy

Robert Fulcher, 1-703-842-0121, or rfulcher@naspnet.org