WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eight of the nation's leading health systems and other network providers of specialty pharmacy patient care joined together today to form The Health System Owned Specialty Pharmacy Alliance (HOSP). HOSP will focus on advocating for the interests of integrated specialty pharmacies and promoting best practices that enable them to deliver the best patient care and patient outcomes.
“HOSP will act as the ‘face and voice’ of the integrated specialty pharmacy industry advocating for, and uniting members around, common industry interests and concerns,” said Tanya Menchi, executive director, HOSP. “We believe the integrated health system owned specialty pharmacy model is the best way to deliver exceptional patient care and outcomes. The industry needs its own voice. HOSP’s goal is to help bring the industry together so they have a seat at the table and ensure that their interests are represented.”
Specialty pharmacies focus on delivering medications for more complex and chronic illnesses. More than one in four specialty pharmacies are now owned by health systems, a trend that is continuing to grow as hospitals look for ways to improve patient care. The integrated specialty pharmacy model helps keep a critical piece of patient care -- medication management and treatment -- inside the health system, instead of a more fragmented approach to care.
“Creating a trade association that is dedicated to representing specialty pharmacies owned by health systems means HOSP members can focus on our unique issues and commitment to patients and their care team,” said Tim Affeldt, vice president, Specialty/Infusion Pharmacy Operations, Fairview Health Services. “This is why Fairview has been very interested in HOSP from the beginning. With most major health systems owning specialty pharmacies or looking to create that capability, I expect interest in HOSP will be strong across the industry.”
While the integrated specialty pharmacy model is evolving and growing fast, it has lacked an organization that is solely devoted to representing the health system owned specialty pharmacy industry until now. As a community based on coordinated care and the reduction of barriers to patient care, the industry needs its own association to reflect and promote those values. HOSP will do just that, so health care systems can promote the benefits of the integrated model, share best practices for implementation and advocate for common interests, like 340B, access to limited distribution drugs and payer networks, and patient choice.
“Health system owned specialty pharmacies are an important care integration strategy that helps to improve medication adherence, reduce readmissions and lower overall healthcare costs,” said Tom Scully, General Partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Stowe, and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). “HOSP delivers a platform for the industry to firmly establish the integrated specialty model as the new industry standard. HOSP is long overdue and is a great way for the industry to (i) share ideas and expertise, (ii) discuss data-based research on improved outcomes, and (iii) advocate for their common interests.”
HOSP Board of Directors Announced
HOSP founding members with representation on the Board of Directors include:
- Tim Affeldt, Vice President, Specialty/Infusion Pharmacy Operations, Fairview Health Services
- Neil Gilchrist, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Pharmacy Services, UMass Memorial Medical Center
- Gary Kerr, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Baystate Health
- Eric Arlia, Senior Director, Systems Pharmacy, Hartford HealthCare
- Darlene Rodowicz, Executive Vice President, Berkshire Health Systems
- Jack Shields, Founder and Chairman, Shields Health Solutions
- Louis Sokos, Director of Allied Health Solutions, Specialty Pharmacy Services, WVU Hospitals
- Marla Weigert, System Vice President, Pharmacy Services at CommonSpirit, President, CommonSpirit Specialty Pharmacy
HOSP: Advocacy And Best Practices For A New Level of Specialty Pharmacy Care
HOSP will concentrate its efforts on advocating and supporting the fully integrated model of patient care from faster time to therapy to better medication adherence and coordinated care with prescriber team oversight.
HOSP Membership
HOSP is a non-profit organization. It is not a charity, rather it is an organization of professionals with common business and societal interests to devote the organization’s time to improving industry conditions and promoting common interests.
HOSP general membership is open to any qualified health system that seeks to embrace the organization’s mission of delivering critical care excellence through health system owned specialty pharmacies. For information about member qualifications, membership dues and how to join: http://hospalliance.org/membership/
About HOSP
The Health System Owned Specialty Pharmacy Alliance (HOSP) is a network of leading health systems and the businesses that support them who advocate for the better patient care and outcomes associated with fully integrated health system specialty pharmacies. HOSP believes that health systems are best positioned to provide the highest quality care to their specialty patients in the outpatient setting. HOSP advocates for and develops industry best practices to ensure that onsite health system specialty pharmacy operations have gold standard care models of excellence. For more information: http://hospalliance.org/
