“When I called the patient, she immediately began to sob. ‘I really thought I was at the end of my road.’ The relief in her voice was amazing.”
The out-of-pocket costs of therapy for cancer can cause unnecessary and unwanted stress for patients. The average cost of cancer care in the U.S. is $150,000, and patients with cancer are over 2.5 times more likely to declare bankruptcy than people without it.1
Health system specialty pharmacy programs can lift some of this burden by integrating clinic-based pharmacists and pharmacy liaisons into patients’ care teams to provide personalized, proactive support with specialty medications. Among other benefits, clinic-based specialty pharmacy teams help patients secure financial assistance to make therapy more affordable. An on-site pharmacy liaison at one of our partners’ hospital specialty pharmacy programs recently shared a story that illustrates the difference this support makes for patients.
The liaison was supporting a patient who had tried every therapy indicated for her diagnosis with no results. Since there were no treatment options left, the patient made the very difficult decision to transition to hospice care. However, she began to feel better after stopping chemotherapy, so she returned to the health system for additional tests in hopes of identifying another treatment option.
Fortunately, the testing revealed a genetic mutation indicated for a targeted oral chemotherapy for a different diagnosis. The patient’s doctor wrote a prescription for this off-label indication, and the liaison took action to secure approval from the patient’s insurance. As the pharmacy liaison expected, the patient’s insurance denied coverage – even after two appeals and a consultation with the patient’s physician.
Since the pharmacy liaison knew insurance approval was unlikely, she also started exploring alternative ways the patient could access the treatment after receiving the prescription. One option she pursued was the manufacturer’s free drug program.
When she called the manufacturer to ask if they allowed off-label use for the free drug program, she was surprised that they were willing to consider the patient given her situation. The pharmacy liaison called the patient and explained that, while there were no guarantees, she would apply for free drug on the patient’s behalf. She had the patient complete the necessary paperwork and then submitted the application.
After two weeks, the pharmacy liaison learned that the patient was approved to participate in the free drug program. She immediately told the patient’s pharmacist and doctor, who was ecstatic and gave her a high-five. When the pharmacy liaison called the patient, the patient immediately began to sob and express her gratitude.
When asked what this experience meant to her, the pharmacy liaison shared that “hearing the relief in the patient’s voice was amazing.” She added, “Working in cancer care can be emotionally challenging, but this experience was so uplifting!”
The patient has since begun treatment and her health is improving. She continually thanks the specialty pharmacy team for caring enough to ensure she has the clinical and financial support she needs every step of her journey.
By embedding pharmacists and liaisons into care teams, hospital specialty pharmacy programs can ensure all patients with cancer and other complex conditions receive high-touch, personalized care that makes them feel as supported as this patient does.
Read another patient impact story here to learn more about the benefits of hosptial specialty pharmacy programs.