The American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) has just released its latest national survey of pharmacy practice in hospital settings. Download it here. (Available for purchase.) I always enjoy this annual treasure trove of insights.
This year’s survey updates our understanding of hospitals’ and health systems’ all-out pursuit of specialty pharmacy dispensing revenues. In 2018, more than 75% of the largest hospitals operated a specialty pharmacy. Check out the data below.
The 340B Drug Pricing Program has—and will continue to—encourage even more specialty pharmacy growth at hospitals. It is also providing a new way for Walgreens Boots Alliance to profit from 340B.
Amidst this growth, hospital-owned specialty pharmacies find themselves competing for prescriptions against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These PBMs have built benefit networks that shift prescriptions away from hospitals in favor of the PBMs’ own specialty pharmacies.
Hospitals can fight PBMs for network access—or they can befriend a PBM-owned 340B contract pharmacy and still earn super-size profits. As you’ll see below, the odd combination of narrow networks and 340B is creating unexpected frenemies in the drug channel.
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