How 340B Hospitals Need To Be Thinking About New Specialty Drugs

As specialty drugs play an increasingly important role in patient care, 340B hospitals need to be planning for how to obtain these high-cost medications when they come online and how best to support their patients once they start using these treatments. Tina Do is associate director of clinical strategy and business development at Yale New Haven Health. She discusses the ways her health system has achieved success in connecting patients with some of the most complex and costly specialty drugs and what other hospitals can learn from those examples. 

Why Specialty Drugs Are Key for 340B Hospitals

Do says specialty drugs are becoming more important to the 340B world for much the same reason they are becoming more important in the health care system. More than 70% of drugs in development are specialty drugs, including numerous therapies that are considered ultra-specialty drugs. That makes it imperative for 340B hospitals to be considering the projected costs of these drugs and the often-substantial amount of patient support that is necessary for people who need these complex therapies.

Hospitals Must Anticipate Upcoming Drug Therapies

Do argues that hospitals need to be monitoring medications coming down the pharmaceutical pipeline because of all the strategic conversations that need to happen within and outside of a pharmacy. Hospitals might need to acquire certain equipment or technology to support these therapies and make plans for the financial impact of new treatments on both the health system and the patients.

What Hospitals Need to Figure Out Ahead of Time

Before new treatments come online, Do says health systems need to ask numerous questions about accessing and administering them. Is a specialty medication going to be a limited distribution drug? Will the medication be part of payer contracts? How many patients and prescribers are affiliated with a particular health service and might be interested in receiving or prescribing the medication? How can the hospital help patients stay on this complex therapy and access financial assistance when necessary? Figuring out the answers to these questions well ahead of time will go a long way in setting up the hospital and its patients for success.