Steve Lund, BS Pharm, Senderra Specialty Pharmacy, and Amy Valley, PharmD, Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, discussed new technology that is enhancing user experiences and simplifying complicated medication processes, as well as reviewed advancements in novel technology that can help patient engagement among those who require specialty pharmacy services during 2023 Specialty Pharmacy Next.

According to the session, patient empowerment, personalization, convenience, and choice are the four principles in specialty pharmacy technology and “consumerism.”

Technology, the patient experience, and clinical outcomes are all linked. The speakers explained that automation is used first to improve processes and assure efficiency in care. Next, technology is used in consistency in care. Of important note, the speakers said that “during these early technology solutions, traditional processes are in place.”

“Technology allows clinical outcomes to be monitored and managed by making the process of collecting information from the patient in the form of key clinical questions and patient reported outcomes surveys easier to do.”

With the use of technology, patients can “communicate with the specialty pharmacy how and when they want.”

Further, various technology solutions allow enhancements within the patient experience. These enhancements include:

• Easing the onboarding process
• Selecting communication preferences
• Providing alternate communication mechanisms by bringing the communication process in line with other consumer activities

Overall, various objectives of technology use in specialty pharmacy include:

• Improved onboarding;
• Reduced abandonment;
• Increased opt-in rates;
• Speed to first delivery;
• Ongoing and improved adherence;
• Better and more thorough data collections;
• Improved outcomes;
• Reliable and real-time reporting.

The speakers noted that technology solutions available within specialty pharmacy vary.

Finally, technology use within specialty pharmacy helps achieve the quadruple aim as defined under the IHI framework for value-based health care. Technology can help improve population health, while reducing the cost of care, enhancing the patient experience, and improving provider satisfaction.

“Population health is about reaching the right patients at the right time,” they said. However, they noted that this requires a comprehensive view of each patient because “60% of health-related outcomes are directly correlated to the social, environmental, and individual behavior of the patient.”

Compared with traditional methods, technology advances in population health include data aggregation, risk stratification, AI driven recommendation, electronic patient-reported outcomes and triage support, and care team extensions.