Health-system specialty pharmacy: Overview of a hybrid clinical model

The prevalence of specialty pharmacies has grown, especially within the hospital setting. These pharmacies have shown benefits in the areas of patient education and adherence, financial support, and patient and provider satisfaction. Currently, there are gaps in literature describing use of a hybrid clinical model in health-system specialty pharmacies.

The UofL Health - UofL Hospital Specialty Pharmacy (UofL Health SP) is attached to a retail pharmacy in a larger health system. Pharmacists in the UofL Health SP utilize a hybrid clinical model in which they split their time between working in a specialty clinic and staffing in the specialty pharmacy. The specialty pharmacy and its oncology satellite pharmacy each have a primary staffing pharmacist, and 5 other pharmacists participate in this hybrid clinical model. In addition to the specialty pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and patient care advocates support the operations of the specialty pharmacy and ensure financial access to medications for patients.

With the hybrid clinical model at UofL Health SP, there is increased workflow efficiency and better communication between specialty clinics and the specialty pharmacy, which results in a streamlined patient experience. Additionally, there has been an increase in specialty pharmacy prescriptions dispensed in the specialty pharmacy since the implementation of this hybrid clinical model.