Pharmacy-directed coordination of gene and high-cost therapies

This report describes the pharmacy-directed process utilized by a pediatric hospital within a large health system to coordinate the approval, procurement, and operational aspects of multiple gene and high-cost therapies. Information shared may enable others to implement sustainable processes for these complex therapies in their own institutions.

Over the last 7 years, the number of novel gene and high-cost therapies has increased exponentially. Hospitals must be capable of extensive coordination across multiple teams within the healthcare system to facilitate management of gene and high-cost therapies, which necessitate payor approval, patient scheduling and monitoring, and medication procurement, preparation, and administration. Establishing a formal workgroup that includes key stakeholders, coordinating development of medication-specific workflows, and developing metrics to define success are steps our institution utilized to provide an infrastructure to maneuver the complex aspects of patient care. This report details the experience of a large academic pediatric hospital to establish a structure led by the pharmacy for coordinating and managing gene and high-cost therapies.

The creation of a pharmacy-directed program for coordination of gene and high-cost therapies has been crucial to the hospital's success in offering these innovative and potentially life-altering therapies.