Physician-pharmacy integration in cancer care: pillars of medically integrated pharmacy

Medically integrated pharmacies (MIPs) offer a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach essential for complex oral anticancer therapy. Unlike traditional pharmacy dispensing, which creates a fragmented approach to patient care, MIPs integrate pharmacists directly into the care team, leveraging electronic health records for informed decision-making, thereby enhancing continuity and reducing costs. For patients, critical challenges associated with oral anticancer medications include abandonment, adherence, and access and affordability. Using an integrated and comprehensive approach, core activities of MIPs have demonstrated reductions in prescription abandonment rates and increases in adherence rates through proactive interventions and education. MIPs also enhance affordability by seamlessly coordinating financial assistance programs that can lead to cost savings for both patients and health care systems, presenting a compelling value proposition for managed care. High levels of patient and provider satisfaction further underscore the benefits of this integrated model. The evidence within this commentary demonstrates that MIPs help patients with cancer adhere to their oral anticancer medications while simultaneously minimizing financial burdens, thus providing a robust underpinning for patient-centered value-based care.