Artikel
Integrated Specialty Pharmacy is raising the standard for high-touch care
Keeping specialty pharmacy connected to the health system can improve access, strengthen coordination, and reduce avoidable cost
For patients with complex diseases, pharmacy should not sit at the edge of care; instead, it should be fully connected to it.
This is especially true in oncology, cystic fibrosis, and other high-touch disease states, where treatment plans often depend on timely access, close monitoring, and coordinated support across multiple stakeholders. Yet in many cases, specialty prescriptions are still routed outside the health system to central fill or external specialty pharmacies that operate separately from the clinical team. Such models – while serving a distribution function – can also introduce fragmentation at exactly the point where patients need seamless coordination the most.
When pharmacy is disconnected from care delivery, issues like delays, handoff failures, and poor visibility can disrupt therapy and burden both patients and health systems. The result is a more fragmented patient experience, heavier administrative workload, and greater risk of avoidable waste and downstream utilization.
This is especially true in oncology, cystic fibrosis, and other high-touch disease states, where treatment plans often depend on timely access, close monitoring, and coordinated support across multiple stakeholders. Yet in many cases, specialty prescriptions are still routed outside the health system to central fill or external specialty pharmacies that operate separately from the clinical team. Such models – while serving a distribution function – can also introduce fragmentation at exactly the point where patients need seamless coordination the most.
When pharmacy is disconnected from care delivery, issues like delays, handoff failures, and poor visibility can disrupt therapy and burden both patients and health systems. The result is a more fragmented patient experience, heavier administrative workload, and greater risk of avoidable waste and downstream utilization.
Integrated specialty pharmacy offers an effective model
Embedding specialty pharmacy within a health system allows pharmacists to work as part of the broader care team rather than outside it. They have direct access to the clinical context, greater visibility into the treatment plan, and stronger alignment with prescribers and support staff. This type of integration makes it easier to address barriers before they become delays. It also helps streamline key access steps such as benefits investigation, prior authorization, copay assistance, patient education, therapy onboarding, and adherence monitoring.
This level of coordination is not just operationally beneficial for high-acuity populations: it can directly influence care quality and patient experience. Time to therapy is a meaningful metric in specialty care, particularly when treatment delays may affect outcomes.
Published research has already shown the potential value of this model for patients on an oral oncology medication. In a multisite review of 36,816 patients, Wink et al. found that patients who received oral oncolytics through integrated health system specialty pharmacies had lower mean six-month medical charges and lower oncolytic prescription costs than patients in partially integrated or non-integrated dispensing models.i The integrated group also had lower healthcare resource utilization across most categories, supporting the idea that medically integrated dispensing can reduce fragmentation and avoidable cost. While the cost measures do not reflect actual reimbursed amounts, the trends in savings highlight the role of IDNs and their HSSPs, with up to 32% savings on medical care and up to 14% savings on oral oncolytic prescriptions in a six-month follow-up timeframe and up to 38% savings on oncolytic prescriptions during the full DoT.
This level of coordination is not just operationally beneficial for high-acuity populations: it can directly influence care quality and patient experience. Time to therapy is a meaningful metric in specialty care, particularly when treatment delays may affect outcomes.
Published research has already shown the potential value of this model for patients on an oral oncology medication. In a multisite review of 36,816 patients, Wink et al. found that patients who received oral oncolytics through integrated health system specialty pharmacies had lower mean six-month medical charges and lower oncolytic prescription costs than patients in partially integrated or non-integrated dispensing models.i The integrated group also had lower healthcare resource utilization across most categories, supporting the idea that medically integrated dispensing can reduce fragmentation and avoidable cost. While the cost measures do not reflect actual reimbursed amounts, the trends in savings highlight the role of IDNs and their HSSPs, with up to 32% savings on medical care and up to 14% savings on oral oncolytic prescriptions in a six-month follow-up timeframe and up to 38% savings on oncolytic prescriptions during the full DoT.
More recent findings from Prime Therapeutics build on that foundation. Prime has reported that integrated care models may help patients begin treatment up to two days faster relative to non-integrated workflows.ii The organization has also reported more than $100 million in cumulative savings through its IntegratedRx network,iii which includes health system and medically integrated dispensing pharmacies servicing oncology and cystic fibrosis patients. Reported annual savings reached approximately $5,758 per oncology patient and $23,100 per cystic fibrosis patient, along with a reported 9 percent reduction in total medical cost of care for oncology patients.iv
Patient-reported metrics point in the same direction. Prime’s integrated model has reported 95% patient satisfaction and a Net Promoter Score of 75, compared with internal central fill benchmarks of 81% satisfaction and 34 NPS.v Additional reporting showed that 98% of patients experienced no issues obtaining prescriptions and 96% said the pharmacy was easy to do business with.vi For patients managing complex therapies, a smoother experience is not a minor advantage. It is part of what enables continuity of care.
Patient-reported metrics point in the same direction. Prime’s integrated model has reported 95% patient satisfaction and a Net Promoter Score of 75, compared with internal central fill benchmarks of 81% satisfaction and 34 NPS.v Additional reporting showed that 98% of patients experienced no issues obtaining prescriptions and 96% said the pharmacy was easy to do business with.vi For patients managing complex therapies, a smoother experience is not a minor advantage. It is part of what enables continuity of care.
Reporting on a 2026 analysis found that prescriptions routed to outside pharmacies were associated with 60% higher odds of not being picked up, while hospital pharmacies demonstrated shorter turnaround times.vii Integrated specialty pharmacy is not just a workflow improvement – it is a better standard for high-touch care. As specialty therapies grow more complex, health systems can reduce fragmentation, improve access, and deliver greater value by bringing pharmacy closer to the point of care and more tightly into the patient journey.
Disclosure: Cencora works with organizations across the specialty pharmacy ecosystem, including Prime Therapeutics, and supports health systems participating in integrated specialty pharmacy models
Sources:
i. Wink, Scott, et al. Impact of health system specialty pharmacies on total cost of care in cancer treatment, a multisite review. Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice. 7 July 2023. Accessed 20 July 2026. Available online at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37649402/
ii. Prime Therapeutics. IntegratedRx® solutions (program overview and reported metrics). Accessed 26 June 2026. Available online at: https://www.primetherapeutics.com/integratedrx
iii. Myshko, Denise. Prime saves $100 million in 4 years by keeping specialty pharmacy inside health systems. Managed Healthcare Executive. 17 March 2026. Accessed 26 June 2026. Available online at: https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/prime-saves-100-million-in-4-years-by-keeping-specialty-pharmacy-inside-health-systems
iv. Based on actual claims of current Prime clients with these networks, 1/1/21 – 12/31/25.
v. Prime Therapeutics. Prime Therapeutics recognized at PBMI for award-winning solutions, leaders [Press release]. 6 September 2024. Accessed 26 June 2026. Available online at: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/prime-therapeutics-recognized-at-pbmi-for-award-winning-solutions-leaders-302239964.html
vi. Prime Therapeutics. IntegratedRx® earns 95% satisfaction rating. 24 October 2023. Accessed 6 June 2026. Available online at: https://www.primetherapeutics.com/w/integratedrx-earns-95-satisfaction-rating
vii. Myshko, Denise. Prime saves $100 million in 4 years by keeping specialty pharmacy inside health systems.
