Faster, More Convenient, More Direct From Manufacturer. Leaders Talk About the Future of Pharmacy Services | Asembia's AXS25 Summit

Pharmacy industry leaders painted a picture of the future pharmacy services that will be faster, more convenient, more dependent on pharmacists, AI-boosted and built on more direct connections to drug manufacturers at a session yesterday at Asembia’s AXS25 Summit in Las Vegas.

Guillermo Sollberger, J.D., senior vice president of Humana’s CenterWell Specialty Pharmacy, used the session to talk about the announcement that Novo Nordisk was expanding direct-to-consumer sales of its weight loss drug, Wegovy (semaglutide) tp three telehealth companies: Hims & Hers Health, Inc., LifeMD and Ro. CenterWell is serving as the fulfillment pharmacy of those direct-to-consumer prescriptions.

“I think the direct-to-patient model distribution model will continue to evolve. Patients are seeking that solution. We all have to stay nimble in order to provide the service that they want, the way they want it served. And I think that it's going to expand into other categories, such as migraine and men’s and women’s health,” Sollberger said.

Tanvi Patel, M.S., MBA, vice president and general manager, Amazon Pharmacy, noted that her company partnered with Eli Lilly last year to fulfill prescriptions for Lilly’s direct-to-consumer program, LillyDirect. The drugs available through LillyDirect include Zepbound (tirzepatide), Lilly’s weight-loss drug competitor to Wegovy; Emglality (galcanezumab), a migraine medication; as well as a variety of Lilly’s insulin products.

Guided by questions asked by the moderator, Bruce Japsen, who writes about healthcare for Forbes, panelists ranged over a variety of topics that were centered on how pharmacy services can be delivered to meet patients “where they are” to improve access to healthcare and use of medications.

Lucille Accetta, RPh, M.P.H., MBA, senior vice president, chief pharmacy officer and head of specialty operations for CVS Health, spoke about the high rate of use of CVS’s app and the integration of pharmacy information into patients’ medical records. The advantage of delivering care at home was a theme of the discussion, and Accetta expanded on the home infusion as an example.

“Infusing these therapies in the home is really critical for patients,” she said. “They really prefer it in the home. And if you look at the cost to the healthcare system, it's significantly more for that same drug to be infused in a hospital setting or in other settings outside of the home. So you're actually helping the healthcare system by promoting that infusion in the home.” Accetta noted that home infusion nurses are sometimes in people’s homes for six to eight hours. “They’re unmatched, I would say, our specialty nurses in how they perform. I’ve heard from doctors.” Accetta added that CVS has “really invested in being able to take patients from the hospital to the home and keep them at a more cost-effective site of care when it comes to infusing specialty drugs.”

Both Accetta and Sollberger spoke about their company’s bricks-and-mortar clinics and efforts to address the much-lamented fragmentation of U.S. healthcare by integrating the medical and pharmacy services. Sollberger said Humana operates 340 senior-focused primary care organizations in 18 states. He said company research has shown that patients who get both healthcare at the company’s clinics and its pharmacy services are more adherent to their medications and have lower costs.

“We've got to figure out how to scale that,” Sollberger said. “How do we scale that where we don't have clinics? How do we work together to make sure there's integration for that patient so that they do stay on therapy and we can address any gaps in therapy?"

Accetta mentioned CVS’ Oak Street Clinics serving in underserved communities and that many of them have integrated pharmacy services.

Patel touted Amazon Pharmacy’s efforts to get medications delivered to people’s homes as quickly as possible. “We’re investing a ton in speed,” she said. Currently, the company can get medications to any ZIP code in the country within two days. She said the goal is to have same-day delivery to half of Americans by the end of this year.