Tiffany Phung and Tim Cutler on why specialty pharmacy research pays off | HSES 2026

Specialty pharmacy research is one of the most effective ways for health systems to justify their services and show their value to manufacturers and payers, according to two pharmacy leaders at UC Davis Health. Tim Cutler, Pharm.D., BCGP, associate chief pharmacy officer for ambulatory and outpatient services, and Tiffany Phung, Pharm.D., CSP, director of specialty pharmacy, value, trade relations and market access, spoke with Managed Healthcare Executive at the 2026 Health System Executive Summit.

“Leadership positions and justifying services is about storytelling, and research is one of the most effective ways to tell stories where you actually have real evidence to support what you’re saying,” Cutler said.

That research needs to be clinically relevant and show the value and outcomes of the work frontline staff do. For Phung, who oversees drug access, it is central to conversations with manufacturers: information captured in daily work, such as how patients responded to therapy and patient-reported outcomes, becomes research that supports the health system’s value proposition.

For organizations without dedicated research infrastructure, Cutler said UC Davis Health started with “a culture of inquiry” and gave staff dedicated time for research rather than leaving it for after hours. Early successes led to more research and more staff wanting to take part. Phung said celebrating wins helps keep that momentum going. Cutler added that structure matters, since research without it is “very chaotic.” Even without a full-time research position, a lead who organizes submissions and supports study questions and design, along with access to biostatisticians, can be very valuable. Phung said a project manager helps teams hit deadlines and understand the purpose of the work.

Rare diseases and limited distribution therapies create a natural opportunity for real-world evidence, Phung said. Patient populations are small, questions remain after approval and many of these drugs are fast-tracked, so manufacturers want to understand how they perform. UC Davis Health tracks how quickly patients get their medications, how they do on therapy, where the care gaps are and what it takes to keep them on treatment. The health system, which has a rare disease distinction, works with manufacturers early on what to measure, though it makes that determination itself, and is working on a multisite research project.

Cutler said that partnership has produced direct results. “We would never have access to some of the drugs we have access to if we didn’t have good data, good research, and good support in order to get access to those medications,” he said.

In this video, Phung and Cutler discuss why research matters for specialty pharmacy and how health systems can start building a program.