Specialty Pharmacy’s Dose Optimization Program Saved More Than $6 Million Last Year

As spending on specialty drugs continues to rise, payers are implementing various utilization management strategies in an effort to rein in their costs. While prior authorization and step therapy are perhaps the most common tactics, other approaches, such as quantity limits, site-of-care optimization and dose optimization also can be successful tools, as evidenced by one specialty pharmacy’s recent announcement.

In September, AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy revealed that its use of dose optimization resulted in $6.2 million in savings in 2021. The strategy reduces the number of dispensed units of an oral, injectable or infusible agent while delivering the same appropriate dose. Some manufacturers charge the same or similar price for different doses of a drug, so if a patient is given a prescription for two 10 mg tablets per day, and a 20 mg tablet is available, it can be more efficient and economical for the patient to take the single 20 mg tablet.

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Angela Maas

Angela Maas

Angela has an extensive background of editing, reporting and writing for trade and consumer publications. She has written Radar on Specialty Pharmacy since she joined AIS Health in 2005 and has broad knowledge of the various issues at play within the space. She also has written for Spotlight on Market Access since its 2017 launch. Before joining AIS Health, she was managing editor at Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit News Canada and managing editor at Hem Aware (a hemophilia publication), Lupus Living and Momentum (a multiple sclerosis publication). She has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in British literature from Arizona State University.

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