By Michael Reff

For cancer patients, time is perhaps the most precious commodity.

Years ago, a patient at our medically integrated oncology practice had just come from radiology and was now ready for her medication that was just prescribed by her oncologist. From her wheelchair with her husband by her side, she expected to receive her medication and be on her way.

The woman’s insurance covered the specialized medication, and we had it in stock. But unless she could pay a large costly penalty out of pocket, we could not provide it to her because of a complex and broken system that often forces cancer patients to rely on mail-order pharmacies that could be thousands of miles away – rather than the pharmacist standing right in front of her. A delay in treatment can be detrimental to a cancer patient.

That experience was the catalyst that led me to create NCODA, the leading nonprofit focused on the patient-centered medically integrated oncology practice.

After years of work, I believe we finally have a game-changing opportunity that will without question improve patient and clinician experience, provide better health outcomes, and lower cost of care. With the significant increase in oral oncolytics, the need to dispense prescriptions from the first to last fill quickly has become critical in overall patient success. 

To address this challenge NCODA has forged a new collaboration with a prominent pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Prime Therapeutics, on an accreditation program that would allow pharmacies within an oncology practice to go beyond the first fill. Through Prime’s new medically integrated pharmacy credentialing program, NCODA’s Accreditation will be a preferred requisite as it upholds the gold standards, tools and resources that empowers medically integrated pharmacies (MIPs) to deliver the highest level of performance that brings sustainability and value to all stakeholders.

This collaboration with Prime Therapeutics will benefit millions of Americans across the country and is an important first step, one we are confident will transform the future of oncology pharmacy. For cancer patients, timing can be everything. Through this approach of dispensing medications from first to last within the MIP, we can put treatments in their hands the moment they need them – allowing them to begin treatment immediately.

As early as 7 years ago, a collaborative and connected process like this wasn’t even within the realm of possibility. It’s my hope that in the near future, medically integrated oncology pharmacies will be so commonplace that people will question why it had ever been done differently. That’s the power of innovation and the effect of bringing together smart, patient-centered stakeholders who recognize the value of a win-win-win situation for all.

This may not fix every problem in health care, but it can make a tremendous difference in the lives of cancer patients. That’s the kind of breakthrough that benefits everyone.

Michael Reff is the Executive Director and Founder of NCODA. You can learn more at www.ncoda.org/accreditation.