Diplomat found that competing successfully with large specialty pharmacies owned by Cigna/ESI, CVS Health/Caremark and UnitedHealth/OptumRx has been more difficult than projected
Accredo Health Group (Accredo), an Express Scripts Company is a specialty pharmacy that serves patients with complex and chronic health conditions, including cancer, hepatitis C, HIV, bleeding disorders and multiple sclerosis. Accredo is focused on dispensing injectable, infused, oral or inhaled drugs that require a higher level of clinical service and support than traditional pharmacies […]
Amazon Alexa announced that it now is capable of transmitting and receiving protected health information. Its new HIPAA-compliant status means that operators and residents alike may find more reasons to use the device. The company has been working with six organizations to develop “skills” to manage a variety of healthcare needs at home simply using […]
OptumRx acquired two pharmaceutical companies in the third quarter of 2018: Genoa Healthcare and Avella Specialty Pharmacy. Listen closely and you can hear Amazon’s footprints as the reason for these acquisitions. Amazon’s recent acquisition of PillPack has accelerated merger and consolidation activities among insurers and pharmacies. UnitedHealth Group is following the strategy seen earlier this year […]
Express Scripts Divesting United Biosource. Express Scripts and Avista Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm, recently announced that Avista has signed a definitive agreement to acquire United BioSource (UBC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Express Scripts Holding Company. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, UBC is a leading provider of pharmaceutical and patient […]
Care outside the hospital, like P&T committee responsibilities outside the hospital, is necessarily different. New processes and solutions, such as cloud computing, can help improve performance and transparency of benefit management for purchasers or users of health care services. The current role of PBMs includes concurrent improvement in health outcomes, so the take-home message is […]
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Market Continues to Evolve. Recent consolidation in the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry has resulted in major market share divided by the three market leaders: Express Scripts, CVS Health (Caremark), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth Group). PBMs remain searching for a value proposition beyond drug distribution with their employer clients. As long as PBMs […]
Department of Defense Drug Cost-Savings Programs. The Department of Defense pharmacy program is on to track to slice $1.3 billion off projected drug costs from 2014 to 2019, thanks to higher beneficiary co-pays, tighter point-of-service rules and recent streamlining of prescription drug processes across the military, explained Dr. George E. Jones, chief of pharmacy operations […]