Findings from Belmont University College of Pharmacy Provide New Insights into Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy (Comparing rates of primary medication nonadherence and turnaround time among patients at a health system specialty pharmacy …): Drugs and Therapies – Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy

2026 MAR 09 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at NewsRx Drug Daily -- New research on Drugs and Therapies - Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Nashville, Tennessee, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Access to specialty medications prescribed for complex and debilitating conditions is often delayed or unsuccessful. Specialty pharmacies can streamline medication access and timely delivery.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the Belmont University College of Pharmacy, “To compare primary medication nonadherence (PMN), the rate at which a prescription is written but not obtained by the patient, and turnaround time (TAT) between patients filling specialty medication with an integrated health system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) and those using external specialty pharmacies (non-HSSP). A retrospective single-center cohort study was performed between June 2021 and May 2022. Patients prescribed specialty medications from the Vanderbilt Health System Oncology, Inflammatory, or Multiple Sclerosis clinics were included if they had a new prescription within the study period and follow-up encounter after the prescription. The primary outcome was PMN, defined as the prescribed medication or therapeutic alternative confirmed to not be filled. TAT was defined as time from a specialty medication prescription to the first filled claim. A logistic regression model was used to test for associations with PMN and the pharmacy the medication was sent to (HSSP vs non-HSSP), controlling for age, sex, clinic, race, and insurance. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to test for associations with TAT and the filling pharmacy (HSSP vs non-HSSP), controlling for age, sex, clinic, race, and insurance. There were 1,466 patients with 1 eligible prescription (67% HSSP and 33% non-HSSP) evaluated for PMN. Of these patients, the median age was 56 (interquartile range [IQR] 41-68) years, 55% of patients were female, and 56% had commercial insurance. PMN was 6.5% for HSSP patients, and 9.9% for non-HSSP patients. Patients who had a prescription sent to non-HSSP pharmacies had 60% higher odds of having PMN ( = 0.027). For the TAT outcome, 1,188 eligible patients were included (66% HSSP and 34% non-HSSP). TAT for patients filling at an HSSP was a median 3 (1-6) days and a median 4 (1-10) days for patients filling at a non-HSSP. Patients who filled at non-HSSP pharmacies had 40% higher odds of having a longer TAT (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1-1.7, = 0.004). Patients using commercial insurance ( = 0.018) and Black patients ( = 0.018) had higher odds of a longer TAT.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Prescriptions sent to non-HSSP specialty pharmacies are more likely to not be filled or to take longer to fill than those sent to an HSSP.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Comparing rates of primary medication nonadherence and turnaround time among patients at a health system specialty pharmacy compared with external specialty pharmacies. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 2026;32(3):300-311. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy can be contacted at: Acad Managed Care Pharmacy, 100 N Pitt St, 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-3134, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Sarah Layne, Belmont University College of Pharmacy, Nashville, TN. Additional authors for this research include Katie R. Cruchelow, Josh DeClercq, Leena Choi and Autumn D. Zuckerman.

The publisher of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy can be contacted at: Acad Managed Care Pharmacy, 100 N Pitt St, 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-3134, USA.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)