Impact of an Integrated Health System Specialty Pharmacy on Clinical and Operational Outcomes in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

PURPOSE: Pharmacist inclusion in the cystic fibrosis (CF) multidisciplinary care team is essential to optimize patient management and outcomes. We evaluated the impact of an integrated health system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) model paired with a pharmacist-led collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) program on outcomes for people with CF (pwCF). SUMMARY: In a single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study of 191 pwCF (52% male, mean age of 23) from an academic medical center who were filling prescriptions at the affiliated HSSP and enrolled in the CDTM program from September 2023 to September 2024, 67% were initiated in fewer than two days and 78% had a proportion of days covered > 80%. The average medication out-of-pocket cost for the cohort was $5.14 per prescription, with 91% having no copay. Over 12 months, there were three unplanned emergency department visits, five hospitalizations, and seven CF pulmonary exacerbations reported. CONCLUSIONS: The integration of a CDTM program with a HSSP demonstrated positive outcomes for pwCF, highlighting the value of an integrated pharmacy model and role of pharmacists in the CF care team.