The Specialty Pharmacist's Role in Educating Patients about Biosimilars and Biologics

Ron Lanton III, Esq., discusses the specialty pharmacist's role in educating patients about biosimilars and biologics.

Ron Lanton III, Esq.: Specialty pharmacies really can help the patient in getting the education out about biologics and biosimilar products in a number of different ways. First of all, the specialty pharmacy is very educated about what products are out on the market, and they’re in close communication with the physician. It’s also going to depend on the formulary and whether or not the pharmacy benefit manager or the carrier is actually going to carry the drug on the particular formulary. So I think if it does, I mean, obviously they don’t know everything about the patient’s formulary but they can find out that information and then see whether or not that’s good for the patient to take, as far as cost and outcomes-wise. So I think that with the specialty pharmacist being positioned in the center of everything, it’s a great position to be in for them to say, ‘Look, this is coming down. This is something I think that can help you, and let’s try and see if we can lower your costs and improve your outcome.’