A National Survey on the Prevalence and Impact of Multiple Pharmacy Use in Specialty Pharmacy

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Specialty medications often have dispensing restrictions which can be dictated by manufacturer limited distribution strategies, narrow insurance networks, or a combination of both. Unfortunately, this may result in patients being required to use 2 or more pharmacies to fill their prescription medications; this is referred to as multiple pharmacy use (MPU). The investigators' plan is to administer a survey to patients who have been prescribed one or more specialty medications to evaluate the prevalence of MPU in this population as well as to investigate patients' attitudes about MPU and potential factors increasing the likelihood of MPU

Detailed Description
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The investigators will identify patients from participating member sites via a review of prescribing records for specific specialty medications. Patients will be contacted via telephone to explain the purpose and risk of the study. Consented patients will then be asked a series of 11 questions about their attitudes and experience with taking and obtaining their specialty medication(s). Additional demographic and clinical information about patients will be collected via chart review.

Official Title
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A National Survey on the Prevalence and Impact of Multiple Pharmacy Use in Specialty Pharmacy

Conditions
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Health Services Accessibility

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Survey


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Subjects 18 years of age or older English-speakers An active patient of a performance institution and ability to provide informed consent to participate with the survey Electronically prescribed at least one specialty medication by a performance site provider, which can be either a new or renewed order, within the last 3 months Exclusion Criteria: Subjects less than 18 years of age Non-English speakers Patients that cannot or are unwilling to provide consent Patients who have not had a new or renewed specialty medication prescription order placed electronically within the last 3 months

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Specialty Pharmacy Patient<br>Patients who have been prescribed at least one selected specialty medication | Other: Survey<br>* Multiple Pharmacy Use Survey<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Percentage of Patients using Multiple Pharmacies | Of all patients consented, the percentage of patients using more than one pharmacy to obtain their medications | Within one year of study initiation | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Self-reported adherence and barriers | Patient response to questions about having missed doses in the past month | Within one year of study initiation | 
| Method of obtaining medications | Patient response to questions about distance from pharmacy and how prescriptions are primarily obtained | Within one year of study initiation | 
| Experience with obtaining and administering medications | Patient response to questions about how easy it is for patients to obtain and administer medication | Within one year of study initiation |