Acentrus Specialty Welcomes New Clients to the Nation’s Largest Network of Health System and Hospital Specialty Pharmacies

Acentrus Specialty™, a network of health systems and hospitals committed to providing specialty pharmacy care for their patients, welcomes nine new clients: Allegheny Health Network, Cone Health, Cape Fear Valley Health, Eskenazi Health, Huntington Hospital, Miller County Hospital, Swedish American Hospital, Tulane Pharmacy, and University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston. This growth has expanded the Acentrus network to 115 hospitals and health systems, the largest specialty pharmacy network for integrated health systems in the United States.

“Acentrus is dedicated to helping our clients gain access to the life-saving medications their patients need,” says George Zula, Acentrus Specialty vice president. “Health systems and hospitals face challenges in providing specialty pharmacy care because of limited distribution drug agreements and payer barriers, which restrict access. When patient care remains within a health system rather than outsourced, the quality and continuity of care is greatly enhanced.”

Participation in Acentrus is open to hospital organizations of all sizes, types, and affiliations. Clients, which range from academic medical centers to community-based hospitals, share one goal: to provide their patients with high-quality care in a setting where clinical and pharmacy services are integrated.

There is no cost for an organization to join the Acentrus network, which provides health systems and hospitals with the following benefits:

• Access to difficult-to-obtain specialty medications
• Data management
• Collaboration with health system peers dedicated to sharing best practices
• Portfolio of other services to help hospital-based specialty pharmacies meet the needs of their patients, including backup and contract pharmacy as well as expertise in licensing and accreditation
• Strategies to assist clients in gaining access to payer networks

“Acentrus gives health systems and hospitals the tools they need to operate specialty pharmacies that provide local, personal, integrated, and cost-effective patient care,” says Pedram Pahlavan, Acentrus senior director of specialty pharmacy. “Exceptional patient care can happen only when health systems and hospitals are able to support their patients with an integrated care approach that includes specialty pharmacy.”

Specialty medications represent the fastest growth sector in pharmacy, with 1-2% of all claims accounting for 50-60% of all expenses. Specialty pharmaceuticals are typically limited distribution drugs available only to certain providers through exclusive networks established by manufacturers.

About Acentrus Specialty

Acentrus Specialty is the nation’s largest health system specialty pharmacy network, uniting 115 health systems and hospitals committed to providing patients with exceptional, local specialty pharmacy care integrated with clinical care to optimize health outcomes. The Acentrus network of academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, and community hospitals represents nearly 5 million annual inpatient admissions. Follow Acentrus on LinkedIn or on the web at acentrusrx.com.

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