Nationwide Children’s Cystic Fibrosis and Specialty Pharmacy: When You Need Medication, Everything Matters

Barrier to Access/Adherence

How Nationwide Specialty Pharmacy Can Help

Prior Authorization (PA) –when the insurance company needs more information in order to pay for your medication.

• We can quickly identify that more information is needed and  since we are directly linked to the CF Clinic we can make sure PA’s are resolved in a timely manner.
• We have a clinical pharmacist in the CF Clinic who works side-by-side with the prescribers.
• Most prior authorizations are completed same day.

Limited distribution medications – when drug manufacturers only allow certain pharmacies to dispense medications.

We have access to all limited distribution CF medications (which is not the case for most specialty pharmacies).

Multiple Pharmacies – when medications are filled at more than one pharmacy leading to more time spent refilling medications and higher risk for drug interactions.

• We can work with you to reduce the number of pharmacies you use to fill your medications even if your insurance has a preferred pharmacy.
• Reducing the number of pharmacies used by a patient reduces the risk of medication errors.

High co-pays or no insurance

• We can help you enroll in patient assistance programs to reduce your co-pays.
• If you do not have insurance, we can connect you with programs to make sure you have the medications you need.

Needing to be home all day to receive deliveries

While we do require signatures for deliveries . . .

• If delivery is preferred, we work with your schedule and can provide a 4-hour window when you can expect the delivery if needed.
• Medications may also be picked up at the hospital: 8am to midnight Monday through Friday and 9am – 7pm on the weekend!

Need for immediate treatment – when you are ill and need to start an antibiotic right away.

While other specialty pharmacies may take days to weeks to send out treatment doses, we get these medications to you same day whenever possible.

Forgetting to call for refills

• We call our specialty pharmacy patients 7 days before refills are due in order to prevent missed doses and resolve any insurance issues ahead of time
• We can request refills from Nationwide Children’s Pulmonary Clinic for you.

Difficulty taking medications as prescribed

We monitor medication adherence and can work with you to set adherence goals and suggest tools to reduce the number of missed doses.

Medication interactions and incorrect use

A pharmacist trained in CF will review your medication list with you at least every three months to ensure your medications are working the best they can for you.