OBJECTIVES: Specialty pharmacy drugs (SP-D) are high-cost and for the treatment of complex conditions, e.g., cancer (O). High medication adherence and quality of life (QoL) contribute to desired treatment outcomes. SP Medication Therapy Management (SPMTM) contributes to optimal QoL and adherence; therefore, the objective is to compare adherence to oral O-SP-D with QoL metrics reported by O patients who participated in SPMTM before and after Start of Care (SOC).

METHODS: A retrospective, observational, pre-/post-design study was conducted 01/01/19-12/31/19 with n=83 unique patients on O-SP-D. Patient assessments (PA) occurred at SOC and 7-10 days before refill (F-U). PA included QoL measurement using EQ-5D-5L which has 5+1 dimensions with Likert scale (5-point and a visual analog scale (VAS)100). Dimensions summarized: Mobility, Self-Care, Usual Activities, Pain/Discomfort, and Anxiety/Depression. Likert scales summarized: None, Slight, Moderate, Severe, and Extreme plus VAS100 for Overall Health State. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the Dimensional means before and after starting SP-D/SPMTM and were compared for differences which represented improved or diminished QoL. Medication adherence was measured using the mean Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) for the F-U group.

RESULTS: The mean PDC was 0.95. The differences between QoL means before and after SP-D/SPMTM started were: Mobility -0.02 (2%), Self-Care 0 (unchanged), Usual Activities -0.12 (12%), Pain/Discomfort -0.3 (30%), Anxiety/Depression -0.22 (22%), Overall Health State +5.56 (5.56%). Minus “-” = improvement in Dimensions 1-5; Positive “+” difference = improvement in overall health state.

CONCLUSIONS: The PDC was 0.95 or 18.75% higher than industry standard of 0.8, and this was associated with improvements in QoL across all EQ-5D-5L dimensions (except Self Care) after starting on oral O-SP-D/SPMTM compared to before starting the O-SP-D. Further studies with similar patient populations are suggested to further characterize the impact of SP-D and SPMTM on adherence and QoL metrics.