Specialty Pharmacy

Catalog description

The Specialty Pharmacy Elective course aims to prepare students for future interactions with the practice of specialty pharmacy. Our focus will center on three areas of this practice: (1.) The structure and the continued evolution of the specialty pharmacy model. (2.) The construction of effective clinical arguments to support access to specialty pharmacy medications. (3.) The current roles of specialty pharmacists in patient care. This course will discuss clinical care of different medical conditions to help expose students to skills that are unique to or highly utilized by specialty pharmacists. Topics covered will vary based on available speakers, class composition, and topic interest. Clinical conditions that have been covered in the past and could be revisited include Severe Asthma, Inflammatory diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV, Hepatitis C, Migraines, Oncology, Fertility, and Cholesterol. Core topics covered will include the specialty pharmacy model, key stakeholders, drug pricing dynamics, specialty medication access to patients, providers and pharmacies, specialty pharmacy accreditation, and careers in specialty pharmacy. We will utilize a mix of lecture, simulation activities, student presentations, and clinical documentation activities to help prepare you for pharmacy careers directly within or outside this unique and rapidly growing segment of pharmacy practice.