Advancing Patient Care Through Specialty Pharmacy Services in an Academic Health System.

Background: With the rapid growth of specialty pharmacies, including those within academic health systems, pharmacists have the opportunity to improve patient care through the management of specialty medications. Specialty pharmacists within academic health systems are uniquely positioned to overcome restrictions to medication access, financial constraints, and provider burdens that often lead to obstacles for patients to start and maintain necessary treatments. The Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy (VSP) model at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) provides an example of a patient-centered, collaborative care prototype that places pharmacists directly into specialty clinics to assist with comprehensive management of patients on specialty medications.