As part of the PANTHERx Specialty Pharmacy Fellowship Program, our 2018-2019 fellows, Olivia Goss, Pharm.D., and Brandon Barry, Pharm.D., conducted research and presented their findings at the 2019 AMCP Conference. As our fellowship year draws to a close, we reflect on the research results of our fellows:
About the Research Projects
Dr. Goss centered her research around analysis of demographic and clinical differences between patients taking valbenazine 40 mg once daily and patients taking valbenazine 80 mg once daily. Valbenazine is a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor indicated for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in adult patients. Valbenazine is available in 40 mg and 80 mg capsules, with FDA-labeling recommending patients begin therapy with one 40 mg capsule by mouth daily for one week, then titrate to one 80 mg capsule daily thereafter. However, the labeling also states, “continuation of the 40 mg capsule may be appropriate for some patients.” The definition of that patient population is not provided in the labeling.
A retrospective database analysis was completed on all patients receiving valbenazine between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. Data was collected from a single specialty pharmacy and variables of interest included patient demographics, medication profile, prescriber base (specialist vs. generalist), and adherence rates.
Based on this study, it was concluded that the 40 mg daily dose of valbenazine was more commonly utilized in females and patients aged 65 and older. Further research into the differences in each of these cohorts could provide key insights and optimize outcomes for patients living with tardive dyskinesia.
Click here to review Dr. Goss’s research poster:PANTHERx Valbenzine Research Poster
Dr. Barry’s research explored the value of medication specific referral forms and aimed to determine if targeted changes to manufacturer-developed referral forms resulted in fewer discrepancies, prescriber clarifications, and impacted initial turnaround time for specialty medications. The study examined 3 different therapies and utilized 200 randomly selected enrollment forms from each.
It was concluded that there is measurable value in medication specific enrollment forms. Targeted referral form changes can lead to a reduction in the need for clarifications between the specialty pharmacy and the prescriber. The study did not find any meaningful change in the rate of patient consent between manufacturer-developed and drug-specific enrollment forms. Notably, it was discovered that referral form discrepancies had minimal impact on initial medication turnaround times for patients.
Click here to review Dr. Barry’s research poster:PANTHERx Referral Form Research Poster
