A recent Italian study published in Frontiers in Public Health examined the effect of including a pharmacist in the Department of Abdominal Oncology’s clinical multidisciplinary team at the National Cancer Institute of Naples, Italy. The study’s key finding was that “the reimbursement process of biologics in gastrointestinal oncology can be improved when a health policy reimbursement professional Pharmacist is integrated in the multidisciplinary team along with clinicians.”
The authors provide context:
“Uncertainty of clinical outcomes and high costs are among the main challenges of innovative drugs; the first issue needs to be faced with intensive clinical and translational research, the second one has prompted the adoption of refunding systems including MEA [Managed Entry Agreements]. The results of this report indicate that MEA are an important source of reimbursement for innovative drugs but this system requires highly skilled and dedicated personnel. In the new era of high-cost innovative biologic drugs, professionals figures, beside clinicians, should be involved in the management of economic-related issues of anti-neoplastic agents.”
Read the study to learn more about how pharmacists can help the reimbursement process.
