Pharmacy News: BioScrip Receives URAC Accreditation in Specialty and Mail Service Pharmacy | Pharmacy Industry News

Pharmacy News: BioScrip Receives URAC Accreditation in Specialty and Mail Service Pharmacy

BioScrip Receives URAC Accreditation in Specialty and Mail Service Pharmacy

BioScrip, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOS) announced today that it has been awarded specialty pharmacy and mail service pharmacy accreditation from URAC, a Washington, D.C.-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

Specialty pharmacy and mail service pharmacy offers comprehensive oversight of the distribution, clinical management, and reimbursement of oral, injectable, and IV drug products for chronic conditions. Specialty pharmaceuticals represent the fastest growing segment of drug spending due to new product approvals, high unit costs, and increasing use.

“BioScrip is very pleased to have been awarded full accreditation for both specialty pharmacy and mail service pharmacy from URAC,” stated Richard M. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioScrip. “Going through the process challenged us to find better ways to serve our customers, and it is a constant reminder that our first responsibility is to the patient and the quality of clinical service we provide.”

URAC accreditation is granted to only a select group of organizations that demonstrate a commitment to quality standards. To achieve the accreditation for specialty pharmacy and mail service pharmacy, BioScrip participated in a complex application process which required a comprehensive review of BioScrip customer service and clinical pharmacy processes against a combined 146 quality standards by expert analysts.

“By applying for and receiving URAC accreditation, BioScrip has demonstrated a commitment to quality health care,” said Alan P. Spielman, URAC president and CEO. “Quality health care is crucial to our nation’s welfare and it is important to have organizations that are willing to measure themselves against national standards and undergo rigorous evaluation by an independent accrediting body.”

About BioScrip

BioScrip, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOS) is a national provider of specialty pharmacy and home care products and services that partners with patients, physicians, hospitals, healthcare payors and pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide clinical management solutions and delivery of cost-effective access to prescription medications. Our services are designed to improve clinical outcomes for chronic and acute healthcare conditions while controlling overall healthcare costs. Bioscrip, Inc. is also nationally accredited with the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc.

About URAC

URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, is well-known as a leader in promoting health care quality through its accreditation and certification programs. URAC offers a wide range of quality benchmarking programs and services that keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a symbol of excellence for organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC strives to ensure that all stakeholders are represented in establishing meaningful quality measures for the entire health care industry.

The pharma outsourcing industry in India will grow significantly over the years

Manish Gupta, CEO, Indegene Lifesystems Pvt Ltd discusses the career opportunities that exist in the pharma outsourcing industry

1) How is the pharma outsourcing industry faring currently?
Globally, pharmaceutical companies outsource in two large areas—clinical development and marketing. The marketing outsourcing space is larger and is where specialised agencies operate. Till now, due to the high profitability of the pharmaceutical industry and the lack of unified sourcing strategy for marketing services, this space was very fragmented. However, with the current pressure on the pharmaceutical industry, this space is transforming rapidly. Companies want to drive efficiency and effectiveness in their marketing efforts in developed markets and are looking at expertise for their rapid scale-up from their outsourcing partners in emerging markets. This is an area that we believe holds tremendous opportunities for India and will grow significantly over the next few years.

2) Which are some of the emerging career opportunities within this industry?

The new wave in the area of pharma outsourcing is in the domain of “marketing and commercialisation” services. In fact, the rapid growth of this segment has been riding on the talent available in the country. Professionals in this domain are expected to bring in-depth industry experience and global market knowledge that support a range of services across each phase of the outsourcing lifecycle.

* Medical and pharmacy graduates and postgraduates can explore careers in medical writing, patient adherence programs, and clinical trial analytics. This allows them to explore careers beyond a single clinical specialty, provides them an opportunity to remain at the cutting-edge of medical knowledge, and contributes to healthcare globally.

* Nursing professionals can play a role in managing patients across therapy in patient adherence services and patient counseling and support services.

* Creative and Art graduates can play a role in developing communication and medical illustrations and can leverage their creative and visualization skills.

* Lifescience graduates with management qualification have opportunities in areas of client services, strategy, business development, project, and operation management.

3) What are the skills and qualifications required to excel in this industry?

Apart from professional qualifications in medical and life sciences, professionals are expected to have very strong written and verbal communication skills. They also need to have the ability to work in teams, handle pressures due to tight timelines, and demonstrate passion for continuous learning. Since global outsourcing has now straddled continents, knowledge of additional foreign language is an added advantage.

4) How do you foresee the growth of this industry in the near future?

The opportunities in this industry are tremendous, with the global pharma companies facing severe cost pressures and realising that the viable way to success is exploring innovative ways to meet their existing and emerging business challenges. Global aging, increasing life expectancy, changing disease epidemiology, health awareness, and rise in disposable income in emerging markets will change the way healthcare and pharma business are conducted. Globally, companies are expanding the range of services that they want to outsource. Moving ahead from outsourcing services like manufacturing, clinical trials, and R&D outsourcing, global pharma companies are now seriously considering and outsourcing marketing and commercialisation services.

Portsmouth’s Healthy Living Pharmacies Return to Fratton Park this Saturday

Portsmouth’s Healthy Living Pharmacies are returning to Fratton Park this Saturday.

Seven pharmacy Healthy Living Champions will be at Portsmouth FC’s match against Preston this Saturday, based on board the Pompey bus in the main car park. They will be offering fans a chance to check up on their health and ask any questions about healthy lifestyles or the NHS services on offer in their local pharmacy. The drop in event starts at 1pm and will continue until kick off.

The event follows on from a range of successful community outing for the city’s 15 Healthy Living Pharmacies. In the past month Health Living Champions have set up health stalls at venues including colleges, pubs and churches. The team were last at Fratton Park in February when they spoke to dozens of fans.

“People understand and remember the services they can get in a healthy living pharmacy best when they have conversation about it, even if it is only a few minutes.” said Health Living Champion, Sophie Furmedge from Rowland’s Pharmacy in Fratton Road.

“Pharmacies in Portsmouth are knowledgeable, friendly, able to support people with a whole range of lifestyle changes, and all have a private room. It may be very different from how people remember it. There are Healthy Living Pharmacies open everyday of the week and into the evening so people can come in when they find it most convenient,” Sophie added.

The first Healthy Living Pharmacies were launched by NHS Portsmouth in June last year the project has won national recognition from the health chiefs and the pharmacy industry. Services offered include NHS Stop Smoking support, weight management, emergency contraception, medicine use reviews and alcohol support.

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