Central Pharmacy Services Center earns URAC accreditation in Specialty Pharmacy

Louisville, KY (Dec. 2, 2024) - Baptist Health’s Central Pharmacy Services Center has earned full URAC designation to facilitate prescription fulfillment of specialty medications throughout the system.

This accreditation allows the Central Pharmacy to provide expanded specialty medication services to patients cared for at Baptist Health hospitals and Baptist Health Medical Group practices throughout the system.

URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality by setting high standards for clinical practice, consumer protections, performance measurement, operations infrastructure and risk management. The Baptist Health Lexington Community Pharmacy location also has full URAC accreditation in Specialty Pharmacy.

The URAC designation expands access to even more limited-distribution specialty medications, which will allow Baptist Health to impact patient care more broadly. Specialty medications are used to treat rare or complex diseases, such as HIV, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and Type 2 diabetes.

Baptist Health currently fills approximately 5,000 specialty prescriptions per month, and that number is expected to continue to increase, according to Leslie Hurst, PharmD, BCACP, associate vice president of Specialty Pharmacy & PBM Strategy.

“This volume is expanding with our growing clinic presence and future plans to market services to broader clinics within the Medical Group,” Hurst said. “Expanding our URAC specialty pharmacy accreditation to the shared services pharmacy allows all patients who receive a prescription for a specialty medication to receive the gold standard of care.” 

This elevated level of care includes: 

• Regular medication reviews and education by a pharmacist. 
• Coordination of care with providers and care teams. 
• Prior authorization completion. 
• Enrollment in financial assistance programs. 
• Proactive reauthorization with insurance and copay assistance. 
• Monthly refill outreach and check ins for adherence, side effects, and other barriers, such as affordability. 

In addition, Hurst said patients who fill specialty medications through Baptist Health will receive them usually within two to three days rather than potentially waiting weeks for delivery from out-of-state pharmacies’ mail order services. The quick turnaround will allow patients to get started on their medications earlier, which will help facilitate better health outcomes, she said. 

Additional advantages include: 

• Some pharmaceutical manufacturers require a pharmacy to have URAC accreditation to dispense their specialty medications. 
• Some insurance plans will pay for a specialty medication only if it is dispensed from a URAC-accredited pharmacy.  
• The ease of working with Baptist Health specialty pharmacies can alleviate some of the stress and burden on patients who may be overwhelmed with their diagnosis.