Insights and Takeaways from the 2025 NASP Annual Meeting and Expo
The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) hosted its Annual Meeting and Expo on September 14-17, 2025, where attendees, including representatives from Clearway Health, had the opportunity to connect with industry leaders, explore the latest trends in specialty pharmacy and gain practical insights to improve patient care. The event is intended to help shape and change the future of specialty pharmacy and improve the patient journey. Specialty pharmacy insights and takeaways from our Clearway Health attendees included the following.
Pharmacist Intervention and Workflow Innovations
AI Integration Assisting with Workflow
“An AI discussion forum highlighted different opportunities for AI integration to assist with optimizing workflow. Technology can be tailored to each individual hospital or health system needs in all areas of the specialty pharmacy operations, such as refill calls, prior-authorization submissions and patient notifications.” - Edlyn Hwang, PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist, Signature Healthcare
Site of Care Optimization
“There is a significant interest among health system specialty pharmacies for site of care optimization. This is driven by payor preferences and patient convenience considerations. I learned a good deal about the considerations, gap analysis and roadmap on how to develop an infusion service line from ground up.” - Aman Kehasse, PharmD, PhD, Director, Clinical Programs and Drug Information
Pharmacist Intervention Tracking Tools
“Following the NASP pharmacist intervention recommendation; there seems to be good buy in from specialty pharmacies to develop pharmacist intervention tracking tools as a value proposition for cost saving or avoidance opportunities.” - Aman Kehasse, PharmD, PhD, Director, Clinical Programs and Drug Information
Clinical Intervention in Specialty Pharmacy
“Many clinical interventions are handled by pharmacists and techs, but not all interventions are seen as clinical. Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is viewed as the most clinical in nature and is also documented more often and with greater detail while interventions around SDOHs are less clinical and thus documented less. The main purpose of documenting interventions is for accreditation purposes.” - Aaron Pottmeyer, Client Development Executive
Market Drivers and New Medications
Rising Demand for Specialty Pharmacy
“The role of specialty pharmacy continues to expand as new, innovative therapies are developed. These treatments are transforming patient outcomes, but patient access is still a major concern. Specialty pharmacy teams are critical in ensuring patients have timely access to life-saving medications.” - Donisha Lewis, PharmD, BCACP, Clinical Program Coordinator
GLP-1 Usage Growing
“GLP-1 usage is growing rapidly, with data showing a 587% increase in prescriptions for overweight or obese adults between 2019 and 2024. The one-year net trend for GLP-1s for weight loss was a 210.2% increase in 2023 and 148.7% in 2024, with patient adoption continuing to surge in growth. Hospital and health system-led specialty pharmacy programs have a duty and responsibility to play a role in including GLP-1s in specialty programs to provide optimal intended clinical outcomes and financial stability.” - Allison Arant, Senior Vice President, Client Development and Marketing
Cell and Gene Therapy Potential
“A cell and gene therapy session highlighted the potential of over 2,000 clinical trials underway. The session also discussed the challenges with delivering novel treatments to people with various social determinants of health (SDOH) barriers and what the process entails. Most impactful was the story of the patient who was treated for sickle cell and her journey to get where she is today.” - Andrew O'Dell, Client Development Executive
Large Number of Scripts Unfilled
“It was shocking to learn the large number of scripts that go unfilled as result of payor rejections and patients not filling their medications - 27% go unfilled. Over half of new novel medications go unfilled.”-Andrew O'Dell, Client Development Executive
Cancer and Obesity Specialty Drugs
“Cancer and obesity related health conditions are driving the highest volume and cost of specialty drugs, and this trend appears to be sticking around.” - Aaron Pottmeyer, Client Development Executive
New Guidelines to Improve Specialty Pharmacy
NASP Program Finalized to Support Clinical Interventions and Demonstrate Value
“The NASP Clinical Outcomes Committee has finalized recommendations for defining, measuring, reporting and associating value with clinical interventions. A formal, NASP-recognized program to support clinical interventions will help demonstrate consistent value of clinical programs in specialty pharmacy to payors, manufacturers and help to advance specialty pharmacy accreditation, access to limited distribution drugs and elevate specialty pharmacy as an integrated member of the care team.” - Allison Arant, Senior Vice President, Client Development and Marketing
Changes to CMS’s Social Determinants of Health
“Social determinants of health (SDOH) are documented for CMS in the inpatient level; however, this may be shifting to both the inpatient and outpatient settings in 2026. Not only should SDOH be a focus, but health-related social needs (HRSNs), such as food security, housing, utility instability, financial instability, transportation, and health literacy, should be evaluated to improve adherence to medications by connecting patients to support systems to address the overall patient’s health and well-being. The tool that can be used is a short survey, HRSN screening tool.” - Edlyn Hwang, PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist, Signature Healthcare
Hepatitis B Updated Guidelines
“The review of the disease state was helpful to increase my knowledge about lab serology interpretation. Secondly, I learned about the new guidelines, such as the recommendations for antiviral prophylaxis for low, moderate and high-risk individuals.” - Brenda Shih, PharmD, BCACP, Clinical Pharmacist, NeighborHealth Boston