Longitude Health will launch a specialty pharmacy initiative early next year to try to boost patients' access to expensive, complex drugs.
Longitude Rx is the first endeavor from Longitude Health, the new health system-led company that aims to improve hospital operations. Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health, Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System, Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Novant Health and Renton, Washington-based Providence last month formed Longitude Health, which health system executives have described as a testing ground to expand access to drugs, bolster care coordination and streamline billing processes.
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Health systems and insurers are eyeing the specialty pharmacy sector, which is an estimated $400 billion market. Specialty pharmacies typically pair drug dispensing with clinical programs to treat complex diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
Jigar Thakkar, the former chief pharmacy officer and chief administrative officer at OU Health, is the CEO of Longitude Rx, according to a Monday news release.
At OU Health, Thakkar led the nonprofit system’s specialty pharmacy expansion in 2021. Oklahoma City-based OU Health worked with specialty pharmacy management company Clearway Health to expedite the prior authorization process by dispatching patient/health plan liaisons, according to Clearway.
Longitude Rx will seemingly take a similar approach to try to make drugs more affordable and limit prescription delays. An estimated 80% of all Food and Drug Administration approvals are considered specialty medications, requiring the right care delivery models, Thakkar said in an emailed statement.
“Longitude Rx will accomplish this through a model of care teams, expertise, data analytics and the leverage of existing health system member capabilities,” he said.
Longitude Rx’s vision is to not only improve access to specialty medications, but link those drugs to guidance from highly specialized pharmacists and diagnostics, Longitude Health CEO Paul Mango said in the news release.
“We are at an inflection point in the pace of new cell and gene therapy introductions,” he said. “Health systems often face market, regulatory, and competitive barriers to obtaining and administering these therapies to their patients and communities.”
