For 2014, we estimate that retail, mail, and specialty pharmacies dispensed about $78 billion in specialty pharmaceuticals.
How many pharmacies dispensed these drugs? Surprisingly, we still can’t definitively answer this question, as I explain below. To measure specialty pharmacy growth, I worked with a renowned mathematician to crunch data from URAC, an independent accreditation company.
The number of accredited specialty pharmacies is still booming. As of late December 2014, 89 companies with 151 specialty pharmacy locations had achieved “Full Accreditation.” An additional 99 companies are “In Process” and are likely to be accredited in 2015.
Health plans and PBMs are among the industry’s biggest participants, but the URAC list shows the diversity of specialty pharmacy industry players. For example, our report’s Exhibit 38 highlights 17 health systems and physician practices that have full or in-process URAC accreditation. All have been accredited within the past two years or are in the accreditation process.
Pharmacy industry revenues will continue to shift from traditional brand-name drugs to specialty drugs, so we can expect the boom to continue.
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