A Heightened Sense of Awareness
Dino Martino, R.Ph., B.S. Pharm., Executive Director, PerformSpecialty; Travis Taylor, Marketing Specialist
August 1, 2018
Recent extreme natural events, including destructive hurricanes in the southeast, unpredictable volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, and sweeping wildfires in the west, in addition to an unfortunate spike of mass shootings and terroristic activities, all have the ability to tremendously disrupt infrastructure and daily routines.
As an accredited, full-service specialty pharmacy, PerformSpecialty® must regularly operate with a heightened sense of awareness in order to meet its goal of providing personalized patient care and better access to achieve healthier outcomes. Whether it’s the strategic placement of its brick and mortar headquarters or the more than two decades of personalized care experience by their team of clinicians, PerformSpecialty is prepared to provide best-in-class service in any situation.
Patients who use the services of a specialty pharmacy commonly require a personalized treatment plan with complex prescription drug regimens. To maintain patient adherence during unexpected events, PerformSpecialty takes a number of factors into consideration. If an extreme weather event is imminent, PerformSpecialty proactively contacts patients to build a contingency plan regarding the delivery and adherence of their medication.
Should the patients have questions or concerns, patient contacts are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to provide any essential customer service. If a patient is forced to relocate from their normal place of delivery due to unexpected circumstances, PerformSpecialty is prepared to implement plans to help make sure the patient is able to maintain their medication adherence. This includes assessing the ability of nearby shelters and hospitals to meet the needs of our patients.
Government-issued states of emergency require a flexible and adaptive response. PerformSpecialty works within the parameters allowed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and other regulatory authorities to accommodate deviations unscheduled requests for medication access and refills.
For example, PerformSpecialty recognizes the ability to lift the “refill-too-soon” edit for patients located in, or directly affected by, disaster areas. Also, close relationship with its parent company PerformRx and with other pharmacy benefit managers and specialty pharmacies make it possible for PerformSpecialty to use alternative services when its usual fulfillment options aren’t available, to help ensure that patients receive their medication on-time and with minimal disruption.
Centrally located in Florida, PerformSpecialty boasts state-of-the-art medication handling, storage, and fulfillment capabilities, including redundant back-up systems to ensure there are little-to-no operational disruptions due to power outages. Strategically situated, our facility is only five miles from regional transportation hubs associated with Orlando International Airport. In the event that there is an interruption of service at Orlando International Airport, PerformSpecialty’s advanced logistics solutions have contingency plans in place to support alternative shipping options. At a moment’s notice, PerformSpecialty can fulfill prescription requests, including limited distribution medications, and have a package on the way to a patient.
Whether a fulfillment is routine or not, PerformSpecialty’s close partnership with its shipping vendors establishes an added level of care management during transit. All medication distributed undergoes sophisticated logistical monitoring and continuous observation in order to help ensure the medicine maintains its efficacy and integrity upon arrival. If a potential risk is identified, or shipments can't be delivered as scheduled, service recovery procedures are already in place to maintain a timely delivery.
Throughout any and every situation, PerformSpecialty’s location, meticulous oversight, and consistent levels of preparation and awareness combine to offer unprecedented access, effective outcomes, and the hands-on attention and personalized care that patients deserve from a specialty pharmacy.