Moving Beyond a Check-the-Box Model: Talking Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation with ACHC| NASP Specialty Pharmacy Podcast

Caroline Girardeau (0:05)

You are listening to the global network of podcasters dedicated to the pharmacy profession.

SPEAKER_2 (0:10)

Welcome to The Pharmacy Podcast Network.

SPEAKER_3 (0:26)

You are listening to the NASP Specialty Pharmacy Podcast, a collaboration between the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy and The Pharmacy Podcast Network. Each episode dives deep into trends, challenges, innovations and patient-centric practices shaping the future of this dynamic and rapidly evolving industry. Whether you're a pharmacist or health care provider, patient advocate or industry leader, you'll hear expert insights, real-world evidence, and thought-provoking discussion that highlights all that makes specialty pharmacy special.

SPEAKER_2 (1:00)

In support of NASP's mission to empower specialty pharmacy stakeholders to advance the standard of patient care, NASP supports a free market health care system in which all specialty pharmacies compete on the same fair and level playing field because that is in the best interest of the patients we collectively serve. NASP is committed to working with all stakeholders and policy makers to ensure that all patients have access to the life-saving medications they need and the high-touch patient care and support services they deserve from the pharmacy of their choosing.

Sheila Arquette (1:30)

Hello, my name is Sheila Arquette, and I am the president and CEO of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy. I am delighted to welcome my special guest, Dr. Caroline Girardeau, to this episode of the NASP Podcast.

Dr. Girardeau, PharmD MBA, PMP, BCPS, and ACHC Pharmacy Program Director, has over 30 years of pharmacy practice and strategic leadership experience. Dr. G's diverse expertise and clinical knowledge will further ACHC's mission to deliver exceptional service in pharmacy accreditation. Dr. G graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy and earned her Master of Business Administration from UNC Kenan Flagler School of Business. She completed her pharmacy practice residency at UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill, and her critical care specialty residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. In addition to holding a doctorate in pharmacy, Dr. G has certifications from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties as a Pharmacotherapy Specialist and from the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional. During her long career, Dr. G has held leadership roles at premier health care institutions including Pharmacy Management and Clinical Coordination Positions at UNC Rex Health Care, specialty roles at UNC Chapel Hill Medical Center, and Wake Med Health and Hospitals, and clinical research positions with leading clinical research organizations.

She resides in North Carolina with her husband David and their two children. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, exercising and tending to her garden. Caroline, thanks so much for joining me today.

Caroline Girardeau (3:17)

Thank you, Sheila. I'm delighted to be here.

Sheila Arquette (3:21)

How's the garden doing? Is it a good growing season or a bad growing season?

Caroline Girardeau (3:25)

It is not much gardening this season, honestly. I'm really focused on all things ACHC as I adopt to my new role here. So I've got some flowers and pots and a lovely hummingbird feeder that I'm enjoying very much this summer.

Sheila Arquette (3:45)

Well, there you go. That's all you need. I live in Florida. So like the growing season, I think, is over in February, right? It just gets too darn hot. So I give up. Absolutely. It's enough of all the critters in the garden, right? That I really don't want to come face to face with. So I'm good.

All right. So let's get started here. Specialty Pharmacy accreditation can apply across different business models. How does ACHC help organizations understand which accreditation pathway would best fit their scope of services?

Caroline Girardeau (4:15)

Great question, Sheila. Every specialty pharmacy operates a little differently. So we start by understanding the services that each one provides, the patients they serve, and any manufacturer or payer requirements. And from there, we help to identify the accreditation pathway that aligns with that particular pharmacy's operations, whether it be hospital-based or independently owned. And the goal is to make the process straightforward and ensure organizations pursue accreditation that is the best fit for their business.

ACHC offers two different types of specialty pharmacy accreditation. Our SRX service includes the CMS Dummy Post P-TAN accreditation requirements. And for those of you who don't know what Dummy Post stands for, that stands for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetic, Orthotic, and Supplies. And so businesses who want to bill Medicare for product codes will want to seek the SRX accreditation service.

We also offer a specialty pharmacy accreditation service without Dummy Post quality and supplier standards. We call this the SRX-only accreditation. And so businesses who only need the SRX-only without Dummy Post can elect to have this particular survey experience perform virtually. And so this is a very popular option for our customers and they have the option to do it in person or virtually. And it's again something that a lot of customers prefer to do virtually. I'd also like to put in a good word for our customer service and account advisor teams at ACHC. They are valuable resources that ensure the right accreditation is chosen based on your pharmacy's business model. And new customers can seek guidance from our ACHC customer service representative and existing customers can also reach out to their account advisor.