HOUSTON, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- US Oncology, one of the nation’s largest healthcare service networks dedicated to cancer treatment and research, is launching OncologyRx Care Advantage(TM), an oncology-focused specialty pharmacy. The specialty pharmacy will launch on August 1st in Texas, Washington, Oregon and Virginia. Additional states will be added through the remainder of 2006 as pharmacy licenses are secured in each respective state. It is expected that this specialty dispensing and mail order service will expand to include all 50 US states by early 2007.
“Our successful distribution business, launched in the fall of 2005, and our extensive knowledge of the cancer care delivery process gained from our 1000-plus physician network, has provided us with invaluable insights that will help us provide tremendous value to patients, their physicians and to the payer community,” said Bob Crutchfield, vice president and general manager of US Oncology’s Pharmaceutical Services Division.
OncologyRx Care Advantage provides patients with convenient home delivery of oral cancer care therapies, as well as 24-hour access to oncology-trained pharmacists and nurses. Patients will also receive calls from pharmacists and nurses to answer questions, to monitor side effects and to provide treatment recommendations for side effects, thereby helping ensure patient adherence to the prescribed therapy and providing support to the patient.
“We believe OncologyRx Care Advantage(TM) can effectively improve the safety and clinical outcomes of cancer patients requiring oral chemotherapies. It can also help reduce costs, and payers and their members stand to benefit significantly from the services provided,” said Crutchfield. “For example, by helping to ensure the safe and effective use of these therapies, the expense associated with wasted prescriptions resulting from poor patient compliance, can be decreased. In addition, the 24-hour availability of the pharmacist or nurse can help ensure treatment safety and reduce the expense of poorly managed side effects, as well as help to control complications associated with drug interactions.”
Oral cancer drugs, which are the focus of OncologyRx Care Advantage, are having a significant impact on the cancer care industry. Currently there are 30 oral oncology drugs on the market with 8 to 10 seeing significant utilization, but that number is expected to increase by 30 percent annually as compared to injectables, which are growing at a rate of 15-20 percent annually. Costs for oral drugs, which in 2004 reached $1.7 billion, are expected to triple to $5 billion by the year 2010.
The growth of the oral chemotherapy market will significantly impact how cancer care is delivered, making patient adherence of critical concern, underscoring the importance of OncologyRx Care Advantage’s dedicated oncology pharmacy specialists that will assist patients in their treatment.
In addition, the OncologyRx Care Advantage staff will provide regular reports to the patients’ physicians so that they are fully informed about their patient’s status. “Physicians told us it is imperative that they stay involved in the care of their patients, said David Reese, director of Specialty Dispensing Services. “We have developed standard reporting procedures to ensure regular communications between the pharmacy and physicians.”
“We are very pleased to offer this new service to cancer patients. Not only will it make accessing oral medications easier, it will also provide patients with 24-hour access to experts specifically trained in managing cancer care,” said Crutchfield. “We also see a real benefit to the physicians. Outside retailers often lack the oncology expertise necessary to provide counseling, follow-up or compliance support to these patients, so much of that responsibility falls to the physicians, who are already time constrained by the other aspects of care they provide. We will help extend the care provided by physicians, while keeping them highly involved with their patients.”
The OncologyRx Care Advantage operations are located at the company’s distribution facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
About US Oncology, Inc.
US Oncology, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of the nation’s largest healthcare services networks dedicated to cancer treatment and research. US Oncology provides extensive services and support to its affiliated cancer care sites nationwide to help them expand their offering of the most advanced treatments and technologies, build integrated community- based cancer care centers, improve their therapeutic drug management programs, and participate in many of the new cancer-related clinical research studies. The network today consists of 1012 physicians at nearly 500 locations in 34 states.
US Oncology also provides a broad range of services to pharmaceutical manufacturers, including product distribution and informational services such as data reporting and analysis.
US Oncology, Inc.
CONTACT: Kimberly Rutherford of US Oncology, Inc., +1-832-601-6193, orKimberly.Rutherford@usoncology.com , or Elizabeth Vocke, +1-813-775-6206,or Elizabeth.Vocke@hillandknowlton.com , for US Oncology, Inc.
Web site: http://www.usoncology.com/
