In the complex, competitive landscape of patient access and specialty therapies, the relationship between a HUB and the Non-Commercial Dispensing Pharmacy (NCDP) is essential to delivering timely, uninterrupted care. While each entity has a distinct role, their collaboration is required to navigate the barriers of access, affordability, and adherence. At RareMed, we recognize the importance of this communication, and it drives our ability to deliver industry-leading patient satisfaction.
Understanding the Roles
- The HUB acts as the central coordination point for patient support services—managing benefit investigations, prior authorizations, appeals, financial assistance, and ongoing case management.
- The NCDP dispenses medications directly to patients or sites of care, often through manufacturer-sponsored initiatives such as patient assistance, quick start, bridge, free trial, emergency free drug, and dose exchange programs. Unlike retail pharmacies, NCDPs are not reimbursed by commercial payers, which makes their coordination with the HUB and network partners even more important.
Together, the HUB and NCDP form a unified support system that bridges clinical, logistical, and administrative gaps in the patient journey.
Why Communication Matters
- Streamlined Access to Therapy
Timely and accurate communication ensures that once a patient is deemed eligible, the NCDP can dispense medication without delay. The HUB provides critical documentation and real-time updates on patient status, enabling the pharmacy to act quickly while keeping the patient and HCP office informed throughout the process.
- Coordinated Patient Support
Patients often depend on both the HUB and the NCDP for support. When these two entities are not aligned, it can lead to inconsistent messaging, confusion and frustration. In a well-coordinated program with a dedicated support model, the patient experience feels seamless, like interacting with one unified team. Patients develop a sense of trust and familiarity with the dedicated HUB team, who assist with key touchpoints such as free drug program enrollment, shipment setup calls, and inbound call support. Meanwhile, the NCDP complements this by providing back-end fulfillment and clinical support as-needed, ensuring continuity and clarity throughout the patient journey.
- Real-Time Issue Resolution
Missing information, eligibility criteria, or a change in patient status – all can delay the delivery of patient therapies. Open lines of communication allow for quick resolution, minimize disruptions in therapy, and help maintain patient adherence.
- Data Sharing for Better Outcomes
Sharing timely insights on patient compliance, refill patterns, and therapy outcomes helps manufacturers and key stakeholders to continuously improve program performance and make data-driven decisions. It is also critical to receive data and coordinate closely with network SPs prior to the shipment of free drug to ensure no duplicative shipments are sent.
RareMed’s Practices for Effective Collaboration
- Establish Shared Workflows: Clearly defined roles, responsibilities and escalation processes reduce duplication of efforts and avoid unnecessary delays.
- Leverage Secure, Centralized Communication Channels: Use of platforms that support real-time updates and secure data exchange.
- Regular Touchpoints: Regular cadence status meetings keep both teams aligned on specific patients’ developments and overall program performance.
- Continuous Feedback Loops: Open dialogue is encouraged to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement. These regularly scheduled meetings are not just for updates but also a forum for collaboration.
- Keep the Patient as the North Star: Every interaction focuses on the shared commitment to the patient’s well-being. Keeping the patient at the center ensures all decisions and actions are purpose-driven.
The partnership between the HUB and the NCDP is more than operational; it’s strategic. When these teams work in sync, they create a seamless, supportive experience for patients navigating complex therapies. Strong communication isn’t just best practice; it’s a critical success factor
At RareMed, our unified HUB & NCDP operations yield industry-leading patient and partner satisfaction. Contact us today to learn how RareMed could use communications strategy to drive improvements for your patient support and patient access programs.
ABOUT RAREMED
RareMed Solutions is the nation’s only concierge patient services provider, focused on rare and complex conditions. RareMed partners with biopharma to transform the lives of patients afflicted with devastating complex conditions by accelerating access to biomedical breakthroughs. RareMed offers case management, co-pay, coupon and financial assistance programs, reimbursement support, nursing support, healthcare professional education, patient adherence & education, and non-commercial pharmacy dispensing services to all fifty states, as well as custom-developed associated support technologies, from its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and bases across the country.
The company has a breadth of experience developing, transitioning, and maintaining therapy-specific solutions that ensure unparalleled manufacturer & patient satisfaction across a variety of patient services models. RareMed’s undivided complex disease focus, high caliber associates, fully dedicated teams, and sophisticated proprietary technology enable it to address the unique needs of complex disease patients. RareMed has been recognized as a top workplace in the nation by USA Today and Newsweek, and consistently sets the benchmark for patient experience according to MMIT patient satisfaction surveys. Visit our website at www.RareMed.com.