Conference Connect: Progressing Patient Assistance

Access USA—held in mid-March at Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown—offered the opportunity to attend three conferences in one: Patient Assistance & Access Programs (PAP), Hub and Specialty Models East, and the Rare Disease Summit.

In terms of Pharmaceutical Commerce’s coverage, we decided to focus on PAP, along with Hub and Specialty Models East, which prioritized maximizing medication access and creating a comprehensive hub, respectively, keeping the issues particularly important to the patient experience top of mind.

The sessions covered consisted of:

• “State of the Industry—The Evolving Landscape of Healthcare Coverage and Access in 2025”
• “Moving the Needle on Awareness of the Medicare Part D Reforms”
• “Unraveling the Complexities of Patient Access and Affordability”
• “Understanding the Uninsured Landscape”
• “Empowering Patients to Take Control of Their Healthcare”
• “The Changing Landscape of Patient Access–Accumulators, Maximizers, & Alternative Funding”

Each of the sessions provided a unique perspective from the sector. For example, in “State of the Industry,” which led off the program, Tommy Bramley, Cencora’s SVP of global consulting services, set the scene by alluding to three main challenges that lie ahead concerning uncertainty. They included the US federal and state policy priorities; unintended consequences of the Inflation Reduction Act; and payer economics.

However, after attending the “Empowering Patients to Take Control of Their Healthcare” session led by Rachel Thorpe, executive director at the Otsuka Patient Assistance Foundation, an independent entity from the manufacturer Otsuka, I was in shock at some of the statistics on health literacy in the space. One is that nine out of 10 patients do not understand basic health terms, and beyond that, 33% of the patient population in America doesn’t read above a third-grade level, according to Thorpe.

Shining a light on these challenges increases the urgency that stakeholders should have in educating patient groups.

“When you’re talking about educating your patients, make sure you put certain hats on,” Thorpe suggested. “What is your patient population? What is your patient journey? What the socioeconomic status of that patient population looks like will also define how you educate them. Education equals empowerment.”

The editorial team also conducted video interviews with various subject matter experts, including Jonathan James, Jen Butler, Kevin Hagan, the aforementioned Thorpe, and Kimberly Westrich.

For the latest in conference coverage, please visit pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/latest-conference.