Optime Care Highlights Role of Telehealth to Maximize Therapeutic Opportunities for Patients with Orphan and Ultra-Orphan Disorders During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Optime Care, a nationally recognized pharmacy, distribution and patient management organization maximizing therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of orphan and rare disorders, points to the value of telehealth for addressing the unique healthcare coordination needs of patients with rare and orphan diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Optime Care’s patient-first approach features a telehealth option that is fully integrated for pharmacies to provide care coordination for patients, customized care plans based on conversations with each patient, medication counseling, education on disease states and expectations for each drug. In partnership with Optime Care, specialty drug manufacturers better serve patients, caregivers, providers and payers to help them overcome key challenges around the complexity of these conditions.
A single rare, or orphan, disease affects fewer than 200,000 Americans, according to the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, but there are nearly 7,000 rare diseases affecting 30 million Americans, including Huntington disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig disease), Tourette syndrome and muscular dystrophy. Optime Care focuses solely on patient populations of <10,000.
“When specialty drug manufacturers choose to partner with Optime Care’s patient-first model, they get the benefit of a proactive, process-driven telehealth program which mitigates the transmission of infection, such as coronavirus, for these vulnerable individuals,” says Donovan Quill, president and CEO, Optime Care, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with rare and orphan diseases face heightened stress because many of them are immunosuppressed, conscious of infection and wary of getting sicker than they already are. As a result, they are hypersensitive to viral threats, more isolated than ever and struggling to self-protect.”
Optime Care’s customized telehealth option enables essential discussions for understanding patient needs, a drug’s impact on overall health, assessing the number of touch points required each month, follow-up and staying on top of side effects.
“Industry experts state that orphan drugs will be a major trend to watch in 2020, accounting for almost 40% of Food and Drug Administration approvals this year,” adds Donovan. “But in this global shut down environment, many orphan drug manufacturers now face financial challenges and are unable to change their model overnight to accommodate the new healthcare challenges. Serving as a single source partner, our approach benefits drug manufacturers by bringing continuity of care that is critically missing from the legacy care model. The net result is that patients have a better experience — a critical component of a product’s value— and gain stronger compliance outcomes.”
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About Optime Care
Optime Care, Inc. is a nationally recognized pharmacy, distribution and patient management organization offering a suite of comprehensive services tailored to maximize the therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of orphan and rare disorders. Our management team has previously partnered in the launch of more than 25 orphan products and consistently implemented the best brand program for the community. Our experience with small patient populations makes us uniquely qualified to help every stakeholder group impacted by these disorders. Optime Care has dual-accreditation from the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) for compliance with specialty pharmacy and the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) for specialty pharmacy services that demonstrate a commitment to providing quality care and services to consumers. https://www.optimecare.com/
