Preventing Medication Waste

Imagine this: A 74-year-old patient living with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is doing everything he can to stay on track with a complex medication regimen. After receiving a dispense of 56 tablets, his oncologist adjusts his dose just four days later. While this seems like a simple shift, it’s one that could leave him with an unexpected two-month surplus of medication.  

That’s where Biologics by McKesson steps in. 

A Biologics care team member reaches out before the patient’s next scheduled refill to complete a pill count and discuss how his therapy is going.  

For the 74-year-old GIST patient, when the Biologics care team member realizes he still has a significant supply on hand, Biologics by McKesson adjusts the patient’s next dispense, waiting two full months before sending any additional tablets. That small, proactive step avoids waste and prevents thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs for the patient and his payer. 

“We’re always looking out for what the patient doesn’t see,” says Ela Lourido, vice president and general manager, Biologics by McKesson. “Behind every refill is a person, and behind every person is a story. Our job is to make sure the clinical and financial aspects support, and not complicate, their care.”

Stories like this are not uncommon. For patients living with cancer and complex, chronic conditions, the treatment journey often includes frequent dose changes, complicated schedules, and high-cost medications.  

At Biologics by McKesson, our care model is built around deep visibility into each patient’s therapy, strengthened by regular clinical check-ins, proactive refill calls and consistent adherence monitoring. Cycle management — like the pill count that supported this patient — is just one part of how we help patients stay on therapy safely and reduce costs for payers.  

How Biologics by McKesson Lowers Healthcare Costs 

Specialty therapies are complex and expensive. Payers often do not have a clear line of sight into the true costs of care due to systemic healthcare silos. It can be difficult for payers to know if the costs of the claims they are paying were justified, necessary or avoidable. 

Payers are not alone in the important work of reducing costs to the healthcare system and making the system sustainable. Biologics by McKesson is trying to change that.  

As a specialty pharmacy, we work with payers to provide needed visibility while working with patients and providers through proven methods to optimize treatment plans, which ultimately benefits all parties — including payers — by creating efficiencies, increasing adherence and reducing costly adverse events. 

“We’re not just dispensing medication,” Lourido said. “We’re safeguarding the treatment plan. We’re preventing avoidable waste. And we’re making sure that every dollar spent is truly advancing a patient’s care.”