Clinical outcomes in specialty pharmacy are more important than ever, yet many leaders still lack clear, comparable benchmarks to guide how they design, measure, and improve their programs.
Leveraging data from the largest health‑system network in the industry, Shields’ 2025 report provides an unparalleled view into the future of specialty pharmacy.
Why Clinical Outcomes in Specialty Pharmacy Need Better Benchmarks
Specialty therapies now drive a disproportionate share of overall drug costs, with one analysis estimating that these medications accounted for roughly $400 billion and 52% of net drug spend in 2025. These high-cost therapies are concentrated in some of the most complex areas of care, including oncology, autoimmune diseases, neurology, and rare diseases.
As these therapies move closer to the center of health system strategy, leaders are being asked to demonstrate clear, repeatable clinical outcomes from their specialty pharmacy programs.
The challenge is that there are few widely accepted benchmarks for specialty pharmacy outcomes at the disease-state level. Many organizations track patient access, time to therapy, adherence, and prescription abandonment, but they do so with different definitions, in different systems, and across very different patient populations.
That makes it difficult to answer basic questions such as:
- How does our specialty pharmacy compare to peers?
- Are our outcomes strong, average, or at risk?
- Where should we focus quality improvement efforts first?
Without a common frame of reference, program performance tends to be evaluated in isolation or against internal history, rather than against a broader view of what’s achieved.
Why Integrated Health System Specialty Pharmacy is Different
Integrated health system specialty pharmacies occupy a unique space in the care continuum. They operate inside the health system, with pharmacists, liaisons, and patient support staff working alongside physicians, nurses, and care managers. They also typically have deep connectivity into the electronic health record (EHR), care management platforms, and other clinical systems.
The Impact of a Coordinated Care Model and Data
That integrated model changes how specialty pharmacy can influence clinical outcomes:
- Faster access to critical therapies, supported by tighter alignment with clinic workflows
- Stronger adherence, driven by proactive outreach and access to clinical context
- Improved coordination across the patient journey, from prescription through ongoing monitoring, leading to better patient experiences
Because of this, health systems need benchmarks that reflect the realities of an integrated specialty pharmacy model, not just retail or PBM-driven views.
Related Insight: Unlock Your Specialty Pharmacy’s Hidden Value [Before vs After Comparison]
From “Are We Doing Well?” To “How Good Could We Be?”
For many clinical leaders, the real question isn’t simply whether their specialty pharmacy is performing adequately, but how much better outcomes could be with the right interventions.
To answer that, they need more than a single-system dashboard. They need:
- Network-scale perspectives
- Consistent definitions for outcomes measures
- A way to compare disease-state performance across multiple health systems
This is where a multi-partner clinical outcomes report becomes especially valuable.
Inside Shields Health Solution’s 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report
Shields’ 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report is built around the need for actionable, network-level insight. Aggregating data from nearly 80 health system partners and more than 2 million patients across 50+ integrated disease states, the report provides one of the most comprehensive views of specialty pharmacy performance available today.
Network Scale and Depth
Rather than focusing on a single site or region, the report brings together outcomes from a broad cross-section of health systems nationwide.
Looking across such a large network provides a more grounded view of how integrated specialty pharmacy performs in different markets and patient populations. In practical terms, this means the report can highlight patterns that might not be visible within a single organization, such as:
- How certain disease states respond to integrated specialty pharmacy support
- Where access or adherence tends to be most vulnerable
- Which parts of the patient journey offer the greatest opportunity for improvement
Universal and Disease-Specific Measures
A key strength of the Shields 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report is its combination of universal and disease-specific measures:
- Universal measures that apply across conditions, such as access, adherence, quality of life measures, and timeliness of therapy
- Disease-specific measures that reflect the nuances of particular therapeutic areas
The 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report covers 12 chronic or complex disease states, including cystic fibrosis, hepatitis C, HIV, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multiple sclerosis (MS), oncology, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and transplant. This year’s report also includes four new conditions: diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and rare diseases.
By framing specialty pharmacy outcomes this way, the report helps leaders see both the big picture and the granular view. A program may appear strong overall but have opportunities to improve within specific disease states or service lines.
Related Read: Unlocking the Full Potential of Your DIY Specialty Pharmacy Program: Why Strategic Partnership Matters
How Clinical Leaders Can Use Specialty Pharmacy Outcomes Data
The real value of these outcomes data comes from how clinical leaders can use it to inform everyday decisions and long-term strategy.
For Quality Improvement Teams
Quality teams are often charged with improving adherence, reducing delays in therapy initiation, and addressing disparities in access for complex patient populations.
A multi-system clinical outcomes report gives them:
- A reference point for what clinical excellence looks like in similar programs
- Clarity on which measures are most useful for continuous improvement
- Examples of how outcomes can be tracked consistently over time
Teams can use these insights to shape dashboards, align stakeholders on priorities, and make sure improvement projects focus on metrics that truly matter.
For Clinical Operations and Pharmacy Leadership
Operations leaders and pharmacy executives face ongoing questions about staffing levels, workflow design, and where to invest limited resources.
Having a clearer view of specialty pharmacy outcomes across multiple health systems enables them to:
- Strengthen business cases for integrated specialty pharmacy services
- Demonstrate how changes in model or staffing correlate with improved outcomes
- Benchmark performance when exploring new therapeutic areas or program expansions
Rather than relying purely on internal trends or anecdotal comparisons, they can anchor decisions in network-level data
For Health System Strategy and Executive Teams
At the enterprise level, specialty pharmacy increasingly intersects with strategic initiatives around value-based care (VBC), population health, and service line growth.
A comprehensive clinical outcomes report can help executives:
- Understand the role of integrated specialty pharmacy in broader system goals
- Align specialty pharmacy metrics with organizational quality and financial metrics
- Communicate the impact of specialty pharmacy programs to boards, payers, and external partners
Taken together, these insights help connect specialty pharmacy performance to broader goals for quality, access, and growth across the health system.
Why Shields’ 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report is Worth a Closer Look
A number of resources in the market touch on specialty pharmacy trends, but very few provide a sustained, disease-state view of specialty pharmacy outcomes rooted in a health system-owned, integrated care model.
The Shields 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report is different in three key ways:
- Real-world results from nearly 80 health system partners serving more than 2 million patients
- Outcomes measures that dig deeper into 12 specific disease states that matter directly to patients and care teams
- Benchmarks that can be revisited and refined year over year
If you are responsible for clinical outcomes, specialty pharmacy operations, or quality performance, this kind of benchmark resource can help you:
- Confirm where your program is on the right track
- Identify new ways to measure and improve performance
- Set realistic, data-informed goals for the next year and beyond
Find Your Next Opportunity to Improve Specialty Pharmacy Outcomes
Leaders across pharmacy, clinical operations, and quality are looking for clearer ways to measure impact in specialty care. The Shields 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report brings together network-level outcomes and practical benchmarks, so you can see where your program is strong today and where there is room to go further on access, adherence, and overall clinical outcomes.
Download Shields Health Solutions’ 2025 Clinical Outcomes Report to see how your specialty pharmacy strategy compares, and where it can go next.