What is a specialty pharmacy?
Specialty pharmacies fill medications used to treat rare, complex or chronic conditions. These medications often require special handling, coordination with insurance companies and ongoing care. Because of this, specialty pharmacies offer you more support than a typical retail pharmacy.
Let’s compare a retail pharmacy to a specialty pharmacy — in this case, CVS Specialty®:
| Retail Pharmacy | Specialty Pharmacy | |
Conditions | Common illnesses like colds, allergies, minor infections and high blood pressure | Complex, rare conditions like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or HIV |
Typical medications | Maintenance medications for chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, or pain relievers | Complex medications that may need special handling, like biologics, self-injectables, gene therapies or cancer drugs |
Storage/Handling | Medications that are easy to store and handle, with minimal monitoring needed | Medications that may require refrigeration or special shipping. Often injectable or infused and come with extra supplies |
| Service model | Walk-in access, get general advice and basic dispensing | Support from CareTeam, often dispensing through mail order or delivery |
| Access | Pick-up at a local pharmacy or delivered via standard mail | Dispensing through specialty pharmacy, delivery to home, doctor’s office or local CVS Pharmacy® |
| Support | Basic counseling on medication, refill reminders, pick-up at store | Proactive outreach and support from clinical team, insurance guidance, medication adherence support and connections to third-party financial assistance programs |
Your prescription may be a specialty medication if it:
- Treats a rare, complex or chronic condition
- Needs special storage, like refrigeration
- Must be injected or infused
- Requires prior authorization to fill
- Must be filled by a specialty pharmacy based on your insurance plan
If you try to fill a specialty medication at a retail pharmacy, you may be told that your insurance requires it to be filled at a specialty pharmacy instead.
How do you know if your medication is dispensed by CVS Specialty?
- Check the CVS Specialty drug list*
- Review your insurance plan’s list for “specialty” medications
*Note: Your insurance plan may not cover all drugs listed on the CVS Specialty drug list.
What to expect with CVS Specialty
As a CVS Specialty patient, you can expect:
- 24/7 CareTeam support
- Help with your insurance benefits and prior authorization submissions
- Information on third-party financial assistance programs
- Delivery options for eligible medications
- Training to inject your medication
- Extra supplies if needed
Learn more about the CVS Specialty experience here.
This information is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Talk to your doctor or health care provider about your medical condition and prior to starting any new treatment. CVS Specialty assumes no liability whatsoever for the information provided or for any diagnosis or treatment made as a result, nor is it responsible for the reliability of the content.
Your privacy is important to us. Our employees are trained regarding the appropriate way to handle your private health information.