Key takeaways:
Specialty pharmacy hubs help streamline the process of accessing specialty medications. Specialty medications are often expensive and may require a prior authorization.
Pharmacy hubs offer a variety of services, including benefit investigation, financial assistance, drug logistics, prior authorization support, and patient-centered care. Pharmacy hubs are available at no cost to you.
Pharmacy hubs do not dispense your medication. Instead, they send your prescription to a specialty pharmacy. The pharmacy then ships the medication to either your home or a clinic for you to receive it.
The prescribing of specialty medications, such as biologics, has grown significantly over the past few years. These medications often treat complex, long-term, or rare medical conditions, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis.
Specialty medications can be expensive and typically require you to take extra steps before insurance companies will cover them. Additionally, many are only available through a limited-distribution network. That’s because these medications often have special storage and handling requirements.
Pharmacy hubs help address the challenges that come with specialty medications. They work behind the scenes to make it easier for you to access your medication. But what are specialty pharmacy hubs? And how do they work? Here’s what you should know.
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What are specialty pharmacy hubs?
Specialty pharmacy hubs are centralized service centers that help coordinate access to specialty medications. They focus on specialty medications, such as adalimumab (Humira) or risankizumab (Skyrizi).
The primary role of a specialty pharmacy hub is to help bridge the gap between you, your prescriber, your insurance company, and the specialty pharmacy filling your prescription. This helps you start your treatment sooner and at the lowest possible cost. It also helps ensure that you receive a consistent experience, no matter which specialty pharmacy you use.
There are different types of pharmacy hubs. Some manufacturers have their own pharmacy hubs that are specific to a certain medication. You’re often required to register with these hubs before you’re able to receive your prescription. Examples of manufacturer-sponsored pharmacy hubs include:
Not all pharmacy hubs are associated with a drug manufacturer. There are also independent pharmacy hubs. Sometimes these hubs are connected with a certain specialty pharmacy or an academic medical center. But they can also be fully independent, such as ConnectiveRx or CoverMyMeds. Generally, these pharmacy hubs do not limit which medications they support.
What services do pharmacy hubs usually offer?
In general, specialty pharmacy hubs offer the following services:
Insurance benefits investigation and financial assistance
Prior authorization support
Medication logistics
Patient-centered care and nursing support services
What are specialty pharmacies? Learn more about specialty pharmacies and the services they provide.
Navigating insurance denials: If your insurance won’t cover your prescription, here are some tips and tricks to consider.
Limited-distribution drugs: Here’s why some medications aren’t available at your local pharmacy and how to access them when you need them.
Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail.
Benefits investigation and financial assistance
A pharmacy hub works with your insurance provider to determine your coverage for the prescribed specialty medication. It checks and confirms your pharmacy and medical benefits. Additionally, a pharmacy hub can help identify copay assistance programs that you may qualify for. The pharmacy hub may also be able to help you get started on your medication while you’re waiting for insurance coverage to kick in.
If you’re uninsured or underinsured, a pharmacy hub can help you find and enroll in patient assistance programs to help cover the cost of the medication.
Prior authorization support
Many insurance companies require a prior authorization for specialty medications. Prior authorization is an approval process the insurance company uses to determine if it will pay for certain medications. Prior authorization typically requires medical records and statements from your prescriber. Sometimes, there can be a delay in this process as the paperwork moves between your healthcare team and your insurance provider.
A pharmacy hub can help streamline the prior authorization process for you. This can speed up your medication approval, meaning you can start it sooner. If your prior authorization runs out, the pharmacy hub will also work with your healthcare team to get a new one, preventing delays in your treatment.
Medication logistics
Specialty medications are usually not available at your local pharmacy. So the pharmacy hub will locate a specialty pharmacy that can fill your prescription once it has sorted the pricing and added any available discounts. Keep in mind that your insurance company or the limited-distribution network may determine which pharmacy you must use.
After the specialty pharmacy fills the prescription, it will usually deliver the medication to your home or the clinic where you’ll receive it.
Patient-centered care and nursing support services
If your medication requires nursing services to administer it, a pharmacy hub can also help you locate resources to assist you. This may be in the form of finding home nursing services or scheduling a call with a nurse or clinical pharmacist to go over how to use your medication. Many pharmacy hubs have a nurse or clinical pharmacist that you can speak with as needed — some are even available 24/7.
Some medications require clinical monitoring, such as lab work, to ensure that they’re working well and to keep an eye out for side effects. A pharmacy hub can help arrange for testing, collect the information needed, and send it to your prescriber for review. The hub may also offer regular calls with a clinical team to answer any questions that arise and ensure you’re getting the most from your medication.
Additionally, some medications require enrollment in a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) program. REMS is an FDA safety program that ensures the benefits of a medication outweigh the risks. It helps protect you from dangerous side effects. A pharmacy hub can enroll you in the REMS program and ensure that the program has all the information it needs. Failure to enroll in a REMS program can cause delays in getting your medication.
Pharmacy hubs may also offer refill reminder calls to help keep you on track with your medication schedule and help you avoid missed doses.
Do you have to pay to use a specialty pharmacy hub?
Specialty pharmacy hubs are available to you at no cost. Typically, the drug manufacturer, specialty pharmacy, or your insurance company help fund pharmacy hubs. So you can use their services as needed without worrying about a bill arriving down the road.
How can you find a pharmacy hub?
In most cases, your prescriber or insurance company will get you started with a pharmacy hub. But you can also find information about manufacturer-based hubs on the medication website, or in the literature your prescriber gives you about the medication.
But you may not know about the pharmacy hub service in advance. This can lead to concerns about fraud or privacy issues when its representatives reach out to you to get things started. If you receive a call, text, or email about your medication from an unfamiliar source, make sure to do your due diligence before responding. If it doesn’t seem like a legitimate hub service, check with your prescriber and/or insurance company before responding. They can let you know if they’ve enrolled you in a pharmacy hub, along with the name of the service, and how to contact it.
What’s the difference between a pharmacy hub and a digital or specialty pharmacy?
The difference between a specialty pharmacy hub and a specialty pharmacy lies in the actions they complete.
A pharmacy hub is a nondispensing service center. It helps coordinate all the moving pieces between you, your prescriber, and your insurance company. As mentioned, a hub’s main focus is helping you access your medication and use it safely.
A specialty pharmacy dispenses the medication and handles all the logistics of getting it to you. Some specialty pharmacies offer similar services as a pharmacy hub, such as education, benefits investigation, and refill reminders. But hub services are typically much broader.
A digital pharmacy is a full-service pharmacy that allows you to manage your medications through an online platform. You can reorder your medication and have it shipped to your house. Some digital pharmacies may also offer other services, such as remote counseling or medication-adherence monitoring. But not all digital pharmacies dispense specialty medications or assist with coverage needs.
The bottom line
Specialty pharmacy hubs provide nondispensing services that are available to you at no cost. Their main goal is to get you access to your specialty medication as soon as possible and at the lowest possible cost. There are different types of pharmacy hubs. Some are sponsored by the drug manufacturer, while others are independent.
In general, specialty pharmacy hub services include insurance benefits investigation, prior authorization and cost savings support, and nursing services and monitoring (if needed). Your healthcare team or insurance company will typically enroll you in a specialty pharmacy hub, but you can also locate manufacturer-based hubs on the medication website or in the literature.
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References
Abbvie. (n.d.). Skyrizi dosing.
Alhura, A. A., et al. (2025). The advancements and challenges in digital pharmacy: A literature review. Advances in Bioresearch.
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. (2015). ASHP Specialty Pharmacy Resource Guide.
Bagwell, A., et al. (2017). Advancing patient care through specialty pharmacy services in an academic health system. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.
Biogen. (n.d.). Taking Tysabri.
Chan, J. C. N., et al. (2017). Biologics and biosimilars: What, why and how? ESMO Open.
ConnectiveRx. (n.d.). Taking the pain out of the prescription process.
CoverMyMeds. (n.d.). What if there were no barriers?
Johnson & Johnson. (2025). Tremfya withMe Savings Program.
National Council for Prescription Drug Programs. (2022). Facilitating Access to Specialty Products – An NCPDP Review and Recommendations.
Vanscoy, G., et al. (2020). The reemergence of specialty pharmacy. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.
