AXS25 Panel Recap: From Reaction to Readiness in the Rise of Specialty Care
At this year's Asembia AXS25 Summit, Spherico joined Syneos Health and industry leaders from Amgen to host a panel focused on a pivotal shift in the healthcare landscape: the rise of specialty in general medicine (gen med). As complexity in care grows and the boundaries between gen med and specialty medicine dissolve, the panel delivered an urgent call to action: adapt, innovate, and support patients more meaningfully—now.
The convergence of gen med and specialty
Traditionally, specialty treatments were the purview of specialists. But today, primary care physicians (PCPs) are increasingly responsible for managing complex chronic conditions, including those requiring specialty medications. With 80% of new drug approvals falling under specialty, this shift is no longer theoretical—it’s transformative.
Data shared at the panel illustrated the urgency: specialist wait times now average 26 days, while PCPs are available in about 6. Furthermore, the share of specialty drugs in total prescription revenue jumped from 24% in 2013 to nearly 40% in 2023.
Access, affordability, and education: patients are feeling the pressure
As the healthcare system grapples with this evolution, PCPs are facing an unsustainable rise in workload. According to Syneos Health's March 2025 AnswerSuite research, 52% of PCPs report increased administrative burden, and 72% avoid prescribing products with complex prior authorizations.
These pressures translate directly to patients in the form of access delays, affordability challenges, and educational gaps. As one provider put it, "PAs are eating into patient time. I just don’t prescribe unless I know it’ll be easy to fill."
“The unfortunate thing is that the education, I think, has been lacking,” said Kelly Carter, Executive Director of Patient Access at Amgen. “We can do a better job getting the message out to help patients really understand their benefit designs and what resources are available to them.”
A new prescription: comprehensive, scalable patient support
Spherico's Adrian Garcia emphasized a new path forward, spotlighting how robust patient support services can bridge the gen med-specialty gap. This includes:
• Access tools like benefit verification and PA support
• Education strategies that leverage AI for side effect coaching and personalized learning
• Engagement through digital check-ins, reminders, and omnichannel touchpoints
“The more and more you can integrate engaging communications into a workflow, the more effective it’s going to be,” Garcia explained.
Blueprint for the future: how to prepare
The panel concluded with a framework that healthcare stakeholders can adopt to thrive in this new paradigm:
1. Scale patient support across both gen med and specialty
2. Partner & pilot with external innovators
3. Prioritize education & engagement with cultural and behavioral insights
4. Rethink talent & structure by embedding behavioral science and data analytics
5. Expect & embrace evolution through constant iteration
6. Disrupt responsibly with ethical, transparent technology use
Final thought: it’s not just a trend—it’s a transformation
The rise of specialty in gen med represents not just a change in care delivery, but a full-scale transformation. For those ready to move from reaction to readiness, the opportunity to lead with clarity, empathy, and innovation has never been greater.
As we said at Asembia AXS25: gen med has entered the specialty chat. Let’s make sure we’re ready to respond.
References
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/wait-times.html
https://www.drugchannels.net/2024/04/the-top-15-specialty-pharmacies-of-2023.html
Syneos Health – AnswerSuite Primary Research March 2025.