Shields Health Solutions to Participate in Session at the Alliance for Health Policy’s Annual Signature Series

Chrissy Kendrick, Kristen Ditch to speak on how integrated specialty pharmacy can impact mental health care

STOUGHTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shields Health Solutions (ShieldsRx), the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country, announced today that Chrissy Kendrick, SPHR, senior director of human resources, and Kristen Ditch, PharmD, BCCCP, manager of clinical outcomes at ShieldsRx, will participate in a Thought Leadership Discussion hosted by The Alliance for Health Policy as part of its annual Signature Series on Thursday, April 14.

Mental health in America is the theme for this year’s Signature Series and the Thought Leadership Discussion is an invitation-only, interactive session for leading thought leaders, experts and policymakers from across the healthcare ecosystem. The Alliance will explore the breadth and depth of U.S. mental health across three major themes: innovation, delivery, and access while examining health equity implications across all domains.

Employers in the health care sector face new challenges in providing mental health benefits and services to their employees, who have experienced increased stress and isolation working in virtual environments, additional stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, and exposure to loss and grief. “The Thought Leadership Discussion is an excellent opportunity for ShieldsRx to contribute to and learn from a diverse audience of decision influencers and policymakers on mental health policies,” said Tanya Menchi, JD, vice president of policy at ShieldsRx. “We look forward to sharing details about the role of integrated specialty pharmacy in comprehensive patient care, the pandemic’s impact on the mental health of pharmacists and pharmacy staff, and the increasing importance of employer awareness regarding the mental health of their employees.”

ShieldsRx’s integrated care model focuses on access to better quality care for more patients through a dedicated team of specialty pharmacy experts, a proven collaborative care model which includes pharmacists, pharmacy liaisons and patient advocates, and integrated technology solutions. The ShieldsRx participants will elaborate on how integrated specialty pharmacy is integral to patients throughout their journey, including screening for mental health, especially for patients on high-risk mediations and therapies. Health systems specialty pharmacy teams also provide treatments for conditions that are at high-risk for mental health challenges, including opioid disorders, multiple sclerosis, and others.

The Alliance’s Health Equity Thought Leadership Discussion will take place on Thursday, April 14, 2022, and marks the first of a series of events that the Alliance will host throughout the year on the theme of mental health. Those events will culminate in a public Congressional briefing in December and a written summary of the year-long focus that will be an action-focused guide for the greater health policy community.

About Shields Health Solutions

Shields Health Solutions (ShieldsRx) is the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country. The Shields Performance Platform, an integrated set of solutions, services and technology, is intentionally designed to elevate payer and drug access for specialty pharmacies, elevate health outcomes for complex patients, and elevate growth throughout the entire health system. As the foremost experts in the health system specialty pharmacy industry, Shields has a proven track record of success including access to over 80 percent of all limited distribution drugs (LDDs) and most (health insurance) payers in the nation; and a clinical model proven to lower total cost of care by 13%. In partnership with more than 70 health systems across the country through national-scale collaboration, ShieldsRx has a vested interest in delivering measurable clinical and financial results for health systems. For more, visit our blog and follow us on social media, @ShieldsRx, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.