NASP 2025 Annual Meeting & Expo: Recap and Highlights

The NASP Annual Meeting and Expo is known as the premier event for specialty pharmacy. This year, it drew over 2,000 attendees to recognize accomplishments and discuss innovative ways to move the industry forward. In addition to featuring presentations from thought leaders and healthcare veterans from around the country, NASP 2025 hosted educational sessions and workshops that offered opportunities for continuing education credits.

Emerging specialty pharmacy trends

The ongoing theme of specialty pharmacy in recent years has centered around how to grow while navigating a changing industry. The obvious answers involve technology and AI, but that’s only half the equation. The difference is knowing how to apply those capabilities across different business models to make the biggest impact.

For example, how can AI help monitor medication adherence and flag the most at-risk patients? Since only 50% of patients take their medication as prescribed, early intervention is key to prevent adverse outcomes.

Inovalon explained how predictive analytics eliminates the guesswork for pharmacists in the workshop: Harnessing Predictive AI for Proactive Medication Adherence.

Another topic of discussion for attendees was the emergence of new operating models. In recent years, infusion services have extended beyond the four walls of the hospital to ambulatory infusion centers or patient homes. Many specialty pharmacies are exploring ways to expand their business into the infusion market, but the requirements and workflows aren’t quite the same. In the workshop Infusion Service: IT Infrastructure and Technology Requirements, Inovalon revealed software infrastructure that specialty pharmacies need to support the additional complexity of delivering infusion therapy.

Inspiring examples of innovation

For many, the most impactful and memorable moment was hearing Taylor John’s firsthand story. In a standout Inovalon session, Gene Therapy: The Success Story of a Patient and Healthcare Partner Dependencies, we heard from one of the early patients to receive gene therapy in a clinical trial for sickle cell disease.

Taylor didn’t just tell her story; she addressed the pharmacists directly, saying “Your work affects real people like me and we need you! That’s why I wanted to be here, to say thank you, to put a face to the name, and to show you who you’re really helping.”

Her words moved the room to tears. Taylor’s experience highlighted what’s possible when stakeholders across healthcare work together to support long-term, life-saving outcomes.

Each year, NASP members and attendees gather to shape the future of specialty pharmacy and improve the patient journey. Taylor’s story was a powerful reminder of why we do this work and the real lives touched by every breakthrough.

Ready for the next step

After catching up with colleagues and meeting new ones, we are returning energized and ready to continue the conversations on innovations in patient care that will lead to the next “big thing.”

Inovalon is passionate about helping specialty pharmacies find ways to keep patients healthier and move forward faster. With the help of former practicing pharmacists, Inovalon’s ScriptMed^® addresses common roadblocks and frustrations pharmacists face daily within a single application.

In one place, you can access all the patient data you need to make the best care decisions. Your daily tasks will be front and center, and specific to your role to keep you focused on what’s ahead.

See for yourself how our pharmacy solution can support your goals as you grow and change.

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