Mission: We are dedicated to providing inclusive access to specialty medications and innovative clinical care from diagnosis to delivery and throughout the treatment process.
Expires 10/1/2025
The University of Michigan Specialty Pharmacy was developed in 2008 by the Transplant Department to help support the increasing medication challenges and obstacles faced by solid organ transplant recipients and staff. The Specialty Pharmacy program continues to grow as new specialty drugs become available, increasing the number of patients we are privileged to serve and volume of prescriptions we manage. Over the past years, we have added programs to include Hepatitis, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatology and Oncology.
As a mail-order pharmacy developed by the University of Michigan, the U-M Specialty Pharmacy ensures timely and continuous access to medications. Our experienced pharmacists are committed to supporting you with comprehensive care throughout the entire treatment process.
Specialty Medications
What is a Specialty Medication?
A Specialty Medication is a prescription drug that is either a:
- Self-administered (non-diabetic) injectable medication
- Medication that requires special handling, special administration, or monitoring
- High-cost oral medication
Specialty medications:
- Are used to treat patients with complex and/or rare diseases
- Have special dosage, storage, handling, and administration requirements
- Require high-touch patient care and monitoring services (e.g. transplant, oncology, MS, hepatitis)
Enhanced Patient Services
University of Michigan Specialty Pharmacy services are unique from your neighborhood retail and mail-order pharmacies. Our pharmacists are directly linked to your specialized health care providers and we are dedicated to personally serving you throughout your entire treatment process. In addition, we offer:
- Financial Counseling: Access to financial and insurance coverage counseling focused on minimizing your out-of-pocket expense (see below)
- 24/7 Pharmacist: Access to an on call pharmacist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Refill Reminders: To ensure you don’t run out of medications, you will receive monthly telephone calls regarding your refills
- Accurate and efficient assistance of your treatment plan due to our ability to access complete medical records
- Free Mail Order Delivery (see below)
- Value-added clinical support and education services
Mail Order Delivery
The U-M Specialty Pharmacy offers specialized mail order distribution of your medications within the state of Michigan. Your on-going medications can be delivered in unmarked, temperature-appropriate shipping containers to any address within the state of Michigan at no charge. You may also pick up your prescriptions at the pharmacy during business hours.
Financial Counseling and Clinical Support
Specialty medications are generally high-cost medications, which can leave some patients faced with significant challenges paying for their medication. Even with insurance coverage, some patients spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in medication co-payments each month. We offer financial counseling and insurance support services to help you with your insurance, ensuring you are maximizing all available resources.
Patients can also face obstacles to acquiring their medication. Certain medications are needed by only a small percentage of the general public. For this reason, specialty medications are not always readily available at your local pharmacy. These medications take special arrangements, and a period of time, to obtain. The U-M Specialty Pharmacy coordinates the efforts of professionals from across the U-M medical center to ensure prompt access to all medications. Patients may also easily obtain answers about medication regimens and medication side effects.
U-M Employees and Retirees
For U-M employee/retirees with university prescription drug plan coverage, visit the Prescription Drug Plan page on the University of Michigan Human Resources website for more information.
Contact Us
Visit our Contact Specialty Pharmacy Services page for information about our locations, phone numbers and email addresses, including what to include when requesting medication refills. For information about general pharmacy services visit the Pharmacies page in our Patient and Visitors section.