Articles
Guides and explainers on the pharma services landscape — how the vendor categories work, what to look for, and how to compare partners.
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Hub Services Market Consolidation: Who Owns Whom in 2026
A map of the consolidating hub services market: the 2025-2026 mergers, private equity owners behind the major platforms, and what ownership changes mean for pharma buyers.
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Electronic Prior Authorization: The Vendor Landscape
A field guide to the electronic prior authorization (ePA) market: network incumbents, provider-side platforms, payer-side decisioning tools, and the AI-native newcomers reshaping the space ahead of the 2027 CMS API deadline.
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How to Choose a Hub Services Vendor: A Buyer's Guide
A practical framework for pharma teams evaluating patient services hub vendors: vendor archetypes, evaluation criteria, pricing models, RFP questions, and red flags.
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The US Specialty Pharmacy Landscape in 2026
How the US specialty pharmacy market is structured in 2026: PBM-owned giants, the rise of health-system pharmacies, private-equity-backed independents, and what it means for manufacturers.
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Outsourcing Medical Affairs: MSL Teams, Med Info and Med Comms
When it makes sense to outsource medical affairs functions — field MSL teams, medical information contact centers, and medical communications — and how to evaluate the vendor segments.
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AI in Prior Authorization: What Actually Works Today
A grounded look at where AI genuinely reduces prior authorization work in 2026 — document intake, benefit verification, payer calls, and auto-approval — and where regulation and reliability still limit it.
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Running a Pharma Services RFP: Process, Timeline, Pitfalls
A step-by-step guide to running an RFP for pharma services vendors — hub services, market access, and beyond: phases, realistic timelines, scoring, and the mistakes that derail selections.
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Selecting a Real-World Evidence Data Partner
How to evaluate real-world data and RWE vendors: data types, fitness-for-purpose questions, pricing models, and what recent consolidation means for buyers.
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Types of Market Access Consulting Firms — and When to Use Each
A practical taxonomy of the market access consulting landscape: dedicated access and HEOR specialists, strategy houses, policy advisors, data-integrated giants, boutiques, and access agencies — with guidance on matching firm type to the problem.
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Copay Program Vendors: Administration Models Compared
How manufacturer copay programs are administered in 2026 — debit card, pharmacy-adjudicated, medical-benefit, and digital models — the vendor segments behind them, and how accumulators, maximizers, and the Part D redesign are reshaping program design.
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Limited Distribution Networks Explained: How LDNs Work
What a limited distribution network is, why manufacturers restrict specialty drugs to a handful of pharmacies, how network sizes break down in practice, and what the model means for access and data.
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Independent Patient Assistance Foundations: An Overview
What independent charitable patient assistance foundations do, how disease-specific funds and OIG compliance rules work, the major national foundations, and how the 2026 PAF–PAN merger and the Part D redesign are changing the landscape.
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What Is a Pharma Services Hub?
A plain-English introduction to patient services hubs: what they do, when a pharma brand needs one, and how they fit alongside specialty pharmacies and copay programs.
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