SAN DIEGO — XiFin Inc. shared findings from its inaugural specialty pharmacy survey at Asembia’s AXS25 industry summit. The survey finds a sector poised to step into a more significant role in addressing patient care needs, with a focus on managing chronic conditions that require increasingly complex medication regimens.
“As the population continues to age and the burden of chronic conditions grows, the demand for specialty pharmacy services is rising rapidly, and pharmacists are poised to do even more for their patients,” said David Pope, chief pharmacy officer at XiFin. “However, XiFin’s 2025 Specialty Pharmacy Transformation Outlook survey indicates that while pharmacy professionals are confident in their ability to meet these needs, they acknowledge continued technology and staffing challenges and that there is opportunity for improvement as many are still in the early stages of developing the RCM [revenue cycle management] infrastructure to support long-term, sustainable growth.”
XiFin’s research provides a cross-sectional view of the current specialty pharmacy landscape, including the timing and scope of service expansion, as well as key challenges, opportunities and barriers that organizations are navigating.
As thousands of pharmacy leaders converged at AXS25, many conversations echoed key survey findings — the impact of staffing shortages, the opportunity raised by AI and continued industry growth. Notably absent from the sessions was an exploration of the shift toward the medical benefit billing pathway, future-ready technologies and new strategies needed to maximize reimbursement.
Key survey findings include:
• Industry optimism: A large majority of respondents expressed confidence in the future of specialty pharmacy, driven by expectations that pharmacists will play a larger role in addressing physician shortages and managing chronic conditions..
• Pharmacist role expansion: More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) identified the expanding role of pharmacists in bridging physician care gaps as the leading growth opportunity, with over two-thirds (68%) emphasizing the growing role of pharmacies as holistic health and wellness hubs.
• Revenue growth: Nearly two-fifths (38%) of respondents who have expanded both clinical services and specialty pharmacy offerings reported a moderate or significant increase in revenue.
Specialty services continue to grow, with significant adoption expected for immunosuppressives, inflammatory and oncology-related therapies. Within the next one to three years, pharmacy professionals expect the market to see significant growth, noting patient needs in hepatitis C, sleep disorder, infertility and immune deficiency treatments.
Access the survey at xifin.com/specialty-report
