About this episode
Dr. Jeni Hayes, Senior Clinical Manager, Strategic Clinical Intelligence, and Dr. Heather Pace, Senior Clinical Manager, Ambulatory Care, join host Carolyn Liptak to discuss the Vizient Winter 2026 Spend Management Outlook, with a focus on pharmacy projections and key changes from prior outlooks. The episode also covers ambulatory care and self-administered drugs, biosimilar therapeutic insights, and dynamic pharmacy market forces.
Guest speaker:?
Jeni Hayes, PharmD, BCPS?
Senior Clinical Manager, Strategic Clinical Intelligence
Vizient Spend Management Solutions
Heather Pace, PharmD?
Senior Clinical Manager, Ambulatory Care
Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence?
Host:?
Carolyn Liptak, MBA, BS Pharm
Pharmacy Executive Director, Regulatory Compliance & Revenue Integrity
Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence (CPPE)
Vizient
00:05 — Introduction
Announcer welcomes listeners to Verified Rx, produced by the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence.
00:14 — Episode Overview
Host Carolyn Liptak, Pharmacy Executive Director at Vizient, introduces the Winter 2026 Spend Management Outlook (SMO).
Focus areas:
Pharmacy inflation projections
Acute vs ambulatory care trends
Provider-administered vs self-administered drugs
Biosimilar therapeutic insights
Dynamic pharmacy market forces shaping 2026–2030
Guests:
Jeni Hayes, Senior Clinical Manager, Strategic Clinical Intelligence
Heather Pace, Senior Clinical Manager, Ambulatory Care
01:09 — What Is the Spend Management Outlook (SMO)?
Biannual Vizient publication projecting price trends across healthcare spend categories.
Pharmacy headline:
Inflation slightly lower than last edition
Total spend still rising, driven by utilization growth and new technologies
01:49 — Top-Line Pharmacy Inflation Projection
84% projected drug inflation for purchases between July 2026 – June 2027.
Down from 35% in the prior edition.
Based on October 2024 – September 2025 wholesaler data.
Heavily weighted toward highest-spend drugs.
Contracted products show lower inflation; non-contract drugs still ~70% of spend.
02:45 — Inflation by Site of Care
Acute Care
03% projected inflation
Driven by:
Sugammadex
Kcentra
Clotting factors
Ambulatory Care
85% overall, but with key divergence:
Provider-administered drugs:35%
Self-administered drugs:43%
04:02 — Provider-Administered Drugs: What’s Driving Growth
On
