Specialty Pharmacy
The staff at the University of Chicago Medicine Specialty Pharmacy understands that your medical needs may be complex and that there is a lot to know when working with your doctor and insurance company.
We are dedicated to providing you with the personal service necessary to ensure that you achieve the most benefit from your therapy including:
- Enrollment in the Patient Management Program to help you manage side effects, increase your ability to stay on your drug therapy and improve your overall health
- Training, education and counseling
- Medication refill reminders
- Free delivery of your medication
- Access to a pharmacist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Working with your insurance company to make sure your medication cost is covered
- Enrollment in programs to help with the cost of your medication
We are open Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5:30 pm
Our Services
We know that your medical needs may be complex and can feel overwhelming at times. We are here for you.
Our staff along with your doctors, nurses, family and friends will work together as one health care team. Our goal is to provide you with quality care.
We will work with your doctors and caregivers. We will make sure any problems you may have with your treatment are taken care of right away.
We will follow-up with you on a regular basis. Getting your medications and medical supplies in a quick and easy way is important. We will be in close contact with you during your treatment, and we will be your health care advocate.
We know treatment can be expensive. We will help you find your way around the complex health care system to know every option you have. Our relationship with insurance providers will get you the information you need and help explain your prescription and medical insurance benefits.
We offer fast and easy delivery to your home, workplace, or the location you want. A staff member will call you 5 to 7 days before your refill due date to help get you the medications you need.
Conditions We Service
- Alopecia
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Asthma
- Amyloidosis
- Atopic Dermatitis
- Cancer
- Central Precocious Puberty
- Chronic Rhinosinusitis
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Eosinophilic Esophagitis
- Gender Dysphoria
- Growth Hormone Disorders
- Fertility
- Hepatitis/Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS)
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Interstitial Lung Disease
- Immune (Idiopathic) Thrombocytopenia Purpura
- Infectious Disease
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
- Migraines
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)
- Neutropenia
- Osteoporosis
- Ob/Gyn
- Precocious Puberty
- Psoriasis
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Sickle Cell
- Systemic Lupus Erythematous
- Transplant and Infection Prophylaxis
Learn More About Specialty Pharmacy
As a patient of our specialty pharmacy program, we will monitor your medications and your overall progress through our disease-specific Patient Management Program.
This program will help you manage side effects, increase your ability to stay on your drug therapy and improve your overall health. However, you must be willing to follow the treatment plan you, your doctor, and your pharmacist agreed on.
On a regular basis, we will review:
- Current medications you are on and if they are still right for you
- Any side effects you are having
- Your response to therapy
- Your ability to stay on therapy
This service is free and taking part in the program is voluntary. If you no longer wish to take part in the program, contact our team by phone to opt-out.
If you feel that UChicago Medicine Specialty Pharmacy is not able to meet your needs, we can transfer your prescription to the pharmacy of your choice. Please call us at 773-834-2285.
If for any reason we are no longer able to provide your medications, we will transfer your prescription to another specialty pharmacy that can. We will inform you of this transfer of care.
Resources for You (Available to Download)
English Versions
- Welcome Packet
- Patient Education Sign
- States We Service
- Important Phone Numbers
- Resources for You
- Sharps Container Safety
- Hand Wash
- Specialty Pharmacy Drug List
Spanish Versions
Payment Policy
Before your care begins, a staff member will let you know your part of the cost that is not covered by your insurance or other third-party sources.
Your part of the cost may include but is not limited to: out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and annual out of pocket limits.
We will provide this information if there is a change in your insurance plan. If you ask, we will also provide you with the cash price of the medication.
UChicago Medicine Pharmacy will send claims to your health insurance carrier on the date your prescription is filled. If the claim is rejected, a staff member will let you know the reason why, and work with you to solve the problem.
If the claim is rejected because our pharmacy is not in network with your insurance, we will let you know and work to transfer your care.
You may have to pay a part of your medication cost, called a co-payment or co-insurance. If you have a co-payment or co-insurance, it must be paid at the time of shipping or pick-up.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit cards. We can keep your credit card information on file in a secured and safe place.
If our pharmacy is out of network, and there is any cost for you to use our service, we will let you know.
We will help enroll you in financial assistance programs to help with co-payments, and make sure there are no financial problems with starting your medication.
These programs include discount coupons from drug manufacturers and help from many different disease management foundations.
Patient Rights and Responsibilities
UChicago Medicine Specialty Pharmacy knows that all patients have basic rights. Patients who feel their rights have not been respected, or who have questions or concerns, can talk to the Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy.
Patients and their families also have responsibilities when under the care of UChicago Medicine Pharmacy in order to help us provide safe, high-quality health care for themselves and others. The following patient rights and responsibilities will be provided to, and expected from, patients or legally authorized persons.
To make sure you are getting the best care possible, as a patient getting our pharmacy services, you must understand your role, rights and responsibilities involved in your own plan of care.
For a minor or a patient needing help in understanding these rights, both the patient and the parent, legal guardian, or other responsible person must be fully informed of these rights. All pharmacy employees will be able to talk about patient rights and responsibilities with the patient and caregiver. Employees will be trained on rights and responsibilities when hired and every year following.
As our patient, you have the right and responsibility to:
No person shall be refused admission or treatment on the basis of his or her race, ethnicity, culture, language, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, national origin, marital status, veteran status, religion, or any other classification protected by applicable law.
- Receive quality health care, whatever your race, ethnicity, culture, language, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, national origin, marital status, veteran status, religion, or any other group protected by any laws that apply, and to be treated with dignity and courtesy.
- Be given foreign language or sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodation of special needs or disabilities.
- Have access to protective and advocacy services and get pastoral care or spiritual services.
- Ask for and take part in an Ethics consultation.
- Ask for a second opinion or to talk with another doctor and to have a transfer to another health care facility.
- To be given information about diagnosis and treatment plans, in language that is easy to understand. This includes risks and benefits, with an explanation of any other options, so you can make an informed decision.
- Know the names and professional responsibilities of your health-care team and the role they take in your care.
- Be given information about the outcomes of care, treatment and services, including any unanticipated outcomes.
- Be told about ongoing health care needed such as return visits and following hospital treatment.
- Be given an explanation for and other options to a proposed transfer to another facility.
- Understand that you may get two different bills. One for UChicago Medicine hospital and another for doctor services. Be given a reasonable explanation of your bills, including a detailed list of each charge.
- Be given written notice of your rights when admitted or as soon as possible after being admitted.
- Take part in the development and giving of your plan of care and treatment.
- Give your permission for medical treatment or to refuse medical treatment to the extent allowed by law. The patient does not have the right to services deemed medically unnecessary or inappropriate.
- Create and have advance directives (with the right to change or remove your advance directive at any time) and have hospital staff and practitioners who provide care at UChicago Medicine comply with those directives. This includes end-of-life wishes. When asked, UChicago Medicine will provide you with information about advance directives, including statutory living wills or powers of attorney.
- Have a family member or representative and your doctor told as soon as is possible when you are admitted to the hospital.
- Take part in volunteer research projects with the possible risks and side effects or possible outcomes fully explained before taking part. This includes those that informed consent will be needed. You can refuse to take part in research projects without the refusal impacting your care.
- Be given information about ways to relieve pain and access to the proper pain assessment and pain management by dedicated pain control specialists.
- Be free from restraints of any kind that are not medically needed or not used to prevent harm to self or others, or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
- Be given care in a safe setting, free from all forms of abuse or harassment.
- Have my personal privacy respected and my private medical records kept secure. See UChicago Medicine Notice of Privacy Practices or details.
- Ask for restrictions or to limit the medical information UChicago Medicine uses or shares about you and to get private messages from UChicago Medicine.
- To see and copy your medical record in a format you request, if that format is available, within a reasonable amount of time after leaving the hospital. To ask to change or add to your health information and to be given information about the sharing of your medical records in accordance with laws and regulations that apply.
- To give your permission or to refuse permission to be filmed or recorded and that this will not affect the health care you are given.
- Have visitors, mail and phone calls as long as they do not interfere with treatment.
File a complaint by calling or writing to the UChicago Medicine Patient and Family Insights Department, any UChicago Medicine representative, or the UChicago Medicine Hospital Operations Administrator on Call (HOA) at 773-702-1000, pager 188-7500.
This includes complaints by patients who believe that they have been mistreated, denied services or discriminated against because of a handicap.
You or your representative may also file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health (“IDPH”) at:
525 West Jefferson Street, Springfield, IL 62761-0001.
Fax: 217-524-2913
Phone: 800-252-4343
TTY (hearing impaired use only): 800-547-0466
If you get Medicare benefits, you or your representative may file a complaint about the quality of care or coverage decisions, or appeal your having to leave the hospital. To file a complaint, contact the Illinois Foundation for Quality Healthcare (a Medicare-approved Quality Improvement Organization (QIO)) at:
1776 West Lakes Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266.
Fax: 515-223-2141
Phone: 800-647-8089
- Tell a family member or representative if you have made an advanced directive and to tell caregivers when you are admitted to UChicago Medicine.
- Give correct and complete information about your present condition and past medical history to your doctor.
- Follow the treatment plan and tell your doctor or nurse of changes in your health.
- Ask questions to get a better understanding.
- Share your concerns and disagreements with health care recommendations and accept responsibility for health care decisions.
- Ask for pain relief when pain first begins and talk about pain management options to help in developing the right pain management plan for you.
- Keep appointments for follow-up care or tell the clinic ahead of time if you need to cancel.
- Be considerate of other patients and respect their privacy and property.
- Provide UChicago Medicine with complete and correct financial information and comply with agreed-upon payment plans.
- For reasons of mutual trust and respect, the University of Chicago Medical Center will not allow patients or their family members to ask that a member of the health care team be changed or assigned when the request is based on discriminatory bias against the member’s legally protected characteristics. Legally protected characteristics include race, ethnicity, culture, language, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, national origin, marital status, veteran status, religion, or any other classification protected by law.
- The Medical Center will consider requests to change a member of the healthcare team at sometimes when it has to do with the patient’s own legally protected characteristics. This includes, for example, in matters of reproductive and sexual health, matters involving a patient’s sincerely held religious beliefs or when getting care from a provider of a particular gender may cause the patient discomfort. Decisions whether to honor a request of this type will be made on a case-by-case basis and follow the law as it applies. No request will be honored if it is based on discriminatory bias against legally protected characteristics.
- This policy applies to patients and their family members seeking treatment within the Medical Center. This includes the inpatient setting and in the outpatient care setting (such as X rays and treatments in clinics). It does not extend to the choice made by patients in making appointments and making ongoing doctor and patient relationships with outpatient care physicians (including, for example and without limitation, primary care physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists.)
- The Medical Center will offer to plan the transfer of a patient to another hospital or provider organization if a patient or the patient’s family members have made a discriminatory request as described above. This transfer will be made if the patient or the patient’s family members will not, after talking with representatives of the Medical Center, agree to get care from that member of the health care team, provided the patient is medically stable.
Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed (shared) and how you can get access to this information.
View the most current version of this notice